Tudor Baselworld 2016 - When Bronze Becomes the Gold Medal...

We are live here as part of ‘Tudor Baselworld 2016’ and have just witnessed an exclusive glimpse of the new Tudor Heritage watch…the Black Bay Bronze! The Black Bay has been one of the biggest hits in years and not just in terms of Tudor’s output, but generally across all modern watches. Launched in 2012, it was the first dive watch that Tudor had reinterpreted as part of their Heritage series. Based on the foundations of the original Tudor Submariner, the reference 7922 with its no-crown-guard case and jumbo winding crown, the Black Bay was welcomed by vintage enthusiasts and modern watch lovers alike. The watches are available in three versions – Tropical Red, Midnight Blue and Black; all with stainless steel cases…until now!

Bronze is the New Black

The Black Bay Bronze is the next step in Tudor’s exciting celebration of its past glories. All your favourite elements of the original are there – domed crystal, robust no-crown-guard case with prominent winding crown, the snowflake hands, the gilt lettering on the dial and the iconic bezel. The obvious new aspect is the case material – bronze. A first for any watch out of the Wilsdorf stable, the bronze case is finished in a matte brushed effect that gives the watch a very stealth-military vibe. This is further enhanced when you see the watch on the fabric nato-esque strap. This strap is based on a strap that was worn on one of the Tudor MN watches that resides in the Tudor Museum.

More to Come

Our initial thoughts are that this is a very cool watch. As you would expect from Tudor, there has been a massive amount of research and development into the choice of composition of the alloys for this watch to ensure an even and appealing patina develops across the case. The watch is so warm when seen in person; the brown dial and insert set against the case is stunning.

We will be posting a follow up piece later this week with live pics and more information. Please check out our Instagram account for some exclusive shots of this watch and the other new releases from Tudor over the next couple of days, whilst we are here at Baselworld 2016.