Tudor Black Bay 79230R

Evolution of the legend

The Tudor Black Bay was launched in 2012 and since then, it is the brand’s largest success. In latest iteraton, Black Bay proves that even the smallest details make a big difference.

First of all, it has a great look, inspired by the 1950s and 1960s divers of the brand with some elements that vintage collectors cherish, as for example the specific lugs, the absence of crown protection and the oversized crown, or the retro Snowflake hands. This is one of the most popular Tudor watches ever, and it is not a surprise. It is of course a bit bigger than its ancestors, at 41 mm in diameter.

Even the strap has the same, nostalgic feel – and because of that, we are presenting the Black Bay on its aged leather strap, which gives it a close-to-the-wrist, very comfortable fit and a feeling of bespoke toughness that's incredibly appealing.

Tudor Black Bay accurately recreates past vintage cues, with modern size and powerful movement

For its new edition of the Tudor Black Bay, the brand had to show the subtle evolution in a way. What we talk about here is minimal evolution.

In order to mark the arrival of a renowed COSC certified in-house movement, the “smile” that was printed at 6, with “Rotor – Self-Winding” is now replaced by more classical inscriptions linked to the pedigree of the movement. We now find two lines of text with “Chronometer – Officially Certified”, just below the proudly marked respectable 200m depth rate inscription.

The most striking detail however is the bezel, with its sophisticated burgundy red aluminum insert. The metallic red tone shifts from bright red to a darker burgundy depending on how the light hits it. The nostalgic big crown sits proudly with no crown guards, and bears a logo of the famous Tudor rose.

MT5602 - An important innovation

At Tudor atelier, improvements never stops. First of all, movement is now COSC certified, which will guarantee impressive level of chronometer precision. Then, it offers a comfortable power reserve of 70 hours, in comparison to the 38h before. That’s literally enough to have your watch in the safe for an entire weekend and to have it running when strapping it on the next Monday morning.

Finally, it features a silicon balance spring, which will definitely help the Tudor Black Bay to resist to magnetic fields and knowing that we are surrounded by magnets in our daily lives, this is an important detail.