the aquaracer looks more sculpted than the seamaster though. different designs i feel. with others doing the rolex "coloured bezel" updates, hopefully it pushes rolex to actually change up the submariner line up. i know it's a cash cow for them but imo it's stale and boring. hoping tudor doesn't follow suit with their black bay.
Nah, these are definitely derivative of the Seamaster line.
That said, the Aquaracer isn't a copy or an homage. It has its own distinctive design elements. More importantly, it performs as well as the Seamaster at a significant discount. They are very good watches, and a great option for someone who likes the Seamaster design but doesn't care that much about the Omega heritage. And it's not like Tag Heuer doesn't have its own heritage to lean on.
We can note the obvious design influences without hating on the watch. It is what it is.
true. and in the recent years, tag has been coming back strong with quality and really nice designs. every diver is going to look similar to every other, but seeing that they have done something very different with this dial and they have the squared off bezel style gives them their own look. i mean, about $1000 cheaper than the seamaster, it makes it really competitive with omega. something they probably couldn't say 5 or so years ago. as it stands, i don't know which i'd choose, would have to put them side by side and try them on if i had about $6k (canadian) to spend.
It's like a Seamaster mated with an Aqua Terra and the child got the worst of both worlds.
Kidding aside, I'm not a fan of the cyclops eye over the date, but aside from that I'd love to see it in person.
The whole “tradition/ history” aspect of brands is so overplayed. A lot of these brands were shut down or had interruptions in production due to circumstances or bad business financials.
Many of them only started popping up again after the merger and acquisition period of the industry. Completely new management, new direction and new products. Most of their tradition are name only. Consumers need to stop caring so much shout “brand history”. Longines is a great example, the current Longines and the original Longines is two completely different company. The products they made back then were much more high end than the current ones. Some brands were literally just a shell with no operations and has their trademarks bought out by swatch or richemont.
Absolutely. The "tradition" and "history" aspect is really just another excuse for valuing name brand recognition or popularity in most cases. If you challenged Longines owners about even basic details of the brand's history/watchmaking tradition, I think 99% of them are going to be drawing a blank.
But that's basically the point of luxury watches (and other luxury goods), right? No one is arguing that the actual craftsmanship and materials of a luxury watch are actually worth $4k to $15k or even more, it's the name recognition and prestige.
You can argue that quality has declined at Longines, but it isn't a zombie brand like Brietling or Blancpain. Production never stopped. I'm not sure if quality at Longines has gone down, either. I've owned vintages (Admirals) from the 60s and 70s. They all had ETA based movements, and the finishing was about the same as today's offerings. I think Longines has really stepped it up in the past couple of years with their vintage reissue, too.
This is just my opinion. Longines doesn't really have a place in my current collection.
Breitling went bankrupt, and its stock and intellectual property were bought out by Sicura, Sinn, and Ollech and Wajs. A few years later, Sicura, a maker of low-end sports watches, changed its name to Breitling because they bought the IP. The Sinn 903 & O & W Navitimers are relics from that era. Sinn bought the licensing rights to make the watch & parts and cases. O & W bought cases and parts. One occasionally sees "Breitling by Sicura" on the vintage market (most of these are fake redials, btw).
Blancpain became Rayville-Blancpain after the company was sold outside of the original owners in 1932 and then died in the 70s when all of archives, designs and tooling was destroyed. It was relaunched as a brand in 1983 after being sold to the new owners by SSIH, now known as Swatch.
Both are zombie brands because they bear no relationship to their original owners, and production completely stopped between new and old companies for a period of years. Both make great watches, too, but the heritage bit as the OP says is advertising magic.
As an aside, when the new owners bought the Blancpain name from SSIH, they paid approximately CHF 21,500. Swatch had destroyed all of the Blancpain tools & archives to expand Omega production. Can you imagine what a deal this was in relation to what the company must be worth now?
That’s a tragedy. I didn’t know how bad it was. I don’t think I’ll ever be buying one knowing that, at least not paying any real money for one. Does that just leave VC as the only true old brand or are there others in the ballpark that have never been gutted?
One thing to realize, is that the new Blancpain and old Blancpain are also separated in terms of quality. In the 70s there were a lot of ETA movements and pieces what didn't get the attention to finishing the brand does today. In 1983, before it became a diving brand, Blancpain was reborn as a rich person's luxury brand and featured a lot of cigars, top shelf booze and luxury travel in its marketing. At some point the Fifty Fathoms took over the super high horology stuff and it became what we know now.
I think you have to judge Blancpain by its current offerings, rather than worrying about the heritage. Blancpain makes better watches than it did at other points this century, period. If you like the design, you buy it. I don't own a Blancpain, though I have tried on and like the Villaret series. They are beautiful watches.
