History of the line
Heuer's dive line debuted in 1978 with reference 844, developed by Jack Heuer together with the French case maker Monnin. The stated aim was to offer professional divers a rugged but more accessible alternative to the Rolex Submariner, then the benchmark in the category: thus the "Diver Professional" was born, with a barrel-shaped case and water resistance that was high by the standards of the time.
The collection's name changed several times over the next three decades, following the reorganisations of the TAG Heuer catalogue: from the 1978 "Diver Professional" it became, in the 1980s, the "1000" series — which also included "Deep Dive" variants water-resistant to 1,000 metres — then in 1995 the "Series 2000", further divided in 1998 into the Classic, Exclusive and Sport sub-lines. It was only in 2004 that the Series 2000 Exclusive sub-line was renamed "Series 2000 Aquaracer", a name then simplified to just "Aquaracer" the following year, in 2005: an identity the collection still keeps today.
Since then the Aquaracer has continued to evolve while remaining true to its original mission as a rugged, accessible dive watch: the range has been redesigned several times, with steel cases of around 40-43 mm, unidirectional rotating bezels, sapphire crystals and — in the most recent generations — in-house manufacture movements such as the TH31-00, with power reserves of up to 80 hours. Today the line includes Professional 200, 300 and 1000 versions, testament to the same diving vocation that drove the 1978 reference 844.
Technical specifications (1978 model)
Main versions in the history of the line
The "Aquaracer" name did not appear on the watch until 2004-2005: over the twenty-six years since 1978, Heuer/TAG Heuer's dive line had already changed identity several times — Diver Professional, then "1000", then Series 2000 — before finding the name that defines it today.