INTRODUCING: This brand new Tudor Black Bay Bronze is a bolt from the blue

Felix Scholz

We did not see this one coming. At all. You’re looking at a Tudor Black Bay Bronze, freshly decked out in a particularly regal shade of blue. Before you get on the line to your local Tudor dealer, you should know there’s a ‘but’: this isn’t a regular production Tudor. It’s a special collaboration with venerable jewellery retailer Bucherer, who have been trading in some of the world’s finest watches since 1888. This Tudor is the latest addition to Bucherer’s ongoing series, the Bucherer Blue Editions (which also includes blue timepieces made by the likes of AP, IWC, Piaget and Moser, to name a few). So, unless you happen to be near a Bucherer store, finding this blue beauty is going to be tricky.

If you can manage to get your hands on one, we’re pretty sure it will  be worth it – the Bronze looks incredible in blue. While the original is an exercise in complementary tones, the BBBB (or should we add an extra B in for Bucherer?) is all about contrast. The blue is rich and deep, just like the bronze of the case and bezel, giving the watch a completely different feeling – more luxurious, less utilitarian.

The trademark fabric strap seems to be a near-perfect colour match, and I particularly like the little flecks of bronze-y tan contrast you get at the selvedge. Aside from the dial, bezel, fabric strap and special Bucherer case back, everything is exactly the same as the regular bronze – the 43mm case, good for 200m of water resistance and the MT5601 movement.

From my point of view, the really interesting thing isn’t actually the watch, but rather the fact that the it exists at all. In the past, we’ve seen very little from Tudor in the way of special editions or custom models. But recently that’s changed. Not only do we have this high-profile retailer edition, we’ve also seen images of a limited edition Black Bay for Italian forum Orologi & Passioni as well as versions with custom dial text. Does this increasing interest in customisation and collaboration represent a change of direction for the brand?

Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze Bucherer Blue Edition pricing

The Black Bay Bronze Bucherer Blue, with fabric and aged leather straps, 3800 CHF