The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them. 18 G Nails
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
Our quotes are based on historical sales and real-time market data allowing us to give fair prices without all the hassle.
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
Our quotes are based on historical sales and real-time market data allowing us to give fair prices without all the hassle.
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
Our quotes are based on historical sales and real-time market data allowing us to give fair prices without all the hassle.
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It's far out, funky, groovy, and – most of all – orange.
Here at HODINKEE, we've spent the better part of 2022 lauding TAG Heuer's decision to bring back a 40mm option into its diver range. The Aquaracer Outdoors, also known as the 40mm Aquaracer, took us all by surprise and left us grinning. When Watches & Wonders hit, TAG brought out yet another entry into that 40mm fray by way of the Solargraph – a solar-powered diver with an all-black aesthetic and a unique take on luminous treatment. Needless to say, we loved that one, too.
But it would be naive to think that TAG, the brand known for large divers for the better part of the last decade, would just stop playing in that sandbox. And so we saw something in Geneva called the Superdiver – a gargantuan 45mm orange and black dive watch powered by a Kenissi movement (part of a new partnership). And then there was one other diver – one that could have easily stayed in the shadow of the other releases. It was one that we didn't cover too much at the onset of W&W, but one that demanded Hands-On treatment.
I'm referring to the TAG Heuer Orange Diver – a 43mm Aquaracer that gives us the familiar form factor we know in this range, but with a striking orange dial. Most of us likely associate orange dials with the iconic Doxa Professional line from the 1970s, but it just so happens that this watch, too, is based on a particular vintage Heuer diver – the 844 – from the same era. Orange and the '70s, man … what a combo. All that's missing here is a shag-carpet-textured strap.
It's always interesting when a brand releases, effectively, an existing product in a new colorway. How much can really be said that hasn't already been said? Well, in this case, something about the treatment of the dial and how it transforms the overall look of the watch warrants further exploration.
TAG is known to mix it up from time to time across the Aquaracer line. Sometimes the dials bear a sunray finish, and others it's more muted. Sometimes the bezels are glossy ceramic, and other times they're more matte. Here we get a flat, orange-colored dial paired with a serious, glossy ceramic black bezel with contrasting white numerals. The result is a timepiece that is vintage in its color palette and entirely modern in its execution.
What I particularly like here is the decision to utilize a fully brushed steel bracelet – something carried over from the launch of the 2021 Aquaracers. It may seem strange to focus on the bracelet before digging into the obvious – the bright orange dial – but it's a key piece in giving this watch a certain completeness. This piece is meant to evoke the tool-watch spirit of the '70s, a time when divers used their watches as a piece of kit – a utility. It would be easy enough to use a bracelet with polished centerlinks and call it a day, but the bracelet it's paired with speaks to the thoughtfulness behind the design and the commitment to the spirit the watch is meant to imbue.
That brushed execution is a great match for the textured orange dial. This isn't some kind of muted orange, or a faux-vintage, faded reproduction. No, this is the kind of in-your-face color choice that will make this watch recognizable from across the room. You'll forever be known as "orange watch person," which, frankly, is kind of cool.
At 43mm, this one is big – but that's sort of the point. Especially since the dial isn't making the watch feel any smaller. As a result of the size and color, the Orange Diver is very legible, and the white markers can be read in a snap against the dial. I'm sure naysayers will come for the magnified date window, and while I don't like how it looks, I can't complain about how it works.
In a way, this watch is a compromise. Sure it's not the 40mm size that we covet, but it brings a certain retro aesthetic that feels right in this larger, beefier, frame. Inside the watch, behind the recognizable diver-engraved closed caseback is the Calibre 5 Automatic movement. Operationally, this watch just does what it's supposed to. The bezel action is smooth, and the clasp on the bracelet is easy to maneuver and perform micro-adjustments on the fly.
If ever there was a watch designed to meet in the middle of mass-appeal and hyper-focused enthusiasm, it's the Orange Diver. This is a fun new option in the broader Aquaracer collection that I'm already thinking about going hands-on with again soon. No, I don't dive, but that doesn't mean I can't dig a dive watch.
The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Orange Diver. Reference WBP201F.BA0632. 43mm stainless steel case. Unidirectional bezel in ceramic with 60-minute scale. Water-resistance of 300 meters. Orange dial, six o'clock magnifying lens, angled date. Automatic TAG Heuer Caliber 5 (ETA 2824-2 base). Stainless steel bracelet with micro-adjustable clasp. Price: $3,300.
The HODINKEE Shop is an authorized retailer of TAG Heuer. To view our collection, click here.
TAG Heuer is part of the LVMH group. Although LVMH Luxury Ventures is a minority investor in HODINKEE, we maintain complete editorial independence.
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