TAG Heuer’s Sundowner Returns With The Mechanical Heart Collectors Begged For

When TAG Heuer and Time+Tide released the original Aquaracer Solargraph Sundowner in November 2024, all 250 pieces sold out within 24 hours. Collectors had one consistent complaint, though. It ran on solar power instead of a proper mechanical movement.

Two years on, TAG Heuer and the Melbourne-founded watch platform Time+Tide have fixed that. The new Aquaracer Professional 300 x Time+Tide Sundowner II drops the solar calibre for an automatic one, and the marketing line puts it neatly. The first Sundowner was powered by the sun, while this one is powered by the person wearing it.

Time+Tide founder Andrew McUtchen calls it a “crowd-inspired sequel”, and says the brief was more than just swapping the movement. The aim was one watch that could handle the harshest Australian conditions and still look sharp with a suit at an evening function.

Out Of The Outback, Into The Surf

The first Sundowner took its cues from the red dirt of the outback. This time the inspiration has moved to the coast, which TAG Heuer’s ANZ general manager Van Mulryan says was deliberate. The brief now covers surfboards and scuba gear as much as long drives inland.

You can see that on the dial. TAG Heuer stamps wave ridges into a brass plate, adds a black sunray finish, then coats it in a transparent varnish so it shifts and shimmers as the light changes. It’s the Aquaracer’s familiar horizontal pattern turned into something closer to a swell line.

The colour scheme is the original’s, only moodier. The 12-sided grey ceramic bezel carries rose gold-toned markings, and the applied indexes, hands and both logos are 18K 5N rose gold-plated. The Time+Tide logo sits small above Swiss Made at five o’clock, and the date window has gone completely, which leaves the wave pattern uninterrupted. Against the sandblasted titanium, the warm accents look a lot like the last bit of light before sundown, which is exactly the point.

Bigger, Blacker And Properly Capable

Inside is the Calibre TH31-01, a COSC-certified automatic with an 80-hour power reserve. Take it off on Friday night and it’ll still be running when you strap it on again on Monday.

The case is 42mm of Grade 2 sandblasted titanium, 12mm thick and 48mm lug to lug. Water resistance goes up to 300 metres, a real step up from the first watch, with a steel screw-down crown and a titanium screwed caseback engraved with a Time+Tide logo. A flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating finishes it off.

At 42mm it’s bigger than many divers being released right now. But titanium keeps the weight down, and a 48mm lug-to-lug measurement should suit most Australian wrists better than the diameter suggests.

Pick Your Version Quickly

There are two versions, and both are harder to get than the original. The black rubber strap model comes with a titanium folding clasp and micro-adjustment, and is limited to 450 pieces worldwide at AU$7,700.

The one that will cause trouble is the titanium three-link bracelet version. Only 50 will be made, at AU$8,650, and given how quickly the first Sundowner sold, those will probably be gone before most people finish reading this.

It’s rare for a sequel to beat the original, but this one has a fair claim. TAG Heuer and Time+Tide listened to the main criticism, added real dive capability and kept the Australian character. Plenty of people who missed out in 2024 will be hoping for better luck this time.