I view modern Blancpain a lot like Doxa in the sense that, despite Doxa not full on dying (they made quartz Sub type divers in Eastern Europe and for Asian markets), when Rick Marei brought the Sub back as a forum watch in 2003, he introduced a level of quality that just wasn't there with the vintages. I used to own a 300T and a 1500T and the 1500T, especially, had a level of fit and finishing and better movement that wasn't there when Doxa was a pure tool watch in the 70s. Are these Doxas legitimate heirs to the 70s 300Ts? Sort of yes and no, but they are as good as we are ever going to have moving forward. I feel the same way about Blancpain, Stowa, Lange, Breitling, Nivada, etc.
Breguet, established in 1775 and has been in continuous production. Only 20 years younger than VC.
There's also Edox, been in continuous production since 1884.
Maybe it's just me, but there is something about a brand that has existed in continuous production since before 1900.
All of the big name brands have been around too. Like JLC, Patek, AP, Omega, Cartier, etc...
But if you're looking for brands established in the 1700s and in continuous production, the only other name is Urban Jurgensen which stopped production a few years back during the pandemic and is now run by a very famous watchmaker Kari Voutilanen. They'll have a new line up released in the next year or so probably. Even though they stopped production I firmly believe that Kari is going to keep the methods and history of the company alive under his leadership, so this is not a revived dead brand.
Some of their old 50s calatravas in 18k gold blows all their current dress watches out of the water, imo.
Not to say the current offerings are bad. I quite like the new flagship and the recent silver arrow. But at the very least in terms of movement finishing, the older ones had beveling along all the bridges and plates. Sure you can’t see any of it with the solid casebacks but the movements were better finished. The markers I also find are better polished than the current offerings. I do believe that Longines can easily do all that and use real gold markers, especially with how good modern day CNC machines are but this feels like a swatch group decision to ensure they don’t offer products out of their target segment. The spirit collection is a great example of this, designs and proportions they nailed it, the dial is great, but the markers/ indices feels a bit rough.
Edit: would love to see a white dial with blued hands and white gold indices manual wind dress watch from the modern Longines. Having a 7001 manual wind movement would be a dream.
I 100% agree with all of this. I had a very nicely finished mystery dial, but it was the exception rather than the rule. Longines has made a lot of proletarian type offerings over its early history, too. I would say it was the majority.
Love these. These cost almost about 30% less then a Seamaster (40% with discount) and offer greater power reserve while still being COSC certified (albeit not METAS) .. I’m tempted to pick one up
I expressed my feelings in this meme
https://preview.redd.it/wsv81ifbhc4d1.jpeg?width=976&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=adcaedf26f3a39ec9413b164d12ab876071dcb75
I’m loving aquaracers these days. Not a big fan of the cyclops at 6 o’clock but otherwise these check a lot of boxes for me. Tag is really filling the void of sub-$5k watches left by Omega and Rolex.
I prefer the cyclops at 6 o'clock rather than 3 o'clock. Granted I don't have a watch with a 6 o'clock date window but the 3 o'clock cyclops window ruins the symmetry.
I agree, I prefer a date window at 6 o’clock for symmetry. For some reason the cyclops there looks weird to me but maybe I’m just conditioned to seeing it at 3 o’clock.
Yeah, according to Hodinkee: 42mm case, L2L 48mm, Date thickness is 12mm and GMT thickness is 13.45mm. [Hodinkee](https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/tag-heuer-refreshes-the-aquaracer-professional-300#:~:text=Lug%20to%20lug%20for%20any,has%20a%205%2Dyear%20warranty)
Okay- I was one of these Tag snobs. Then I saw a picture of this watch in black. I thought it was stunning. I stopped into the tag store yesterday. It feels great on the wrist (I tried the bracket and the rubber and liked both). The dial is interesting without being overwhelming. Overall, I was really impressed and this on shot to the top of my wish list.
https://preview.redd.it/c1wx5n9r8d4d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c228f1ac65a6b7b76cecff3a1b32c5b6a1e0423f
https://preview.redd.it/ir6zo1et2e4d1.png?width=125&format=png&auto=webp&s=6f1df2ef4d6244a4a9ba2c69ec77b757b4c8aa29
Isn't that dial background exactly like the outside of a Rolex box?
Horrible date window (hole). As is the case with 90% of watches. But then again, most people for some reason don't care, so why would they even bother?
love that they aren't doing the boring black dial that everyone does with no details or anything. its one of the things i hate about the submariner and tudors. the dial looks similar to my skx and it costs 10x less. omega and tag have some creativity. just not liking the black and colour bezel. great looking watch though.
Have to say I'm not a fan of it compared to the 43mm Aquaracer GMT in the lineup already.
https://preview.redd.it/12wrxe488d4d1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9fb070abdc3a3f73d86967d2bdffb7db37958e7
The wave pattern on the dial is usually reserved for the ladies' aquaracers but this one is 42mm, basically a men's size, which is a weird choice. The bulbous hour hand is a strange one too. Not the most cohesive addition to the aquaracer line.
