The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight was and still is one of the best looking watches released in the past few years and now Tudor has extended the family with a new “Navy Blue” version. Getting its name from its coloured dial and bezel and the year the first Tudor divers’ watch certified to 200m was presented.
If you are familiar with the Black Bay 58 family, it will be all a familiar recipe, the 39mm case that harks back to the classic proportions of the 1950s, stunning snowflake hands first seen in 1969 and a Manufacture Calibre MT5402. The calibre is considered weekend proof, with a reserve of about 70 hours so wearers can take it off on Friday night, put it back on Monday and not worry about having to reset it.
When Tudor first introduced a blue dial and bezel diver’s watch in 1969 it soon became known by aficionados as ‘Tudor Blue’. The colour was soon adopted by the French Navy or Marine Nationale and the Black Bay Fifty Eight Navy Blue follows this tradition. As with most Tudor Black Bay watches, this is offered on a steel bracelet, a synthetic soft touch strap and a woven fabric strap with a distinctive central line running through it.
If you want to stay true to the history of the Navy Blue, the woven strap is the one to go for. Matching the dial, the straps are a thing of beauty in themselves. Woven in France on 19th century Jacquard looms by the Julien Faure company in the St-Etienne region, its manufacturing quality and comfort on the wrist are unique and it is the perfect watch for Tudor and the Julien Faure company to celebrate a 10-year partnership.
The MT5402 calibre in the Black Bay Fifty Eight Navy Blue is a fairly simple complication displaying hours, minutes and seconds, built specifically for robustness, longevity, reliability and precision in this 200m certified dive watch. Calibre MT5402 is chronometer-certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), with its performance going beyond the standards set by this independent institute. The COSC normally allows for an average variation of -4 to +6 seconds per day, but Tudor did one better and fixed a tolerance of -2 to +4 seconds per day. It might not seem much to the average person on the street but these tolerances can make all the difference 200m below the surface.
The Tudor Black Bay Fifty Eight is available now from all good watch retailers at a starting price of £2,520 on the fabric or synthetic strap whilst it costs a little more at £2,760 for the steel bracelet.
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