Baselworld 2019: Tudor Roundup

Last year, at Baselworld 2018, Tudor arguably stole the show with the release of their Black Bay GMT which was the first time the brand released a GMT sports watch. It had a vintage feel and featured a “Pepsi” bezel, a feature much coveted by enthusiasts around the world.

The watch was so good that Revolution decided to bestow it with the Ultimate Value Watch award and much like its Rolex counterpart, it is still scarcely available at retailers.

Needless to say that Tudor had some big shoes to fill this year so let’s see what the brand brought in their suitcases to Baselworld 2019.

Tudor Black Bay P01

This is the big surprise inside Tudor’s booth and the most polarizing watch among their novelties. The Tudor Black Bay P01 is unlike any Tudor we have seen from the brand before.

In the late 1960s, Tudor, who was already supplying the US Navy with divers’ watches, started the development of a new technical watch to meet the standards of the American government. In that period, several prototype watches were made but ultimately the project never came to fruition as the US Navy opted to use another Tudor watch.

It is one of those prototype watches that inspired the creation in 2019 of the Tudor Black Bay P01 – which stands for prototype 1.

Visually the timepiece is quite different but the design is very much lifted from their 1967 prototype. The case is 42mm in stainless steel with the winding crown at 4 o’clock and the large 12-hour bezel is bidirectional but is locked with a stop system via the end-link at 12 o’clock. The dial is on par with other members of the Black Bay family and vintage enthusiasts will appreciate the red depth rating inscription.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Steel & Gold

We’ve known for a while that two-tone is back and after the Tudor Heritage Black Bay got the S&G (Steel & Gold) treatment a few years back, it’s time for the Black Bay Chrono to also get it.

Judging from the first returns of those who got to experience the watch in person, it seems to be the fan favourite from this year’s novelties and why wouldn’t it be? The black and gold colour scheme is a joy to look at and brings the world of motorsports to the aquatic heritage represented by the Black Bay family.

Great contrast is created between the matte black dial and the hollowed champagne counters. The bezel is black anodised aluminum with yellow gold markings and the pushers and crown are also yellow gold. To push the racing theme further the watch can be purchased on a leather bund strap, which is going to make a lot of collectors happy.

Inside the watch is the Calibre MT5813 which is the Breitling 01 movement before being modified by Tudor.

Tudor Black Bay Bronze

Tudor is updating its award-winning Black Bay Bronze with a new slate-grey model with a shaded dial. The new colour scheme is the third iteration of the Black Bay Bronze. The watch was first released in 2016 with a brown dial, then came the special blue dial edition for Bucherer in 2017, and finally the new slate-grey dial for 2019.

The slate-grey colour starts on the bezel then the shade slowly changes from the exterior of the dial to the centre. Gold accents on the bezel, hands and hour markers complete the watch’s aesthetics, and because the bronze case will acquire its own patina over the years, that should make for a great aged look down the line.