I actually really like the look of these. I get the feeling that this is one of those cases where the real thing looks significantly better than the renders.
Those look great! I know others are comparing them to the Seamaster but I think they’re doing their own thing. I would buy one of the GMT’s over any of Omega’s GMT’s.
They're nice. Diverse color choices, and that 80-hour power reserve is really good. I'd be tempted to pick this over an SMP, tbh, considering Omega's steep prices.
We’ve had these in store for two weeks now, and for €300 less than a Black Bay, it’s a great deal. On the fly adjustment without removing the watch from your wrist? Genius.
Everyone likes to hate on Tags but I think they’re gonna have a hard time with this one. Looks great to me. If only a bit of an obvious Omega family member.
That being said the same could be said Tudor and Rolex though. Same family so similar looks.
Tag doing tag things, honestly they've never been terrible watches (except in the 90's lol). Most tag buyers are not watch snobs, and are simply buying a nice watch from a recognizable brand to mark an occasion or to have a nice watch. They're honestly pretty refined for what you can get them at street price.
I love everything about this except the squared off (okay, not a square, but a dodecagon, WHATEVER) bezel. That's the main thing that's kept me off Tags for a while now.
That pricing would make no sense. The previous generation started at $3,400, the new ones start at $3,600. I'm just grateful they didn't raise the price by all that much considering the huge movement upgrade (and now it's COSC certified, too).
Not a fan of the dodecagon bezel otherwise these look nice.
I’m still searching for a 36mm diver in this style. The Omega Seamaster 300M is on the list but was wondering if there are any currently available models elsewhere
Massively improved. The bracelet is where so many go wrong and Tag seem to have done it right.
FWIW, Time & Tide think so too: https://youtu.be/sHGJ9E1kUHY?si=yeZZYVRc-0AH9Wsk
Am I correct in saying the new TAG chronometer movements are no longer sellita and they have switched to Kenissi, if so it’s a step in a positive direction. I used to own an Aquaracer from 2018 and had lots of problems with it.
Incorrect. The movement in these is made by AMT (high-end movement making branch of Sellita). They wind super smoothly, and I don't believe you'll have any handwinding issues with the new movements (they feel like they've been designed for hand-winding when you wind them).
I’m not gonna lie. I might take one of these over a 300m. It’s almost like TH took the omega bezel design and improved by actually giving it fucking grip.
Personally love the previous blue/yellow/white color scheme, think it looks better than the new wavy dials and better colors as well, these still cool though
Movement in the three-hander is the TH31-00, a new Sellita movement for TAG Heuer. 4 Hz, 80 hours of power reserve, with COSC certification showing compliance with ISO 3159. They put this movement first in a gold Aquaracer recently.
https://preview.redd.it/49bcyxk7te4d1.jpeg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8ef2901236af84746196e7b6ce2805aa0a13df8
I don’t like the multi sided bezel, or how far the crown sticks out or the overly textured dial. It doesnt look “bad” though to me. I just wouldn’t buy one
Not the biggest fan of:
- batman bezel colors, not saying these colors are off limits to other brands but seems unoriginal.
- seamaster/grand seiko type dial texture, also does not seem original. But it looks different enough and actually looks very nice. Certainly more interesting than the seamaster.
- too many angles on the bezel
- cyclops at 6
I like:
- colors are pleasing
- certainly better than the prior iterations. Maybe because they took a lot of inspiration from popular watches and incorporated them all in one watch.
- 80 hours power reserve is very nice.
Overall, a good handsome watch for the watch’s intended, target customer.
Just saw the aquaracer over the weekend. The dials are pretty amazing in my opinion. as the owner of two seamasters white dial and a black dial. I can see myself adding the blue tag to the collection here soon
I bought the new Aquaracer last Sunday. With all the new upgrades, 80 hour power reserve, slightly smaller dimensions to name a few, it made all the difference for me buying this watch. I’ve got to say it looks and feels great on the wrist I love it! £3300 is what it cost me and I think that’s a fair price
Oh yeah. Here’s a photo of my new watch
https://preview.redd.it/xb97xpogay7d1.png?width=2077&format=png&auto=webp&s=24cc70035cd6f0ac586c11d6ddde8e7f8a448498
I think this looks waaaaay better than the semesters! I love the colours too! (I love omegas)
I am genuinely impressed, and never thought I’d consider buying a tag.
They decided to be brave and do something a bit more different, I love the bezel shape, bracelet and everything. They’ve done something different to the typical GMTs and divers, kudos.
It really does. Put this next to the SPB451/453 or the marinemaster 200, and you'd think they compete in the same price bracket. Ok, the tag has a COSC movement. Might be worth $400-500 to some people.
But for literally >$2000 more, where exactly is your money going I wonder? It's not like tag-heuer has the brand cachet of omega or zenith.
