Heuer has now become a household name - albeit under different ownership than founded it, namely TAG Heuer, which took over in the mid-1980s. This full-serviced massive form-follows-function matte-color bead-blasted 1984 TAG Heuer Super Professional Ref. 840.006 here is a great example of a design TAG didn’t mess with after it assumed control of the company, before it began making some...questionable design choices.
But none of that here...
The Super Pro was one of the last proper ‘tool’ watches designed by Heuer before TAG acquired them in the mid 80’s, and the Ref. 840 diver represents old-school Heuer design in an oversize professional diver package. Mid-1980's TAG Heuer divers, in particular divers like this one, are not common in any condition, and for good reason - they represent a bygone era for Heuer. Heuer achieved great success in stepping out from the traditional geometry of the dive watch during this era, building a range of models that would be in its catalog for almost 20 years.
Heuer began making dive watches in 1978, with its legendary Ref. 844 (with a 200 meter depth rating), and joined the 1000-meter depth rating club in 1982 with the Ref. 840.006 in 1984. The 1000-meter depth rating club is – and remains – an exclusive one. The watch, named the “Super Professional,” had an appearance unlike any diver previously made by Heuer. And for good reason – it wasn’t designed for mere pleasing aesthetics, it was designed with the professional deep sea diver in mind.
Per TAG Heuer, “Looking at the watches from the 1960s and 1970s that have the 1000 depth rating, we see two basic styles of construction. The first 1000-meter dive watches from the 1960s used thick monobloc cases, which have a solid back and provide access to the movement by removing the crystal. An alternative approach is to follow the basic geometry of a more conventional dive watch, with the case being thicker to house the seals required for the enhanced waterproofing. In producing the Deep Dive watch, Heuer took this later approach, using a conventional style case similar to the reference 844 model, made thicker to achieve the 1000 depth rating.”
From Fratello’s Michael Stockton, “…I have a full-on crush on today’s make and model, the TAG Heuer Super Professional. To me, it’s one of the wilder, purpose-built watches from the 1980’s and into the 2000’s. It was apparently expensive, built like a brick sh*t-house, and I think pretty freakin’ cool… From a brand that had been making some barely warmed-over quartz crap divers and other things masquerading as Rolex Sub knockoffs, the Super Pro was a serious departure. Armed with a front-loading case, a bezel that looks like it could, and happily would, kick the ass out of Jaws, this diver was good down to 1000 meters.”
The Super Professional would enjoy a long stay in the Heuer and TAG Heuer catalogs, launched with “Heuer” on the dial, but soon thereafter transitioning to the “TAG Heuer” logo; it would make its exit in the early 2000s. The Super Professional was available in two models – a more common model with a stainless-steel bead-blasted case and a second version with a gold-colored bezel.
With the Super Professional designed as a Rolex Submariner-destroyer, Heuer demonstrated that it could move from the traditional style dive watch to a model that was purpose-built for professionals. Its monobloc case, with a quite prominent bezel, was unlike any dive watch previously made by Heuer – or really, any other company in the industry.
This Heuer comes with its original Heuer-signed bracelet, nylon strap, spring bar tool, and rugged travel case.
1984 TAG Heuer Super Professional Ref. 840.006 Deep Sea Diver, w/Heuer Box
DIAL: Unblemished TAG Heuer-signed dial and hour, minute, and second hands (the hour and minute hands reflect a new style for Heuer, being wider than previous models); date function at 3 o’clock position functions as designed. Dial lume - including its seven bezel pips - glow. Dial and hands follow a traditional style – triangle at 12 o’clock, date at 3 o’clock, dashes at 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions, and dots to mark all remaining hours. All are considerably larger than seen on previous Heuer divers, consistent with the exaggerated size of the deep-diving Super Professional case.
BEZEL: Unidirectional bezel is in great condition, and ratchets w/a satisfying click. Inlaid lume in “pips” remain intact, and lume throughout remains bright following exposure to strong light.
CASE: Large monobloc TAG Heuer matte-color bead-blasted case measures 44mm (45.5mm w/crown) x 43mme. The Ref. 840s solid, one-piece case is atypically thick at 14mm, without a removable case-back to ensure the diver operates reliably at depth. To access the movement, the bezel must be removed, followed by the inner ring and crystal, to access the dial and movement. We have successfully pressure-tested this watch (albeit, not to 1000 meters).
CRYSTAL: Correct six mm thick (!!) saphire crystal, with no cracks, scratches, or blemishes.
BAND: Stainless-steel matte-color TAG Heuer-signed bracelet, links remain tight and will fit up to a 7.5-inch wrist (or an 8.5-inch wrist if the wetsuit extender is extended). This Heuer also comes with a black nylon strap.
MOVEMENT: TAG Heuer-signed ETA 2892 automatic movement. We have performed a full service on this watch.
CROWN: Heuer-signed screw-down crown.
Of note, this TAG Heuer Super Professional comes with a TAG Heuer box.