The Redesigned Tudor Black Bay Burgundy Master Chronometer

When most of the look at neighborhood has been conversing about the new (and objectively very cool) Black Bay 54, with its smooth classic look and compact circumstance, there was much more news to be witnessed on Tudor‘s booth at Watches & Wonders. And if it appeared to be a discreet release at initially sight, the most crucial start for the brand name in 2023 is a quite clever strategic shift as well. Primarily based on the common 41mm Black Bay selection, Tudor indeed revised this cornerstone model with a Master Chronometer movement, accredited by METAS. And there is far more to uncover with this update because most of the habillage has also been redesigned. 

Just like Rolex with its current Cosmograph Daytona or Submariner collections, Tudor is implementing a strategy of evolution, not revolution. It is all about developing classics that are immediately recognizable, constant in their layout, and that the model will slowly update to make them better nevertheless on all levels. This 2023 update of the typical 41mm Tudor Black Bay is all about incremental variations, not drastic revisions. The Black Bay was born in 2012, initially introduced with a burgundy-toned bezel, and this view has been instrumental in the resurrection of the brand name. Later on launched with a blue bezel, and then with a black bezel, the to start with important update appeared in 2016. Tudor made the decision to switch the outsourced ETA movement with a manufacture calibre by Kenissi (a movement maker partly owned by Tudor) but retained the design and style almost intact – help you save for different printings on the dial.

This calendar year, we’re observing all over again an update of this cornerstone design, which can be observed on two degrees. Just one, there is the big news, the arrival of the Learn Chronometer certification on a more substantial scale. 2nd, whilst the look at appears to be visually similar at very first, the style has been updated and advancements have been made concerning comfort and ease and features. All in all, it will make an already wonderful check out even better, and even a lot more aggressive on the market place.

A a bit revised style and design

Right before we converse about mechanics, we need to converse about condition and proportions. Without a doubt, Tudor has corrected 1 of the important flaws of its basic Black Bay 41 its thickness. In the past, not only the scenario was thick – about 14.8mm in top – but the design of the casebands was also emphasizing this beefiness to the max, with straight flanks that were being likely down practically to the similar amount as the caseback (plainly noticeable in this posting).

With the 2023 edition of the Black Bay Burgundy (sure, the blue and black versions will be current later), Tudor is retaining the exact 41mm and the exact same total style of the circumstance, but deeply updates the profile. Initial of all, the in general thickness of the view has been diminished by extra than 1mm, to now 13.6mm in complete. And furthermore, the casebands are now thinner and some of the height has been built-in inside a much more “bubble” style caseback. The combination of the two elements makes for a watch that feels significantly thinner visually and on on the wrist. And that tends to make the look at far much more relaxed to have on. Let’s now hope to see these design adjustments used to the Black Bay Professional.

And there’s more to the new Black Bay Burgundy. Traditional features of the earlier product have been retained, this sort of as the polished bevel on the sides, or the marginally far too prolonged circumstance much too (about 50mm). Water-resistance is nevertheless rated at a far more than adequate 200-metre, the caseback is however solid metal and screwed and the in general glimpse of the view feels similar at 1st. But glimpse closely and you are going to see a new crown, which has a a lot more traditional fluted style, a Tudor rose in relief and that sits nearer to the circumstance (no a lot more colored tube). In the identical vein, the bezel has been up-to-date with a additional pronounced fluting on the edge, bringing a superior grip.

Then, it’s all about really fantastic particulars. The aluminium insert retains the interesting, if a bit polarizing burgundy color, with a 60-moment diving scale. The dial has been up-to-date as well. The most notable update isn’t the change of textual content at 6 o’clock (and indeed, there are only 2 strains) but the simple fact that the domed dial is now discreetly sunray brushed, and not matte black any more. On this burgundy-coloured model, the arms, markers and tracks are all gold-toned and paired with light-weight cream-coloured Super-LumiNova, for a vintage glance. A further update problem the palms. The typical snowflake design and style is now reserved for the hour hand only, and the seconds hand now has a lollipop model. Also, the moment hand has been revised to a pencil type, when it utilised to have a baton style.

Past but not the very least, Tudor offers the new Black Bay Master Chronometer on a new 5-hyperlink stainless metal Jubilee-type bracelet, with brushed outer back links and polished mid-hyperlinks. The classic 3-link, fully-brushed riveted bracelet is still accessible and a new black rubber strap has been included to the assortment as well.

Importantly, all possibilities are outfitted with a folding clasp that characteristics the brand’s T-Match method, allowing for for fast micro-adjustment. Presenting 5 positions, this sensible process makes it possible for wearers to have out a fine, prompt adjustment of the whole size of the bracelet alongside an adjustment window of 8mm. The clasp also attributes ceramic ball bearings that guarantee a clean and safe closure.

The Master Chronometer movement

Chronometer certification by COSC has long been employed by Tudor, on all of the watches geared up with a manufacture motion by Kenissi. In 2021, however, Tudor offered the Black Bay Ceramic with a movement that was Grasp Chronometer accredited by METAS. Most likely 1 of the most stringent screening methods, the Master Chronometer certification was introduced in 2015 by METAS, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology, and Omega – but from the earliest times of the job, the Grasp Chronometer has been accessible to all makes that needed to implement and is not the exclusivity of Omega.

What is the Learn Chronometer certification? This standard covers 8 technical standards, defined in a doc named METAS N001. Importantly, the Learn Chronometer certification checks encased and concluded watches, immediately after these have been chronometer-licensed by COSC. It contains a range of needs, these types of as precision (/+5 seconds/working day), magnetic resistance up to 15,000-gauss, waterproofness, ability reserve and Swissness of the observe. Grasp Chronometer is a certification of the high quality of a watch and not only of its movement, and as these gives an crucial additional worth to the owner.

For now, the Master Chronometer certification was utilized by Tudor on only one particular reference (the Black Bay Ceramic), alone a somewhat private design. But, now that Tudor has inaugurated its new joint manufacture with Kenissi in Le Locle, the model has the potential to certify a lot more watches together with METAS. And the very first big-scale product to benefit from this is the new Black Bay Burgundy. This is carried out thanks to a revised movement, calibre MT5602-U. No drastic alterations, as the mechanical base is even now the exact silicon hairspring, variable inertia balance, transversal balance bridge, 4Hz frequency and 70h of electrical power reserve.

But of training course, it now arrives with the most demanding chronometer certification on the market… And that is a signal of evolution for the brand name.

Availability & Value

The new Tudor Black Bay Burgundy 41 Learn Chronometer is now obtainable from boutiques and vendors. It is priced at EUR 4,090 on a rubber strap, EUR 4,300 on a 3-connection riveted bracelet and EUR 4,400 on a 5-hyperlink jubilee bracelet. As a comparison, the blue and black models (which are nevertheless available), without the need of the Learn Chronometer motion and worn on the riveted bracelet with out micro-adjustment, are priced at EUR 3,990. It’s about 300 euros far more, but in exchange, you’ll get a observe with extraordinary high quality expectations, a far better bracelet/clasp and a thinner and far more relaxed case. And that is truly worth the extra money…

We’re now searching forward to the current black and blue editions of the Black Bay 41, and absolutely this will later on be applied to many more watches in the assortment. But it’ll arrive little by little. For additional particulars, you should pay a visit to www.tudorwatch.com.