With the Black Bay 58, Tudor launched a new watch at Baselworld 2018 that unleashes its full potential on the wrist. It is now clear that in just a few years Tudor has changed from being an underdog to one of the most desirable watch brands - and this year Tudor has set the bar even higher. Learn all about the Black Bay 58.
Tudor Black Bay 58: The universal genius of Baselworld 2018?
An enhancement for the Black Bay family
The very first Black Bay was launched in 2012 and had a rather impressive diameter of 41 millimeters. No doubt: the watch is quite a statement, not only because of its diameter, but also because of its overall height of almost 15 millimetres.
With this year's Baselworld, the Black Bay family was extended by a further housing diameter. Considering the Black Bay 36 and the newly released Black Bay 32 (the two models have a polished stainless steel bezel in contrast to the classic Black Bay), the Black Bay is now available in four different sizes, namely with diameters of 41, 39, 36 and 32 millimeters.
The Black Bay in detail
The new Black Bay 39 is equipped with the MT5402 movement developed and manufactured by Tudor, which was specially designed for watches with a smaller diameter. The movement is COSC-certified and offers an ample power reserve of around 70 hours.
The diameter is 39 millimetres, the watch is only 11.9 millimetres high. The Black Bay 58 has a screw-on winding crown and is water resistant up to 20 bar. The bezel can be rotated in one direction, as is usual for diving watches. Heritage fans should enjoy the vintage-heavy aluminium inlay, which underlines the Toolwatch character even more. Speaking of vintage-heavy: Tudor gave the Black Bay 58 a domed sapphire crystal.
The Black Bay 58 is also available with three different bracelets. With the riveted stainless steel bracelet, the watch costs CHF 3,400. The watch is also available with a brown vintage-look leather strap with safety clasp or a black textile strap with gold trim - both versions cost CHF 3,100.
The difference becomes clear on the wrist
With a slightly smaller diameter of 39 millimetres, the Black Bay is undoubtedly becoming a little more classic. At the same time, the watch also becomes an outstanding all-rounder. Two millimetres do not sound particularly luxuriant on paper. But when you have the new Black Bay on your arm, the difference becomes apparent. In particular, the height reduced by around three millimetres contributes significantly to more comfort on the wrist. While the classic Black Bay is mostly a leisure clock, the smaller Black Bay 58 finally makes a good figure for more elegant occasions. It almost seems as if there is no situation that you would have to take your watch off. Also the water resistance of up to 20 bar even makes dives possible. Added to this is the incredible variety that the watch achieves with different bracelets. Not many watches are able to cut a good figure on both a leather strap and a stainless steel bracelet. This is no problem for the Black Bay.
Finally, the all-round suitability is underlined by the gold-coloured elements on the dial. The original intention of Tudor is probably a certain proximity to vintage models. But a pleasing effect of this decision is without question that the watch also acts as an excellent partner to yellow-golden jewellery thanks to the gold accents. If you haven’t warmed up to the Black Bay just yet, you should definitely give the new Black Bay 58 a chance.