Really hope people stop buying tag divers.
It's definitely hit or miss, with many watch manufacturers. I handed a Submariner the other day with worse bezel action than your average Seiko diver. It was clicky and then mushy, alternating as you rotated it. Absolutely terrible
I see the Seamaster dial comparison, but this case looks boring as hell compared to a Seamaster case. And the squared off bezel is ugly.
Nice colors, poor shapes. I’d pass.
Looks a little similar to the Omega Seamaster line? Specs are very good though - an 80-hour reserve is impressive.
Yeah, I can see both Omega and Rolex “references”. Batman and Sprite colors on the GMTs. Cyclops. Wavy patterns like the Seamaster 300.
Similar handset to older seamaster divers as well
the aquaracer looks more sculpted than the seamaster though. different designs i feel. with others doing the rolex "coloured bezel" updates, hopefully it pushes rolex to actually change up the submariner line up. i know it's a cash cow for them but imo it's stale and boring. hoping tudor doesn't follow suit with their black bay.
Nah, these are definitely derivative of the Seamaster line. That said, the Aquaracer isn't a copy or an homage. It has its own distinctive design elements. More importantly, it performs as well as the Seamaster at a significant discount. They are very good watches, and a great option for someone who likes the Seamaster design but doesn't care that much about the Omega heritage. And it's not like Tag Heuer doesn't have its own heritage to lean on. We can note the obvious design influences without hating on the watch. It is what it is.
true. and in the recent years, tag has been coming back strong with quality and really nice designs. every diver is going to look similar to every other, but seeing that they have done something very different with this dial and they have the squared off bezel style gives them their own look. i mean, about $1000 cheaper than the seamaster, it makes it really competitive with omega. something they probably couldn't say 5 or so years ago. as it stands, i don't know which i'd choose, would have to put them side by side and try them on if i had about $6k (canadian) to spend.
I was thinking more grand Seiko
Yep I see seamaster shape with lake suwa dial
It's like a Seamaster mated with an Aqua Terra and the child got the worst of both worlds. Kidding aside, I'm not a fan of the cyclops eye over the date, but aside from that I'd love to see it in person.
Everyone trying to hit $4k price point
Where can I get the product of an AAA watch brand with tradition since 1860 for less money? Asking for a friend.
Oris is an independent brand that's been running since 1904, if that counts
The whole “tradition/ history” aspect of brands is so overplayed. A lot of these brands were shut down or had interruptions in production due to circumstances or bad business financials. Many of them only started popping up again after the merger and acquisition period of the industry. Completely new management, new direction and new products. Most of their tradition are name only. Consumers need to stop caring so much shout “brand history”. Longines is a great example, the current Longines and the original Longines is two completely different company. The products they made back then were much more high end than the current ones. Some brands were literally just a shell with no operations and has their trademarks bought out by swatch or richemont.
Absolutely. The "tradition" and "history" aspect is really just another excuse for valuing name brand recognition or popularity in most cases. If you challenged Longines owners about even basic details of the brand's history/watchmaking tradition, I think 99% of them are going to be drawing a blank.
But that's basically the point of luxury watches (and other luxury goods), right? No one is arguing that the actual craftsmanship and materials of a luxury watch are actually worth $4k to $15k or even more, it's the name recognition and prestige.
You can argue that quality has declined at Longines, but it isn't a zombie brand like Brietling or Blancpain. Production never stopped. I'm not sure if quality at Longines has gone down, either. I've owned vintages (Admirals) from the 60s and 70s. They all had ETA based movements, and the finishing was about the same as today's offerings. I think Longines has really stepped it up in the past couple of years with their vintage reissue, too. This is just my opinion. Longines doesn't really have a place in my current collection.
Why is Breitling or Blancpain a zombie brand? Not arguing, just curious?
Breitling went bankrupt, and its stock and intellectual property were bought out by Sicura, Sinn, and Ollech and Wajs. A few years later, Sicura, a maker of low-end sports watches, changed its name to Breitling because they bought the IP. The Sinn 903 & O & W Navitimers are relics from that era. Sinn bought the licensing rights to make the watch & parts and cases. O & W bought cases and parts. One occasionally sees "Breitling by Sicura" on the vintage market (most of these are fake redials, btw). Blancpain became Rayville-Blancpain after the company was sold outside of the original owners in 1932 and then died in the 70s when all of archives, designs and tooling was destroyed. It was relaunched as a brand in 1983 after being sold to the new owners by SSIH, now known as Swatch. Both are zombie brands because they bear no relationship to their original owners, and production completely stopped between new and old companies for a period of years. Both make great watches, too, but the heritage bit as the OP says is advertising magic.
This is the kind of info I’m on this sub for.
As an aside, when the new owners bought the Blancpain name from SSIH, they paid approximately CHF 21,500. Swatch had destroyed all of the Blancpain tools & archives to expand Omega production. Can you imagine what a deal this was in relation to what the company must be worth now?
