The legendary Black Bay

12/11/2021

by Chuang Peck Ming



THE Tudor Black Bay was an overnight sensation. Launched in 2012, it won a Grand Prix d'Horlorgerie Geneve prize in the following year. The model celebrates 60 years of diving watches with extraordinary heritage. The model is widely recognised by the domed dial and crystal present in the first Tudor diving timepieces. Its prominent winding "big crown" came straight from the famous 7924 reference of 1958. The characteristic angular "snowflake" hands are inherited from the large number of watches made for the French National Navy in the 1970s.

Since 2016, Black Bay watches have been powered by a high-performance mechanical movement (MT5602) of excellent precision and proven robustness. The Tudor in-house movement, which has a power reserve of 70 hours, is regulated by a variable inertia oscillator with silicon balance spring - a guarantee of its robustness. The movement is certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute, popularly known as COSC. The Black Bay model has a 41mm-wide stainless steel case and is waterproof to 200m. It comes in a steel bracelet as well as an aged leather strap and strap in matching fabric: black or burgundy for the watch with burgundy bezel, blue for the version with black bezel and red triangle.

The straps are made in the Jacquard technique according to traditional methods by a 100-year-old family business from the St-Etienne region of France. These straps are a signature feature of Tudor's Black Bay line.

There are 3 variants of the Black Bay watch, each with its own personality.

The original version has the soft and warm patina of an antique timepiece, featuring a burgundy bezel, black dial, rose-gold hands and markers and cream luminescent coating.

The "Midnight Blue" or Tudor Black Bay with blue bezel displays the ice-cold face and sharp contrasts that lend the watch the look of a professional technical instrument. Then there's the Tudor Black Bay "Black" watch. It is considered to be the one that best captures the pioneer spirit of the first Tudor diving watches.