Early Aquaracer Automatics WAB2010/WAB2011

I'm not sure if these are actually the first generation of Aquaracer automatic or really where the Aquaracer line started though I'm sure Dave would know, but I remember when these came out in about 2009 with the Australian dollar doing quite well I was incredibly impressed by how much watch you actually got for the money. I was actually impressed by them so much that I actually bought two of them, both the black dial ( WAB2010 ) and then later on the blue dial ( WAB2011 ).

The styling was always quite traditional dive watch, a little similar to both the Rolex Submariner and the Seamaster Pro, specs were about the same, powered by an ETA based automatic and rated at 300M it was a properly durable diver which was exactly what I needed to compliment my non-waterproof vintage watches in wet weather and the bracelet was actually rather excellent, with links that folded in the middle to make it extra flexible.

The incredible part was that the black dial was just under $1k and the blue dial was just over it, for a proper high quality 300M diver.



After the black I actually saw the blue dial in person and ended up buying that one as rather like the Rolex two-tone blue dial its a metallic starburst colour that looks far better in person than it does in photos on the internet. I've since passed this one on to my nephew who hasn't taken it off since but I still can't think of a 300M heavy duty diver as good as these for anywhere near the price range second hand. Its great to see this line has been evolving continuously into a style very unique to TAG Heuer with the 500M series and beyond.

Actually only just noticed the black dial says Aquaracer Automatic 300 Meters, while the blue dial just says Automatic 300 Meters, are these different generations themselves?

I remember when you had that blue one, I thought it was matte like the black from pictures. In person, it had one of the nicest metallic sunburst dials I’ve seen, and the lume was pretty decent. I think you were wearing the 1680 Sub on a 93150 bracelet with the stamped clasp at the time, and the current Rolex was still the 16610 with the same stamped clasp (the ceramic wasn’t out yet, at least in Australia. The Aquaracer had a better bracelet than those Subs at a tiny fraction of the price.

Ahk I was always wondering where the Aquaracer line actually started, so I guess that means they're a lot older than I thought they were though the papers on both showed they were sold 4-5 years later.