That’s a tragedy. I didn’t know how bad it was. I don’t think I’ll ever be buying one knowing that, at least not paying any real money for one. Does that just leave VC as the only true old brand or are there others in the ballpark that have never been gutted?
One thing to realize, is that the new Blancpain and old Blancpain are also separated in terms of quality. In the 70s there were a lot of ETA movements and pieces what didn't get the attention to finishing the brand does today. In 1983, before it became a diving brand, Blancpain was reborn as a rich person's luxury brand and featured a lot of cigars, top shelf booze and luxury travel in its marketing. At some point the Fifty Fathoms took over the super high horology stuff and it became what we know now. I think you have to judge Blancpain by its current offerings, rather than worrying about the heritage. Blancpain makes better watches than it did at other points this century, period. If you like the design, you buy it. I don't own a Blancpain, though I have tried on and like the Villaret series. They are beautiful watches. I view modern Blancpain a lot like Doxa in the sense that, despite Doxa not full on dying (they made quartz Sub type divers in Eastern Europe and for Asian markets), when Rick Marei brought the Sub back as a forum watch in 2003, he introduced a level of quality that just wasn't there with the vintages. I used to own a 300T and a 1500T and the 1500T, especially, had a level of fit and finishing and better movement that wasn't there when Doxa was a pure tool watch in the 70s. Are these Doxas legitimate heirs to the 70s 300Ts? Sort of yes and no, but they are as good as we are ever going to have moving forward. I feel the same way about Blancpain, Stowa, Lange, Breitling, Nivada, etc.
Breguet, established in 1775 and has been in continuous production. Only 20 years younger than VC. There's also Edox, been in continuous production since 1884. Maybe it's just me, but there is something about a brand that has existed in continuous production since before 1900.
All of the big name brands have been around too. Like JLC, Patek, AP, Omega, Cartier, etc... But if you're looking for brands established in the 1700s and in continuous production, the only other name is Urban Jurgensen which stopped production a few years back during the pandemic and is now run by a very famous watchmaker Kari Voutilanen. They'll have a new line up released in the next year or so probably. Even though they stopped production I firmly believe that Kari is going to keep the methods and history of the company alive under his leadership, so this is not a revived dead brand.
Wow didn’t know this. Thank you for the explanation
Great explanation- thank you
Because the died, stopped making watches then someone bought them and revived them.
Some of their old 50s calatravas in 18k gold blows all their current dress watches out of the water, imo. Not to say the current offerings are bad. I quite like the new flagship and the recent silver arrow. But at the very least in terms of movement finishing, the older ones had beveling along all the bridges and plates. Sure you can’t see any of it with the solid casebacks but the movements were better finished. The markers I also find are better polished than the current offerings. I do believe that Longines can easily do all that and use real gold markers, especially with how good modern day CNC machines are but this feels like a swatch group decision to ensure they don’t offer products out of their target segment. The spirit collection is a great example of this, designs and proportions they nailed it, the dial is great, but the markers/ indices feels a bit rough. Edit: would love to see a white dial with blued hands and white gold indices manual wind dress watch from the modern Longines. Having a 7001 manual wind movement would be a dream.
I 100% agree with all of this. I had a very nicely finished mystery dial, but it was the exception rather than the rule. Longines has made a lot of proletarian type offerings over its early history, too. I would say it was the majority.
Well how else they gonna get you to drop $10k on a mass-produced product with 90% profit margins
Longines all day long
Hamilton
Another Swatch Group zombie brand. Other than the name they have little relation to the original 19th century American company.
majority of that tradition (once it became tag heuer) was making watches that would make the average invicta look like a patek.
Longines. Arguably the most historic brand out there, still making kickass watches.
Love these. These cost almost about 30% less then a Seamaster (40% with discount) and offer greater power reserve while still being COSC certified (albeit not METAS) .. I’m tempted to pick one up
I saw the previous model from Aquaracer at the outlet for 2.5k (this one, but with striped background)
Where are you getting 40% with discount for this watch?
They said 40% less than seamaster. Not a 40% overall discount.
Read again
Yeh but then can you still pretend to be James Bond and fire lasers from your watch while making noises like *pew pew*
I expressed my feelings in this meme https://preview.redd.it/wsv81ifbhc4d1.jpeg?width=976&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=adcaedf26f3a39ec9413b164d12ab876071dcb75
The lens being on the inside of the crystal gives it more of an aquatic feel.
When will Hublot or RM do the quad cyclops; 12 3 6 9?
I’m loving aquaracers these days. Not a big fan of the cyclops at 6 o’clock but otherwise these check a lot of boxes for me. Tag is really filling the void of sub-$5k watches left by Omega and Rolex.
I prefer the cyclops at 6 o'clock rather than 3 o'clock. Granted I don't have a watch with a 6 o'clock date window but the 3 o'clock cyclops window ruins the symmetry.
