TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date WBP201A.BA0632

Imagen: TAG Heuer, web oficial

The storyWhy this reference matters

Heuer had no dive watch of its own until 1978, and when it finally got one it was outsourced: the reference 844 was built by the French firm Monnin, because nobody in the house had any experience with dive cases. Out of that came the Series 1000 and the Series 2000, and the twelve-sided bezel that identifies today's Aquaracer first appeared on the Series 3000 in the eighties before joining the 2000 in a 1995 redesign. The Aquaracer name didn't arrive until 2004, when the brand launched it as the 2000 Aquaracer.

This WBP201A belongs to the 2021 redesign shown at Watches and Wonders, and it is the most serious overhaul the collection has had. The case slimmed from 12.55 to 12.20 mm and the lugs were shortened so the watch sits closer to the wrist. The bezel insert went ceramic and the edge picked up fine knurling in place of the pronounced relief on the top face: better grip through a glove, and more discreet with it.

The dial changed its grammar. The indices turned octagonal to rhyme with the bezel's twelve sides, the minute hand was slimmed against the hour hand so the two can't be confused underwater, and the date dropped from three to six. The finest touch is the magnifier: it's cut into the underside of the sapphire, so the outer face of the crystal stays flat and there's no dome to snag on a wetsuit.

SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table

IdentificationHow to tell it apart

Count the sides of the bezel: twelve. That's the family signature. On this generation the insert is ceramic and the outer edge carries fine knurling instead of the pronounced relief of earlier versions. The crown is twelve-sided too, screw-down, and flanked by crown guards redrawn in 2021.

The date sits at six, not three. That one fact separates this generation from every earlier Aquaracer. Above it is a magnifier that doesn't stand proud, because it's machined into the inner face of the crystal: if you see a cyclops mounted on the outside, it isn't a 2021 Professional 300.

The suffix settles the matter. BA0632 means the integrated steel bracelet; the same case on rubber carries a different suffix, such as FT6197. And the letter in the middle separates dial and bezel: the A in WBP201A is the black version, B the blue. 43 mm across, 12.20 mm thick, 300 metres.

CollectingWhat collectors check

TAG Heuer already lists this reference as discontinued on its own site, so everything out there is second-hand. That doesn't make it rare, it just means condition sets the price. Check the bezel: ceramic doesn't scratch, but it chips, and a flake off the edge of the insert can't be repaired and is expensive to replace.

The movement is a Calibre 5, the Sellita SW200-1 architecture with 26 jewels, 4 Hz and 38 hours of reserve. It's the closest thing Swiss watchmaking has to a van engine: any watchmaker can open it, regulate it and find parts without fuss. If a seller presents it as in-house, they're selling smoke — though the watch itself is still a good one.

The clasp has up to 1.5 cm of fine adjustment, and it's the first part to go loose over the years. Open and close the bracelet a few times and check the extension mechanism doesn't wobble. And if the watch has lived in salt water, ask for a recent pressure test: 300 metres only counts while the gaskets and the screw-down crown are doing their job.

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