TAG Heuer and Time+Tide are doing a sequel. The Aquaracer Professional 300 “Sundowner II” is a sandblasted titanium diver with a grey ceramic bezel and rose gold markings, limited to 500 pieces. Fifty are on the bracelet at $5,750 and 450 are on rubber at $5,100. The first Sundowner was a run of 250 and sold out in a day. This run is double that, which is a thin reason to relax.
What changed from the first one
The original was built on the solar-powered Solargraph Aquaracer. This one moves the same look onto the mechanical Aquaracer Professional 300. The case is sandblasted grade-2 titanium, 42mm across, 12mm thick and 48mm lug to lug. The bezel is now a grey ceramic insert, with rose gold inlaid markings that match the applied indices and the hands. The dial keeps the wavy pattern from the standard mechanical Aquaracer, here in an even varnished black. The Time+Tide logo sits at six o’clock.
Inside
The movement is the TH31-01 automatic, which Sellita-AMT produces. It has an 80-hour power reserve, beats at 4 Hz, runs hours, minutes and seconds, and is COSC certified. The caseback is solid and water resistance is 300 meters.
| Bracelet | Rubber strap | |
|---|---|---|
| Reference | WBP5185.BF0010 | WBP5184.FT6257 |
| Price | $5,750 | $5,100 |
| Run | 50 pieces | 450 pieces |
| Finish | Sandblasted titanium bracelet | Rubber with sandblasted titanium deployant |
The numbers that matter
The bracelet costs $650 more and makes up 10 percent of the run. Nine out of ten Sundowner IIs will be on rubber. The bracelet is the scarce one, so that’s the version to watch on the secondary market. If 250 pieces cleared in a day, doubling the run doesn’t obviously change how this ends.
Our read
Moving the Sundowner look from solar to mechanical widens the audience. It picks up the people who wanted the style but not the solar movement. The grey ceramic insert is a reasonable stand-in for the earlier unibody bezel. At $5,100 on rubber you’re getting a COSC titanium diver with 80 hours of reserve, and the collaboration and the limited run are what you’re paying extra for.
Available through Time+Tide and TAG Heuer.