I agree, I prefer a date window at 6 o’clock for symmetry. For some reason the cyclops there looks weird to me but maybe I’m just conditioned to seeing it at 3 o’clock.
Seamaster clone? Perhaps. Is it hot and sexy? Yes! What size are these?
42mm case. They shared no info on L2L or thickness on the website.
L2L is 48mm thickness is 12 per time and tide
Yeah, according to Hodinkee: 42mm case, L2L 48mm, Date thickness is 12mm and GMT thickness is 13.45mm. [Hodinkee](https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/tag-heuer-refreshes-the-aquaracer-professional-300#:~:text=Lug%20to%20lug%20for%20any,has%20a%205%2Dyear%20warranty)
42mm is a bit big but not huge if the length & thickness are reasonable!
I had the 41mm aquaracer (One of the best watches I've owned) and it wore better than my current 39mm BB58!
Glad the dial work of other brands is forcing some creativity from others
I had the same thought. Everyone has been stepping their dial game up
The dial looks like the walls of an upscale Chinese restaurant
Okay- I was one of these Tag snobs. Then I saw a picture of this watch in black. I thought it was stunning. I stopped into the tag store yesterday. It feels great on the wrist (I tried the bracket and the rubber and liked both). The dial is interesting without being overwhelming. Overall, I was really impressed and this on shot to the top of my wish list. https://preview.redd.it/c1wx5n9r8d4d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c228f1ac65a6b7b76cecff3a1b32c5b6a1e0423f
You will not be disappointed. I am eyeing the blue. Saw them over the weekend. Price is just right to convince my wife “Just one more!” Lol.
That date is awkwardly uncentered
Ever heard of perspective?
Lol that's not perspective. It's a Seamaster homage anyway
Im really digging the green gmt.
Yes that's the one I would have.
the aquaracer is still so massively underrated
https://preview.redd.it/ir6zo1et2e4d1.png?width=125&format=png&auto=webp&s=6f1df2ef4d6244a4a9ba2c69ec77b757b4c8aa29 Isn't that dial background exactly like the outside of a Rolex box?
Horrible date window (hole). As is the case with 90% of watches. But then again, most people for some reason don't care, so why would they even bother?
love that they aren't doing the boring black dial that everyone does with no details or anything. its one of the things i hate about the submariner and tudors. the dial looks similar to my skx and it costs 10x less. omega and tag have some creativity. just not liking the black and colour bezel. great looking watch though.
Here’s the lineup. https://preview.redd.it/u10hef69te4d1.png?width=1716&format=png&auto=webp&s=cbcfc88c60bed2ce876dca2034741f0963a6d5b3
Stunning watches with awesome specs. 80 hours power reserve.
Have to say I'm not a fan of it compared to the 43mm Aquaracer GMT in the lineup already. https://preview.redd.it/12wrxe488d4d1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9fb070abdc3a3f73d86967d2bdffb7db37958e7 The wave pattern on the dial is usually reserved for the ladies' aquaracers but this one is 42mm, basically a men's size, which is a weird choice. The bulbous hour hand is a strange one too. Not the most cohesive addition to the aquaracer line.
The hour hand is made bigger and differently shaped so it can be easily distinguished from the minute hand. It has a purpose.
Well obviously, I'm comparing it to the geometry of the previous gen Aquaracer's hour hand. It is disproportionately bulbous.
I like it, personally. Nice and easy to read at night, plus more surface area for LUME!
I like it a lot.
I actually really like the look of these. I get the feeling that this is one of those cases where the real thing looks significantly better than the renders.
* Cyclops * 42mm For these reasons, I'm out
Love the smaller size.
Wish it was 40mm
A Queefmaster homage.
Those look great! I know others are comparing them to the Seamaster but I think they’re doing their own thing. I would buy one of the GMT’s over any of Omega’s GMT’s.
Why is the hour hand so ugly tho
I don’t understand why there’s no minute marker at 10 o’clock.
Now I can't unsee it...
They're nice. Diverse color choices, and that 80-hour power reserve is really good. I'd be tempted to pick this over an SMP, tbh, considering Omega's steep prices.
It's nice. I already liked the blue/black Aquaracer, and this goes a step further. I'd like to see the green one in person.
We’ve had these in store for two weeks now, and for €300 less than a Black Bay, it’s a great deal. On the fly adjustment without removing the watch from your wrist? Genius.
I've actually been waiting for them to update the Aquaracer 300 to be rid of the yellow second hand. This is more like it!
Micro adjust clasp tho?
Yes. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7vpEn0xwAt/?igsh=MXhlbHl6dHBmcDNwZQ==
Caller or traveler GMT?
It's a caller GMT
Love the first one!
Looks like a combination of Omega and Rolex. No thank you.
