Tudor Black Bay Chronograph Steel and Gold
For Tudor, the 2019 Basel Fair is an unforgettable memory. Last year they released the most sought-after Basel watch, and this year they released the most controversial Black Bay P01. There has been a lot of talk about polarization P01 - probably too much - but if there is one thing that can be agreed, it is that P01 has taken the limelight from other versions of Tudor. So today, I will review what I think is the real highlight of Tudor's release in Baselworld 2019, Black Bay Chrono S&G (steel and gold).
In 2017, Tudor first released the Black Bay Chrono. Caused different repercussions. On the one hand, Tudor used this watch as its new chronograph movement MT5813, which was built in cooperation with Breitling and is part of the technical exchange between the two brands. This is a surprise, but the exciting thing is that the movement has an excellent feature set, which I will cover later. On the other hand, the watch mixes the Black Bay diver's DNA with a fixed quick-moving bezel, creating a table with a peculiar identity and not being welcomed by purists. Then there is a snowflake hour hand that covers the minute dial.
Fast forwarded for two years, Tudor launched the S&G model. Now, with a contrasting sub-dial and two tonal elements (including the actual pure gold composition) abound, this is a more compelling work. Although the two-tone watch is more fashionable than the steel watch, the Black Bay Chronograph uses a metal mixture to enhance its posture. As I said in the Basel podcast, it makes the watch look extraordinarily cool. The right way. Tudor also improved the case to slightly lower its height. The hour hand is still the same snow, but I will introduce it below.
Plus a sturdy gold bezel and buttons, and a gold crown with a cap (the crown is basically wrapped in gold, thicker than any plating), the reserve price of Black Bay Chrono S&G (coming BB Chrono) is But not unexpectedly higher than the steel model. Then, the two tonal bracelets have pure gold on both the end chain and the gold-backed intermediate chain. Although I think there are far fewer price tags and gold, I will use bracelets to review the model due to usability.
case
In the past, I have had a love/hate relationship with the BB 41 chassis. In the past Black Bay comments, I have made several modifications to it, but in general, I always feel that it has a high watch case. The side is exaggerated. Even though it always looks good from the top, the watch feels too big and too high on the wrist. The case used by BB Chrono is roughly the same size, 41 x 50 x 14.5mm (including crystal), which is actually thinner than BB 41! It also has a slab at the bottom, although its bottom edge is rounder than the other BB boxes I remember, which helps to make it less high. But the biggest difference is the psychological difference.
I am a timekeeper. I really like them. Binning, column wheel, cam, pusher - they just do it for me. Most watches I own are chronographs. These include the Lemania 5100 chronos, several 7750, 6139 and 6138 cal. 11:00, 863, ST19 and some other things I might forget. Most of them, especially the more modern models, are quite large watches, and if the diameter is not large, the thickness is certainly acceptable. For me, 14-16mm is the normal range of the automatic chronograph, so BB Chrono should look the same as it should be. Is it thick? Yes, but it didn't bother me, as I wrote on it, the hands of the three hands are actually thinner than that!
Like the size, the design is roughly the same as the BB41. You'll find thick tabs with excellent angled brushing, sharp bevels that extend along the edges of the tabs, and highly polished flat sides. On the right is a wide, flat, screw-in crown made of gold-tone steel. The eccentric crown tube here is made of steel (black in steel variants), while the Tudor rose is characteristic of the outer surface. I have already said it, I will say it again, this is one of the best tactile crowns on the market.
2:00 and 4:00 are solid gold screw-in buttons, respectively. This is consistent with the historic Tudor and Rolex models, but overall I have a different feel for screw-in thrusters. I appreciate that they prevent accidental timing devices from starting, especially under water, but I don't think there is much concern in everyday life that the entire system needs to prevent this from happening, especially when they end up making chronographs It's even more inconvenient to use because you have to stop, unscrew the collar, and then push it, which may make you miss the moment you want to be on time. Then, after unscrewing the screws, they look a bit sloppy, especially on the BB, because you will see the collar fits into the larger gap in the housing. From an aesthetic point of view, they are usually large and sometimes even unbalanced.
Because the buttons and collars are made of pure gold, for me, there is too much gold on the right side of the watch. Since there are two pieces here and the watch's name is S&G, it's nice to see them mixed together, maybe with a steel or black button in the gold collar and vice versa. This is not a factor that undermines the trade, especially when paired with a stronger tonal strap, but I think it can improve this detail.
Attached to the top of the case is a fixed gold bezel with black and gold anodized aluminum inserts. It is very attractive, with a distinctly retro feel and the atmosphere of the John Player Special. The fact that it is pure gold makes it seem a bit swaying. Although the fixed bezel is standard on many chronographs, the bezel of the diving watch often has a rotating one-way bezel, so BB Chrono first attracted attention. Conceptually, it is understandable to be annoyed about this. This is the "diving" watch series, but this element is obviously designed with a car-themed watch. The applied diving mark and the iconic snowflake/submersible hand further emphasize and contrast this, not to mention the “200m~600ft” on the dial.
That is to say, the Black Bay series is about style rather than function in many respects, and the reality is that all the above elements are combined to make a beautiful watch. Will pairing the rotating bezel with the speedometer attached to the speedometer ring a better "hybrid" option? Yes, but this is not what we got. The truth is, you may not plan to dive on this watch or lap, so enjoy it - a stylish luxury watch with a slight identity problem.
dial
If you imagine a two-register chronograph version of the Black Bay dial, you will basically get the exact meaning of BB Chrono. This is not surprising, but it works fine and looks good. They have adjusted a lot of small details to make it balanced, but everyone has said and done it. It is more or less in Black Bay, with a large number of sub-dialings at 3:00 and 9:00 respectively.
