Jewellery & Watch News
Following the recent TAG Heuer watch releases unveiled at the Watches & Wonders 2024 event, the Swiss brand has released some modified Aquaracer watch designs that boast new cases and dials. C W Sellors takes a look at the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT Watches.
Why You Need a Watch Like the Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT
A GMT watch is a timepiece with a 24-hour hand that can help track an additional time zone. At the same time, you can track the central hours and minutes as your local time, regardless of where you are in the world. Sometimes the GMT watch can be confused with those that feature two 12-hour scales, but a GMT watch always has a 24-hour scale. The three letters stand for Greenwich Mean Time, which was established in the late 1800s in London as the zero point of reference to which all other 24 world cities adhere to. If Dallas is -6 GMT, this means that it’s 6 hours behind London. If it’s midday in Dallas, it must be 6 pm (18:00) in London. You can track GMT anywhere in the world, so long as you know the time difference of your current location. So, if you travel frequently on business and you want to decide the best time to call family or friends back at home in London, you’d simply set the Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT on the 24-hour bezel, aligning it with the GMT hand, keeping your local time on the main hands of the dial.
Today, GMT watches like the Professional 300 GMT from TAG Heuer are used and enjoyed by anyone who wants to track two time zones at once. You don’t have to be an avid traveller to make use of the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT watches, just like you don’t need to be a professional diver to wear them either. In fact, you don’t even need to dive at all. Collectors love the robust and rugged durability of an Aquaracer watch from TAG Heuer. The models are all equipped with 300-meter water resistance, making them great companions for outdoor adventures and everyday wear. If you’ve managed to catch sight of the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date watches, you’ll see that there are many shared similarities between these designs and the new GMT versions. They both follow the same design evolution. TAG Heuer experts have made some subtle changes to the case dimensions and the dial. These modifications, however, have a surprisingly large impact on the ergonomics and functionality of the design. Read on to find out more…
The New TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT Watches
The new Professional 300 GMT watches from TAG Heuer are all crafted from stainless steel and offer a 300-meter water-resistant housing for a reliable automatic movement. The Calibre TH31-03 is a self-winding movement that performs at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour and promises COSC-certified accuracy that bumps the manufacturer’s warranty up to an impressive five years. The movement also features an 80-hour power reserve and sits concealed behind a specially engraved caseback that depicts the brand’s iconic diver’s helmet image. The crown at 3 o’clock has also been ergonomically designed to promote an easier grip. These modifications combine with a downsized case of 42mm from the previous 43mm size. The lug-to-lug measurement is also considerably smaller, while the depth of the case now measures 12mm. Also, the proportions of the case seem to have only changed very little, these amendments make a world of difference, allowing the watch to wear more comfortably on smaller wrists.
The dial is an area where we see more changes. Experts at TAG Heuer have changed the former horizontal pattern on the dial to a stylish wave effect, which is now enhanced thanks to lacquer on the surface of the display. This patterned surface gives the dial a more fluid and translucent finish. It provides a beautiful backdrop to a set of luminous-coated hour markers and hands, along with a 6 o’clock date aperture underneath a cyclops window. These features are all protected by a strong piece of scratch-resistant and anti-reflective sapphire crystal glass.
As for the colour combinations, you can choose to enjoy the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT watch in a blue and black version or a green and black version. The latter is only available on a steel bracelet, similar to the Professional 300 Date releases. But the blue version can be enjoyed either on the stainless-steel bracelet option or a matching blue rubber band. Either way, both straps feature a stainless steel folding clasp engraved with the TAG Heuer shield and a push-button release mechanism, as well as a fine adjustment system that enables the wrist to expand or contract depending on the conditions it is worn in.
The bezel around the outside of the dial is where we see the major difference between the functionality of the Date version and the GMT version. In the Date iterations, the bezel is the unidirectional rotating type that has been designed for diver safety. It can be aligned with the minute hand on the dial to measure elapsed time underwater, but will only rotate in the counter-clockwise direction so that it never accidentally extends dive time underwater. The difference with the GMT version is that it displays the 24-hour scale for tracking the additional time zone. The bezel is filled with ceramic, which offers colour fade resistance and scratch-resistant properties. The bezels are also two-tone in design to represent the daytime and nighttime hours. Whether you opt for the green or blue version of the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT watch, the additional time zone is always super easy to read thanks to the solid colour on the GMT hand. Instead of only offering a coloured triangular tip as seen in many GMT watches, these models feature a full green or blue hand depending on the model you choose.
If you’d like more information on the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT watches, you can call and speak to a member of our C W Sellors sales team on 01335 216004 or email us a question at sales@cwsellors.co.uk
