Hands-On: The Tudor Black Bay Chrono ‘Blue’ Boutique Edition
This year, Tudor has had a way of breaking the expectations of what you’d expect from the sister brand of Rolex. A pink chronograph, a pair of “chameleon” watches for Formula 1’s VCARB, a production version with a blue dial, a cycling watch – none of these were on my bingo card, even for a brand that tends to be a bit more willing to experiment with design than Rolex is. So the announcement of a blue-dialed, blue-bezeled chronograph late in August might have been staid by comparison. But that might be why I liked it so much.
Keep in mind, blue is kind of the perfect color for Tudor. We’ve reached a point now where some of their product releases (other than the recent wild ones) are relatively straightforward and predictable. Release a new watch, do it in a new color, repeat. And that’s great. Almost every “normal” release – the Black Bay 58, the Black Bay 54, the Black Bay 58 GMT – has been a successful platform to iterate on (or in the case of the GMT, almost certainly to iterate on in the future). You’re also nearly guaranteed to see something in blue from the brand eventually. Why?
The Black Bay 58 Navy Blue from James Stacey’s Hands-On with the release in 2020.
Step back in time with me for a moment. Tudor has a long history with blue watches, probably more so than most other brands. Below you’ve got an MN80 “snowflake” ref. 94010 in blue, a ref. 94400 “Mini-Sub,” and two other blue Tudor submariners made over the years. Each has their own character, but each is something very different than what you were seeing from Rolex at the time. In fact, the ref. 94010 is probably one of the most iconic Tudors ever made.
Heck, even the wilder watches, like the Ranger II or Oyster Princess, were rendered in blue as an option. If there’s a Tudor color, it’s probably blue. And the new Black Bay Chrono in blue looks again much more distinctly like its own watch than a Tudor version of the Daytona, which is something the originals were kind of criticized for initially.
The Tudor Black Bay Chrono takes cues from other past Tudor chronographs as well. While at the Tudor HQ, they pulled out examples from their archives, like the ref. 7149 Monte Carlo and a Prince Oyster Date ref. 79280. Sitting somewhere in-between, the Black Bay Chrono is powered by the Tudor Manufacture Chronograph Caliber MT5813, essentially the Breitling B01 architecture, and they’ve chosen to put the date at six o’clock. The movement is COSC-certified, with 70 hours of power reserve, and with a 45-minute counter at three o’clock.
The rollout of the new “Big Block” movement that was announced with Tudor’s Only Watch release (which was withdrawn) hasn’t hit any production models yet, so the six, nine, 12 chronograph counter layout hasn’t shown up either. It’ll come, I’m sure, so if you’re on the fence and want something that’s more of a throwback, you might be better off waiting.
What they have taken from that ref. 79280 is a more bold and shiny dial. That comes from a beautiful brushed soleil finishing that catches the light. The white subdials add contrast, but you won’t be surprised to hear that not only could I do without the date at all, I think if you have to keep it, it would be nice if the window was color-matched.
The watch has a blank caseback, which is an upside of Rolex and Tudor releases and gives you a chance to engrave the watch if you want. One of the best, subtle improvements is the five-link bracelet with T-Fit. I never had an issue with the faux-riveted bracelet on the Black Bay 58, but it never really clicked for me on the Black Bay Chrono. The bracelet is a massive improvement and incredibly comfortable. It might even be that these new bracelets from Tudor are part of the reason why I’ve come around to the Rolex GMT on Jubilee, despite being a staunch Oyster guy for a long time.
The watch measures 41mm by 14.4mm with a 49.8mm lug-to-lug. I think that would qualify it as a bit on the chunkier side, but who am I to judge? I’m right there with it. It is far more water-resistant than I am, though, at 200m. Put me down that far under the water and I’d have a bad day.
I’ve said it before but even though everyone says that once they get a chronograph, they find themselves using it all the time to time things, I’m more likely to start it and forget it. That’s why I’m not the best to say if a 45-minute counter is the ideal – my gut says no – but the watch at least comes with a more usable tachymeter scale than on the Black Bay Chrono cycling edition (which, despite how nice the watch was I had a hard time imagining being used for cycling).
As a complete package, it’s probably the best Black Bay Chrono yet. Distinctly its own thing in the lineup and compared to other options up and down the board from other brands, especially Rolex. It’s certainly a modern Tudor and looking through the brand’s archives did make me a little nostalgic for not only the Monte Carlos but the Heritage Chronos of the not so distant past. More stylistic choices aren’t a bad thing and the Heritage Chronos weren’t perfect, but I guess they had to go away to make room for what might come next. Still, pour one out for the “Home Plate” and the other vintage watches that never had the same revival success the Black Bay 58 found.
The most interesting question for me is the decision between the new blue boutique edition and the pink chronograph that Tudor surprised us all with earlier this year. Now, I’m not one for bold color – call it a lack of confidence, call it the fact that I’m 6’7″ and I don’t need to draw more attention to myself – but as one friend argued for the pink watch, it was a “moment.” It was, that’s for sure. Even Tudor’s press release kind of hedged on the watch, striking a tone that was felt like “we think you’ll like it; you maybe won’t, that’s okay, but maybe you will and that’s okay, too.” It was very Midwestern “if not, no worries” vibes.
But the market went wild – we’re talking nearly four times the price on the secondary market – because of how limited the production and slow the rollout was for a very summery and very “vibey” watch. Sure, that’s cooled of, but when Tudor plopped the pink chrono on the table during my meeting, it was only my second time seeing one in person and I was still undecided. Did I like it because everyone else did and the price went crazy? Or could I actually see myself as a pink chronograph guy.
Everything else being the same – movement, case, etc. – it just depends who you are. For me, I would imagine the pink watch would be something I’d only wear once a week at most and only in the summer. Maybe it would be a bit of exposure therapy for me that opens me up to wearing more color in my life. It really is a looker, and maybe if I was taking my talents to South Beach, this is a watch I’d rock more often. The newer blue version is probably the safe bet for the average person.
For more on the new Tudor Black Bay Chrono Boutique Editions, visit the brand’s website.
Hodinkee