Tudor Black Bay Watches

About Tudor Black Bay

The Black Bay is one of the newer additions to the Tudor family of watches. The brand first released the model in 2012. It became the third piece of their heritage collection, which started with a chronograph and later an alarm watch. The Black Bay pays homage to Tudor’s early dive watches from the mid-1950s.

There are a number of historical characteristics seen in the Black Bay, like the gilt lettering and rose dial. In addition, the model features a big crown with snowflake hands, which used to be a trademark feature for Tudor. At first, this combination was polarizing with fans of the brand. However, the Black Bay isn’t a reincarnation of any particular dive watch from the past. Instead, it serves as a tribute to the best of Tudor’s dive watches of the twentieth century.

First, the Black Bay draws inspiration from the very first Tudor Submariner, Ref. 7922, which originally debuted in 1954. This model featured an 8mm “Big Crown.” This characteristic influenced the design of the crown, dial, and overall styling of the Black Bay.

Then, Tudor looked to the Snowflake Submariner, Ref. 7021, which launched about a decade later in 1967. For the Black Bay, Tudor revived the once iconic snowflake hands. In addition, they incorporated some bezel stylings from the Ref. 7021.

Since its inception, the Black Bay has seen developments and modifications in a number of different variations. Two years after the initial Black Bay released, Tudor unveiled a new, cool silver and midnight blue color scheme for the model. This was a welcome contrast to the original model featuring a red bezel and warm dial with rose gold accents.

In 2015, the brand created a unique reference for the Only Watch charity auction: the Black Bay One, Ref. 7923/001. The watch ended up selling for over 100 times its retail price. Later that year, Tudor released the Black Bay Black in a striking black color scheme, as the name suggests.

2016 marked a significant moment for the Black Bay. Tudor debuted the Black Bay Bronze with an in-house manufactured movement. Later that year, they released the Black Bay 36, a smaller 36mm variation of the model. They also launched the Black Bay Dark, an all-black PVD-coated model with an in-house and chronometer certified movement.

Tudor continued to grow the Black Bay collection in 2017 with the introduction of six new versions. First, they launched the Black Bay Steel, a sleek brushed steel variation with a black dial and date window. Next, they released a model in partnership with Breitling, the Black Bay Chronograph, Ref. 79350. Later in 2017, they unveiled the Black Bay 41, a larger, more modern version of the Black Bay 36. Then, they debuted the Black Bay Steel and Gold. Lastly, Tudor created two special edition models. The first was for the iconic retailer Bucherer’s 130th birthday, the Black Bay Bronze Blue. The second was for the annual Only Watch auction: the Black Bay Bronze One. The model ended up selling for over $350,000.

In 2018, Tudor launched two more iterations of the model: the Black Bay Fifty-Eight and the Black Bay GMT. The most notable feature of the Black Bay Fifty-Eight is its more modest size. It measures just 39mm as opposed to the typical 41mm. The debut of the Black Bay GMT was certainly an interesting one for Tudor. The model features the iconic Pepsi dial attributed to the popular GMT Master II from the brand’s parent company, Rolex, who also released a new Pepsi version of their GMT in 2018.

2019 saw the introduction of four new variations of the Black Bay, including one for the Only Watch auction. First, Tudor added a new dial option for the Black Bay Bronze, this time in slate grey. In addition, they added a two-tone option for the Black Bay Chronograph. Then, Tudor launched the Black Bay P01. This new iteration draws inspiration from a unique prototype of a military diver the brand developed in the 1960s. The design features a twelve-hour bezel and new case shape with distinctive placement of the crown at the four-o’clock position. It also showcases a hefty bezel locking system that employs a claw-like mechanism fixed between the lugs. Last but not least, Tudor unveiled a striking all-black ceramic Black Bay for the Only Watch auction.