Everybody wants a Tudor Black Bay. But what about the chrono? Anyone?

Andrew McUtchen

Editor’s note: The Tudor Black Bay had an extraordinary beginning when it was released in 2012, with the Black Bay red finally giving the brand its flagship model. I remember seeing it in the window of the booth and basically attaching myself to the glass like an abalone. A distressed leather strap with boss-looking deployant. A rich burgundy / red bezel. Gilt touches on indices. A perfect colour dial. Details for days. Shut up and take my money. I had one on my wrist just a few months later.

And the Black Bay had a stupendous 2018, when the Black Bay ’58 which many are now hailing the ‘perfect watch’ for the money, fronted up shoulder to shoulder with the Black Bay Pepsi GMT, a watch I mistakenly included in my Top 10. And then retracted, so strongly did I feel I got it wrong. The success of Tudor’s 2018 campaign is still felt by those waiting patiently on wait lists for both models. A wait list for a Tudor. Like I said, stupendous. But what about the middle years? And in particular, the chrono? A steel & gold version was released this year, with a dramatic colourway and a cool strap. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the first model, where this in-between story began. 

Earlier this week we ran a thousand or so words on the Tudor Black Bay Chrono, along with some pretty crispy pics, which are – as the saying goes – easily worth another few thousand words. But in our ever more hectic lives, time becomes an increasingly precious commodity, which is why we’ve also put together this 90-second video review to give you a real sense of what the watch is *actually* like on the wrist, and in three dimensions. We also opted to show the leather bracelet version, which has a very different feel to the rivet style bracelet; more casual, more vintage. And while Tudor is no stranger to noise and chatter, the buzz around the BB Chrono has been louder than most. I don’t think this is a watch you should judge on paper alone — it’s really worth trying it on for yourself. And if that’s not practical, well, there’s always our video review…