The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph Goes Full Titanium

The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional has taken significant strides over the past couple of years in both design and form, while simultaneously offering multidimensional models across the entire collection. Examples include the green dialed titanium diver with the Aquaracer Professional 300, a fully lumed dial with the Aquaracer Professional Night Diver, and the introduction of the Aquaracer Professional 200 line, which packaged their flagship dive watch into a tidy 40mm case and refined some of the design elements in the process. With all of these signs pointing in the right direction for the brand, the table is set for TAG Heuer to continue their momentum in 2023, and boy, do they do so with the release of the Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph.

TAG Heuer takes the Aquaracer Professional 200 further by going lighter with this new iteration of the Solargraph. All of the case components, including the case body, bezel, and caseback, as well as the accompanying bracelet, are built from grade 2 titanium. Unlike the more refined versions of the Aquaracer Professional 200, there isn’t a hint of polish on the case. Instead, every millimeter of the case and bracelet gets a sand blasted finish giving this diver a more resolute and utilitarian aesthetic.

The bezel maintains the signature twelve-sided shape with each facet housing a set of six bezel teeth. The black numerals and markers are displayed in-relief, once again keeping the same design language within the Professional 200 line. It’s minimal at a glance, and the lack of a fully indexed bezel allows for full appreciation of the textured titanium bezel left behind from the sand-blasted finish. On the underside of the case, a compass emblem is centered on the titanium screw caseback and ensures that not a drop of water can penetrate the light-weight case, even at a depth of 200 meters. The final titanium component brings the whole thing together in the form of a three-link titanium bracelet equipped with a folding clasp, dual-button deployant system, and an integrated clasp extension. The bracelet is uniform in finish with the case, and as whole, the Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph oozes tool watch vibes.

The dial sports the shutter-like design we’re used to seeing on the Aquaracer. Invisible to the naked eye however, is a dial that is also semi-translucent, allowing light to filter through and to be absorbed by a solar cell underneath. A shutter dial indeed. In a watch where everything looks subtle and matted, the black polished applied trapezoidal markers and hand set stand out even more. A splash of color is found within the polar blue accents surrounding the dial, lacquered seconds hand and the “Solargraph” wordmark. Once again, it’s a very subtle use of color, but against the discreet sunray black dial and a visually subdued case, the blue really pops.

Powered by sunlight, as well as artificial light, the La-Joux Perret manufactured TH50-00 found within the Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph can run up to six months with no light exposure on a full charge. That’s a heck of a power reserve if you ask me, especially when you consider the watch needs two minutes of direct sunlight to fully charge for the day and less than 20 hours in the sun to achieve full power capacity. And if for some reason the watch does stop ticking, the movement is so efficient that it only takes approximately ten seconds to get the seconds hand moving again. Worth noting that the base of this movement is the Citizen E168 which is a solar quartz movement found across the different Eco-Drive models within the Promaster line, which are solid watches with dependable movements from my personal experience from owning a couple.

So it seems that our predictions for more titanium and quartz watches in 2023 are off to a strong start, and TAG Heuer blends the two features perfectly. TAG Heuer already provides a very appealing watch with the Aquaracer Professional 200 due to its sweet spot in case sizing at 40mm and a more streamlined dial design. The addition of a titanium model and the solar movement makes the watch all the more intriguing.

Some cringe at the slightest mention of quartz and others might turn their nose up towards the idea all together. I’ve owned a solar quartz watch for a couple of years now, and I must say, it’s been a joy to wear. There’s something to be said that’s low maintenance, dependable, and looks good doing its thing all at the same time. I’ve mentioned recently on the podcast that I would love to see more brands offer up more quartz options for a multitude of reasons. It’s something that was done on a normal basis from luxury brands and for some reason, we haven’t seen it recently. TAG Heuer deserves some props here, as they’ve introduced the concept within the Professional 200 collection.

The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph retails for $3,050 which is the same exact price as the inaugural DLC coated steel Solargraph that was released last year. Be on the lookout for the new solar-titanium model next month. TAG Heuer