STYLE Edit: Tudor’s 4 new Black Bay watches get a glamorous update with polished yellow gold, optional diamond set bezels, and a specially designed calibre to power the collection’s new smaller pieces

Jan 16 , 2023

Tudor’s latest Black Bay watches come in four sizes and are fitted with manufacture calibres. Photos: Tudor

Few timepieces get watch aficionados more excited than Tudor’s much-loved Black Bay. Since it was introduced in 2012, the collection of chic, retro-styled diving watches has been flying off the shelves every time a new model is introduced.

Taking aesthetic cues from the classic Tudor Submariner, the watches in the Black Bay collection combine that highly desirable design with state-of-the-art technology and superlative levels of precision and reliability. Now, with the release of a range of new timepieces – the Black Bay 31, 36, 39 and 41 S&G – the collection moves in a fresh direction, incorporating polished yellow gold for an altogether more glamorous, sophisticated appeal.

Tudor has been a favourite of discerning watch lovers ever since it was launched in 1946 by Hans Wilsdorf, also the founder of Rolex, who wanted to offer watches of uncompromising quality and style at a more approachable price point. In addition to Black Bay, it has also become known for a series of iconic collections that include Pelagos, 1926 and Royal.

The Black Bay line retains its rugged look in larger sizes but also comes in smaller fits. Photo: Tudor

The new Black Bay watches, which are designed for cross-gender appeal, come in four different sizes, each of them boasting a warm, welcoming, curvilinear silhouette, accompanied by a new curved winding crown. Also new for the Black Bay collection is the use of polished yellow gold on the bezel and crown, complementing the 316L stainless steel of the case – previously any gold accents on Black Bay watches have been satin-brushed. Adding to the new watches’ use of precious materials, the three smaller options also come with the option of diamond-set bezels.

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A diving watch with a difference: the latest Black Bay models can be blinged up with diamonds.

Since 2016, all Black Bay models have been powered by Tudor’s own in-house movements, and beating at the heart of the new models are calibre MT5201 for the 31mm version, MT5400 for the 36mm, MT5602 for the 39mm and MT5601 for the 41mm, all of them equipped with a silicon balance spring and certified as chronometers by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute. The first of these calibres is a new development from Tudor, specifically designed to power smaller-sized watches. The large- and medium-sized calibres all come with a 70-hour power reserve, while MT5201 comes with one that lasts 50 hours.

The black or silver dials of the new watches come with all the design touches you’d expect from a Black Bay. They include the so-called snowflake hands with their distinctive square-shaped tips, a defining feature of Tudor divers’ watches since they were first introduced in 1969, as well as the more recent addition of Grade A Swiss Super-LumiNova pigment to improve the dial’s legibility.

The new version of the Black Bay is made in steel and yellow gold, anchored to a five-link bracelet and clasp with rapid adjustment. Photo: Tudor

Each of the new models is complemented by a five-link bracelet that echoes the case and bezel in its use of 316L steel and yellow gold, and that features a robust Tudor clasp equipped with the brand’s unique, ingenious “T-fit” rapid adjustment system.

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It allows the wearer to instantly adjust the length of the bracelet into any of five positions, offering up to 8mm of variation, without the use of any tools.

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Style Edit

Launched by Rolex’s founder Hans Wilsdorf in 1946, Tudor has gone on to produce some of the most coveted watches in the market, from the Pelagos and 1926 to the Royal and Black Bay diving watch
The new 31, 36, 39 and 41 S&G Black Bay models come in four different sizes for cross-gender appeal, but retain the model’s signature ‘snowflake hands’ and ingenious T-fit clasp