Post by timelessluxwatches on Sept 24, 2016 3:13:55 GMT -6
Tudor Black Bay 36 Review
The Tudor Black Bay 36 is easily one of the most anticipated watches of 2016, and despite an all-new range of Black Bays, it is the greatest departure from convention. While other Black Bays received new movements, new dials and even, in some cases, new bracelets, the Black Bay 36 is simply a different design to begin with. In many ways, it's the ultimate hybrid between the original Tudor Black Bay and the Rolex Explorer.
While Tudor, no longer a rising star and now just a star, has many popular models, the Black Bay is, without any doubt at all, their most popular.
What was originally a single model of vintage-inspired divers from throughout Tudor's history (albeit in a few different colors) has, for 2016, become a legitimate collection of watches. Today, Black Bay is probably better talked about in the way you might talk about Omega Seamaster or Zenith Elite, less a single model and more a closely-tied group of models.
With the exception of a moderately controversial bracelet redesign on a few of the Black Bays, the new lineup has been a runaway hit. While the original three models have been overhauled for 2016, three new versions have been added: the Dark, which is perhaps best seen as the fourth color scheme of the original models, the all-new Bronze, and of course, this all-new 36.
The 36 has been, by far, the one we've received the most interest in, and it's easy to see why. The 36 is definitely the dressiest of the bunch and in a very different size that makes it available to a wider variety of collectors, including women.
But aside from the size, which is obvious, what makes it different than other Black Bays? Well, quite a lot actually. By far the biggest difference is the lack of the rotating bezel.
That sort of brings up an interesting question: we've always known the Black Bay as a dive watch, but the 36 clearly isn't, in the standard nomenclature anyway, a dive watch. Is it even a Black Bay then?
In a word, yes. That's because the Black Bay still incorporates a lot of the most important Tudor dive-watch DNA.
Take this crown, for instance, clearly lifted from the famous Tudor Submariner "Big Crown" just like the other Black Bays. Although it may no longer be technically a dive watch, it is, nonetheless, resistant to a very respectable 150 meters.
Perhaps even more importantly, it has the Snowflake hands. Actually, the dial in general has a lot in common with the original Black Bays, perhaps even more than the new ones. The hour markers are quite similar, but so is the semi-circular "ROTOR SELF-WINDING" text, which the new Black Bays, aside from this one, lack.
And, being a Tudor, it gives up nothing in the lume department. This glows just as bright as any "conventional" dive watch, including the other Black Bays.
Another way in which it may actually be more like the original Black Bays than even the new ones is behind here. Like the first Black Bays, it's powered by the Tudor 2824, an in-house modified version of the popular Swiss automatic. I assume that the Tudor 2824 was selected over the MT-5602 for size reasons, but we've had wonderful luck with the Tudor 2824 already.
Despite these similarities, one cannot ignore the fact that the 36 is transformative for Black Bay. Whenever I hold the Black Bay 36, I always come away feeling like it's some sort of perfect hybrid between the Rolex Explorer and the original Black Bay. The dial and crown seem to come from the Black Bay and, on some level, seem to be fitted into an Explorer-styled case. The austere tool-watch look of the Black Bay dial fits this image very well, in my opinion.
If there's any company in the world that can get away with borrowing elements from Rolex, it has to be Tudor. And, on some level, this makes perfect sense because their direct Explorer analog was actually the Ranger, historically one of the biggest, if not the biggest, departures from Rolex's version of the same watch.
The Tudor Black Bay 36, particularly alongside the Bronze, is the start of great things. It's a signal from Tudor that they're not afraid to experiment and improve their most popular watch. It isn't a sacred cow the way some other brand's most iconic watches are.
So that's the Black Bay 36. Is it the Black Bay to get? Well that's very hard to say. I think the size is going to be the greatest demarcator of who is going to prefer this model, but for those who could get away with wearing either the original or the 36, then it'll hinge on if you want something more everyday friendly. The 36 is certainly the lower profile of the Black Bays, and not just in terms of size. But the opposite argument can be made for the original for those who want something more aggressive and sporty, or who intend on using the rotating bezel for diving.
