Tag Heuer Aquaracer 500M WAJ2150 Watch

The Tag Heuer Aquaracer WAJ2150 bears all the hallmarks of a quintessential premium tool dive watch, but with a shockingly arrogant difference: a solid rose gold bezel insert. It looks like a ludicrous inclusion on what is essentially a superbly designed sports dive watch, but it’s a gamble that pays off very well in my opinion. The duality of the watch’s design hits you instantly: on the one hand the watch has a stark industrial-ruggedized look, which is superbly balanced with a richly engraved dial and a soft rose gold bezel.

Rugged and Classy

The classic good looks of the Aquaracer’s angular body are due to its well-proportioned form and shape. At 43mm diameter and 14mm thickness, the watch is sized just right: the body wraps beautifully around my nearly 8-inch wrist. It looks perfectly cast instead of the droopy and falling-off-your wrists look that many over-sized watches tend to give. I’m not a big fan of the Cyclops sitting atop the date window, and I’d much rather have all the crystal area dedicated to viewing the superb dial. Of course I hate the Cyclops because I don’t dive much, and the magnifier is there to give the watch impeccable diving credentials: it can do depths of 500M, and has a Helium Valve for deep diving missions.

Stands out

The watch is powered by the tried and tested Calibre-5 movement, which does its timekeeping duty pretty well. Observations measured against an atomic clock (world time server) showed that the watch was keeping time within about +/- 6 to 7 seconds, which is pretty good for a watch that is not officially Chronometer certified. Of course, the gold insert propels the watch’s price to nearly twice of what a regular Tag Heuer Aquaracer diver would cost you, but just the arrogance of having rose gold on a sports-dive watch is probably worth its price.

Made with a sense of 'elite' in mind

It is also recommended to opt for the steel-gold bracelet version of this watch, and then buy the rubber strap as an add-on. It’ll save you a significant sum if you intend on buying the bracelet on its own in the future. Overall it’s a sweet-solid watch, and there’ll always be a huge sense of occasion when you put it on—regardless of how casual or formal the event is.

Available with a rubber or steel strap

Love: Impeccable sports-diver credentials. Engraved dial. Solid rose gold bezel insert.
Hate: Cyclops. Rose gold bezel is very soft and is prone to getting dinged easily.

Callouts:
Helium Escape Valve: When Divers are resurfacing from a deep dive, and the decompression stops during resurfacing aren't long enough, a pressure difference builds up between the trapped helium inside the watch case and its environment. Depending on the construction of the watch case and crystal, this effect can cause damage to the watch, like making the crystal pop off. A helium escape valve helps in releasing these gases without causing damage to the watch.

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