Here is a relatively rare beastie, a perfect TAG Heuer 200M “Spirotechnique” automatic professional diver’s watch. No, not the quartz version, of which there are many, but the Automatic edition which contains the venerable ETA2824-2 movement.

Yes, very rare indeed!

When you think of Heuer watches, you immediately think of Motorsport in the 60s. Heuer were experts in the field of Chronographs, producing icons such as the Monza, Silverstone, Monaco and who could forget the Carrera. In the ’60s, Heuer was the watch to be seen wearing on your wrist, if you were serious about your “Sport”.

However, by the mid to late 70s, recreational sport was changing from being primarily land-based, and a new world of underwater sport was emerging. SCUBA Diving was becoming the new sport-de-jour.

La Spirotechnique was founded in France in 1947 and was at the vanguard of this new world, offering high-end “Professional” diving equipment; including the very first Aqua-Lung regulator invented by the engineer, Emile Gagnan and the “Grandfather” of SCUBA diving, Jacques Yves Cousteau!

As part of Spirotechnique’s “Professional” range of equipment, a good dive-watch was imperative, and as dive-watch technology progressed, their logo has appeared on several watch brands’ dials including Dodane, Squale, Triton, Auricoste, and let’s not forget DOXA. All companies that were inextricably linked through family or “close-friend” connections. The Swiss watch industry was, and still is, a very small world and as it happens, Heuer was “family” too.

It must be said, despite the connections, little is known about these TAG Heuer watches. With Heuer’s turbulent takeover, by TAG, in the early ’80s, any historical data, including serial numbers and even overall production figures was lost.

It was probably put in a skip.

These watches do not appear in contemporary TAG Heuer catalogues either, as, like other “Professional” products, they were sold through specialist dive shops rather than traditional jewellers.

So, both mysterious and a bit of an enigma, but worthy of any serious collector’s attention!

Our 200M Spirotechnique is in fine fettle having just been fully serviced and its ETA2824-2 movement is running like a trooper.

The dial and hands, both of which are original, show a wonderful cream patina to the applied Tritium that compliments the gilt “Spirotechnique” wording above the date aperture and the “SCUBA Diver” logo between 7 and 8 o’clock.
It just looks right.

The case and bezel show it’s been used as intended, but sympathetically, nonetheless. To our eyes, it looks unpolished with the case edges showing gentle wear commensurate with being worn under a cuff, rather than on top of a diving suit. The original crown completes the picture perfectly.

Unfortunately, the metal bracelet has been lost to the annuls of time, so we have matched one of our new ChronoDuo Premium NATO Straps, in Sand, to it and it looks extremely handsome!

There can be no doubt, that the TAG Heuer “Spirotechnique” is a legendary watch, that was at the forefront of the new SCUBA diving craze. It firmly established TAG, as a Professional Tool Watch manufacturer, both above and below the sea.

Wow, we didn’t mention Rolex once!