The surface of the dial is matte black and the surface is hemispherical. The hour index consists of an applied marker with a fill color, skipping 3:00 and 9:00 for the small dial and 6:00 for the date window. Because they jumped to the base point, there is no rectangular mark at 12:00, only round marks and triangles. Although I think the rectangular mark is actually not suitable for use here, the definition feature without the black bay/submersible appearance disappears. This further enhances BB Chrono's sense of identity crisis. Just feeling that something is missing.
The proportion of these markers has changed significantly compared to the Black Bay region, with a significant reduction in size, especially in triangles. This helps to achieve a balance with the small dial, providing extra breathing space for everything. The outer edge of the dial is printed with a minute and chronograph second hand print index, which is dark in color and golden in color.
At 3:00 and 9:00, you will find the 45 minute counter and the active seconds respectively. 45 minutes is a very strange number of minutes. To be honest, I don't know why there is a 45 minute chronograph. After some digging, there seems to be no good answer. Some people say that this is only modified at some point to increase the time that the chronograph can record, while others say it is designed to time the two-half football game. In any case, Tudor uses it because it cites their historical model. I personally want to set it to a 60 minute counter because it's actually more useful, but it's the case.
For BB Chrono S&G, Tudor made a wise decision, even with a contrast dial made of pure gold. Color is an interesting choice and I think it works well. They could have removed the metallic gold, which may be too expensive, and the colors that fall on them are almost retro-like - once metallic, they may become dull as they age. In addition, the fact that the small dial is in sharp contrast to the dial greatly helps the overall balance of the dial. The original black dial is a bit hollow and maybe subtle. This is a watch that needs to be slightly placed, and the two golden eyes stare back at you.
The date window at 6:00 is a good choice. Obviously three things are not suitable, I am very happy to see that they are not squeezed between 4:00 and 5:00. 6:00 is balanced, although you have lost the mark for this, but aesthetically, this is the right choice. In other words, the date itself looks a bit hard to understand. The text is very thin and the surface is black on the white surface. I'm not sure what to do here - maybe a warm surface or other font, but giving it something personal will be fine. In my opinion, this looks strange.
BB Chrono's hour and minute hands have a modified set of snowflake hands. According to the image, although there is no other black bay in front of me to compare with it, the pointer is a bit sparse, especially in minutes, and now its bottom is narrower than the hour hand. The second hand is a thin stick with a small red arrow at the top. All hands are golden.
After the bezel, the snowflake hour hand is the biggest controversy of BB Chrono. Although it is an iconic pointer, it is not designed for chronographs, so it can be said to be untested waters. It is very large, thus blocking the dial below. Usually, this doesn't matter, but on the chronograph, this means that some hours in the 45-hour counter or effective seconds will be largely obscured. There is no dancing around it, and there is no conditional way to make it better – it's just a fact. But that doesn't make them completely ineffective (and frankly, the minute counters are worth paying attention to), but it certainly hinders their use.
Honestly, this is a strange situation. This is a flaw, but Tudor clearly believes that this is not fatal and is not worth solving. “Only Watch” Is Black Bay One’s hand better? A lot, but that is one-off, Tudor apparently tried to establish the snowflake as synonymous with the Black Bay line. Therefore, if you are concerned about such details or frequently use a chronograph, then BB Chrono may not be suitable for you at all. If you are more interested in the overall aesthetics of the timer or the more complex timepiece than the actual function, then you may not care.
Tudor MT5813 movement
The BB Chrono S&G not only looks good, but the watch has an incredibly feature-rich movement. As I wrote in the introduction, Tudor and Breitling collaborated on a certain kind of trading. Tudor received a modified version of the MT5813 of the Breitling B01 chronograph, while Breitling received a version of the Dudor MT5612 movement for its own use. The B01 is not a new product, but Tudor's modifications make it modern and have a feature set that is hard to match.
The MT5813 is a 41 jewel column chronograph with a vertical clutch with 70 hours of power reserve and 28,800 bph. Like other Tudor movements, the MT5813 features a silicon spring, a free-wheeling balance and a bi-directional wound rotor. According to Tudor's specifications, the minute counter is also changed to the above 45 minute duration. Finally, the movement is a COSC certified timer.
This is a big sport, and unless it's not done carefully, the above features are much more expensive than the chronographs in modern Daytona, rather than other chronographs around $5,000. Omega, IWC, Heuer and even Breitling are not far apart, but please don't check all the boxes. On the finish, the movement is hidden behind a sturdy bottom cover, but you'll find it has the same style as the three phone cores. No Geneva ripples, polished bevels or or beads. Instead, the bridge was blown up, the levers were knocked over, and some machines were carved into a spiral. I personally think it looks cool because it is different from the standard type of finish and more like a machine.
bracelet
BB Chrono S&G has one of three strap options: a vintage leather bag, a black fabric strap or a two-tone stud bracelet. For those unfamiliar with the Black Bay rivet bracelet, it is one of the best bracelets I have ever tried. This is not a fancy three-chain/oyster-style bracelet with stepped 4mm taper and rivet plating. It can be adjusted with a single-sided screw so you can easily work on your desk and it has a mechanically crafted clasp with three fine-tuning settings. It's just a sturdy, well-executed bracelet, I like it on both BB 58 and BB 41. However, in two tones, it is too expensive.
The entire strip of the middle chain is gold, and the end chain has a solid gold block. It's all brushed and can be slightly tempered, but it must never bypass the pure gold surface area. Since the heart of this is sporty and gold adds posture rather than wealth, it has begun to surpass the features that make watches so great. In terms of quality, it is still top notch. Looking at the deleted links, you can see the thickness of the gold and they have no leakage.