Launch date: October, 2010The TAG Heuer AQUARACER 500M Automatic Chronograph
In professional diving, pressure is not just a metaphor. It’s 1,000 kilos a cubic metre. A watch that can withstand this crushing force, not to 50 or 100 but to 500 metres under water, is no more an “accessory” than a diving mask or an oxygen tank. Without it — to check elapsed time, to time safety stops during ascent — you shouldn’t be in the water.
The TAG Heuer AQUARACER 500M AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH (44MM) more than meets the requirements. The first chronograph in the AQUARACER 500M series, its robust, fully functional design addresses very specific demands — great visibility and easy handling under water, extreme resilience, and safety features you can count on in even the most severe conditions.
It is also a sophisticated work of contemporary design. The wide diameter case (44mm) is in polished and fine-brushed steel. The unidirectional turning bezel is in fine-brushed steel with a “soft touch” black coating on the top. The bezel’s polished “easy-grip” studs are grooved on the sides to facilitate handling, even with diving gloves. An automatic helium valve is integrated into the case at 10 o’clock. This one-way valve is activated when the differential between the inner and the outside pressure reaches a critical level.
The 3 counters on the vertically streaked black dial give chronograph hour (6 o’clock), chronograph minute (12 o’clock) and running second (9 o’clock). “AQUARACER 500M” is written above the date window at 3 o’clock, which has a magnifying lens for easier legibility. The name of the automatic chronograph’s famous movement — “CALIBRE 16 - AUTOMATIC” — is written at 6 o’clock on the chronograph hour dial. For the strap, there are two classic TAG Heuer options: black rubber or a three-row bracelet in fine-brushed steel with polished central row and edges.