TUDOR Heritage Black Bay STEEL

TUDOR has once again focused its attention on its most celebrated vintage diver’s model, the Heritage BLACK BAY, a direct descendant of the watches worn on the wrists of Royal Navy sailors in Greenland more than 60 years ago.



We have seen all manner of iterations released since the Heritage Black Bay was first released back in 2012. BRONZE, BLACK, BLUE, DARK a one-off piece for ONLY WATCH that inspired the Black Bay Black and even a cute lil’ BABY version with a fixed bezel!



For 2017 the Heritage Black Bay is being released in a further two versions, S&G (steel & yellow gold) and all-steel. Both new versions will be fitted with full steel or steel & gold divers bracelets; a first for the Heritage Black Bay family.



The new Black Bay Steel has three major differences over a regular Black Bay model. Firstly its diver’s bezel is now fitted with a circular satin-brushed inlay machined from Stainless steel. The new steel inlay has a dive-time scale with a red triangular 12hr marker as the Black Bay Black.



Then there’s the Black Bay Steel’s bracelet, inspired by the folding riveted bracelets of the TUDOR watches produced in the 1950s and 1960s. These were famous for having rivet heads for attaching the links, shown on the side of the bracelet.

The links also had a distinct stepped construction. These two aesthetic details are incorporated into the bracelet of the Heritage Black Bay Steel model, integrating modern manufacturing methods using solid links.



Finally you might have noticed that there is now a date window on the BB’s dial; another first for the Black Bay family. This is because it is now powered by the MT5612, a variation of the movement first presented by TUDOR in 2015, developed especially for the Heritage Black Bay Steel and S&G models.



The new Black Bay Steel is available in two designs as it also comes on a black distressed leather strap with a Stainless steel folding clasp. Both versions come with an additional khaki green fabric strap.



Made using the Jacquard technique, a traditional method achieved by a 150-year-old family firm from the Saint-Étienne region of France, this strap is a signature feature of TUDOR’s Heritage line. Its Swiss MSRP is 3600CHF for the Steel bracelet version or 3300CHF for the aged leather strap version.