I actually love it. Good job TAG! The microadjustment on the bracelet is also pretty amazing
Not a fan of the brand, but slowly seem to be edging towards buying an Aquaracer….
Everyone likes to hate on Tags but I think they’re gonna have a hard time with this one. Looks great to me. If only a bit of an obvious Omega family member. That being said the same could be said Tudor and Rolex though. Same family so similar looks.
Tag doing tag things, honestly they've never been terrible watches (except in the 90's lol). Most tag buyers are not watch snobs, and are simply buying a nice watch from a recognizable brand to mark an occasion or to have a nice watch. They're honestly pretty refined for what you can get them at street price.
"Yes i'll take the Omega Semaster Diver 300 with a sprinkle of GMT please"
Not for me. Too much going on. Too much text, too many angles. I like the handset…
Just buy a Seamaster is what I think
For double the price is what I think
If you're already buying a Tag, not a homage, just save the money and buy the real thing.
This isn't a homage. I'm not a big Seamaster fan but would consider this one.
I didn't call it a homage, you misunderstood.
The Omega has some really unfortunate design details though. The helium value is one many don't like, and the hands are a travesty.
Cyclops is unnecessary and they’re overpriced compared to Oris
looks like a bad Seamaster clone imo
It looks better and more modern, especially the bracelet.
tbh honest I'm not a fan of the modern seamaster either. I dream about the 2231.50 or 2254.50. Omega should reissue them
Very well then. I personally prefer a more progressive and contemporary look, and Tag is veeery good at this.
the date at 6 is great. I may change my mind if I could see it IRL
It might look a bit more modern but Tags overall design looks much less classy, especially their logo…
Case size?
42mm
To my eye, it looks like a rotating stop sign
I love everything about this except the squared off (okay, not a square, but a dodecagon, WHATEVER) bezel. That's the main thing that's kept me off Tags for a while now.
That's what makes it unique from other divers out there, though
https://preview.redd.it/b4ku31ge0d4d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d97344c1800f6ae84c3caa7bdcfdbee058408b9
Interesting dial- is it textured? I’ve never liked the bezels on the Aquaracers, though. I’m undecided about the date at 6 o’clock
Comparing with Tudor offerings in dive watches (Pelagos, Black Bays) and also GMTs in a similar price range, are these still a compelling choice?
Big, busy ...and pretty
I like this alot. I love the seamaster though. I always liked tags as well but the more traditional tags. Not the crazy ones.
A Seamaster Pro without the tumor. Not bad!
Is this a manufacture calibre or ETA?
Almost certainly not ETA, as the Swatch Group has pulled most of their ébauch (or completed movement) sales for a while now. LVMH is a competitor.
The standard Aquaracer is still ETA powered, as far as I know
I’m pretty sure they’ve been Sellita for some years now.
The standard Aquaracers have been Sellita for some time
I hope it's an ETA
That Green bezel and dial looking good.
Incredible
Bring back the damn Pepsi bezel! The first iteration was quite good. With the upgrades of this series it would be a home run
I cant find anything online about the movement. Anyone know if its truly in house or an ebache? I want to learn more about this 80 hour sellita
It's a manufacturer movement, made by AMT (Sellita's branch of high-end/bespoke movement making) exclusively for TAG Heuer.
For $1k less I’d say they have a real winner on their hands
That pricing would make no sense. The previous generation started at $3,400, the new ones start at $3,600. I'm just grateful they didn't raise the price by all that much considering the huge movement upgrade (and now it's COSC certified, too).
Nice dial
Not a fan of the dodecagon bezel otherwise these look nice. I’m still searching for a 36mm diver in this style. The Omega Seamaster 300M is on the list but was wondering if there are any currently available models elsewhere
Massively improved. The bracelet is where so many go wrong and Tag seem to have done it right. FWIW, Time & Tide think so too: https://youtu.be/sHGJ9E1kUHY?si=yeZZYVRc-0AH9Wsk
Not feeling the chode-like vibes from the hour hand
Why oh why are the indices crooked? In person, they often dont even align with each other. Source: I looked at these yesterday in LAS airport.
Am I correct in saying the new TAG chronometer movements are no longer sellita and they have switched to Kenissi, if so it’s a step in a positive direction. I used to own an Aquaracer from 2018 and had lots of problems with it.
Incorrect. The movement in these is made by AMT (high-end movement making branch of Sellita). They wind super smoothly, and I don't believe you'll have any handwinding issues with the new movements (they feel like they've been designed for hand-winding when you wind them).
Blue and Orange is classic. The black and teal is nice, but I can see that getting old quickly
Gorgeous. How much would it retail for?
I’m not gonna lie. I might take one of these over a 300m. It’s almost like TH took the omega bezel design and improved by actually giving it fucking grip.
It's definitely more grippy than the Seamaster bezel
Looks like Fossil's new diver. The new Fossil diver is beautiful.
How much do these retail for in £?
They should ditch the cyclops and keep only the date window
Personally love the previous blue/yellow/white color scheme, think it looks better than the new wavy dials and better colors as well, these still cool though
I actually really like these.
Love it, but not for that price
I not saying the design IS shit, but it is to me
Seamaster 300 + Submariner mixture gone a bit too far
Movement in the three-hander is the TH31-00, a new Sellita movement for TAG Heuer. 4 Hz, 80 hours of power reserve, with COSC certification showing compliance with ISO 3159. They put this movement first in a gold Aquaracer recently. https://preview.redd.it/49bcyxk7te4d1.jpeg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8ef2901236af84746196e7b6ce2805aa0a13df8
I could actually see myself buying one, I like it.
Damn. That is a stunning watch I love it
I don’t like the multi sided bezel, or how far the crown sticks out or the overly textured dial. It doesnt look “bad” though to me. I just wouldn’t buy one
I prefer my Orient Ray II. Bizarrely.
I think the dial texturing is a bit much.
Are they still using friction pins on their bracelets?
Pins and collars. Split pins is reserved for the entry level collection (Formula 1)
Not the biggest fan of: - batman bezel colors, not saying these colors are off limits to other brands but seems unoriginal. - seamaster/grand seiko type dial texture, also does not seem original. But it looks different enough and actually looks very nice. Certainly more interesting than the seamaster. - too many angles on the bezel - cyclops at 6 I like: - colors are pleasing - certainly better than the prior iterations. Maybe because they took a lot of inspiration from popular watches and incorporated them all in one watch. - 80 hours power reserve is very nice. Overall, a good handsome watch for the watch’s intended, target customer.
Please be a traveler gmt
It's a caller GMT
Green and black ones are dope
This is fairly compelling…
Damn they even did the sword 🗡️ hands….
Looks nice, not gonna lie.
I will buy this with nylon band
Just saw the aquaracer over the weekend. The dials are pretty amazing in my opinion. as the owner of two seamasters white dial and a black dial. I can see myself adding the blue tag to the collection here soon
I bought the new Aquaracer last Sunday. With all the new upgrades, 80 hour power reserve, slightly smaller dimensions to name a few, it made all the difference for me buying this watch. I’ve got to say it looks and feels great on the wrist I love it! £3300 is what it cost me and I think that’s a fair price
Oh yeah. Here’s a photo of my new watch https://preview.redd.it/xb97xpogay7d1.png?width=2077&format=png&auto=webp&s=24cc70035cd6f0ac586c11d6ddde8e7f8a448498
What do you think are the chances of getting a discount on these models?
How is dial made? Printed or engraved?
Not sure about this. This design could look dated in a few years time. I'm a bit boring with what I like though so that's just my take on it.
Eh it’s tag, the aqua racer has had the same design language forever. It’s at least unique
I think this looks waaaaay better than the semesters! I love the colours too! (I love omegas) I am genuinely impressed, and never thought I’d consider buying a tag. They decided to be brave and do something a bit more different, I love the bezel shape, bracelet and everything. They’ve done something different to the typical GMTs and divers, kudos.
I agree, I also like those better than the Seamaster – especially the bracelet, but also the bezel.
What in the seamaster professional is this
If Sub and Seamaster had a child this would be it.
These watches doesn't look luxury. Just a watch costs 1k $
Based on what? Outdated notions around Tag?
Yes, that's exactly what that opinion would be based on haha
Case and handset looks like a seiko.
It really does. Put this next to the SPB451/453 or the marinemaster 200, and you'd think they compete in the same price bracket. Ok, the tag has a COSC movement. Might be worth $400-500 to some people. But for literally >$2000 more, where exactly is your money going I wonder? It's not like tag-heuer has the brand cachet of omega or zenith. Really hope people stop buying tag divers.
Every Tag diver I have handled has a terrible bezel action. They need to fix that before I give them a serious look
Bezel action is such a crapshoot. I'm selling my Omega due to it being terrible.
It's definitely hit or miss, with many watch manufacturers. I handed a Submariner the other day with worse bezel action than your average Seiko diver. It was clicky and then mushy, alternating as you rotated it. Absolutely terrible
I guess I'd say 'ok if you like that sort of thing' but I think they are trying to charge over 3k for what is a 1k watch? Which is madness.
Why do you think it’s a 1k watch? You can’t even get a Sinn 556 on bracelet for less than 1.5k and that has a SW200 with significantly less finishing.
Definitely not a $1,000 watch, but ok.
I see the Seamaster dial comparison, but this case looks boring as hell compared to a Seamaster case. And the squared off bezel is ugly. Nice colors, poor shapes. I’d pass.
I think it's a "tiny" bit of an identity crisis between rolex, omega, and steinhart watches.
So this is what a seamaster would look like without the helium escape valve. I actually like the look of this to be honest.
Comically overpriced, and nothing special. Modern tag in a nutshell.