VIDEO: 4 of the best Tudor watches from Basel 2018 – including the GMT that has everyone talking

Felix Scholz

I always feel a slight apprehension walking into the Tudor press presentation at Baselworld. My expectation levels are maxed, and I’m always worried that the new range won’t live up to the high standards of the previous year. And, as usual, I needn’t have worried, as Tudor’s Basel 2018 collection is STRONG. New dials, movements, complications and collections — Tudor has it all. First of all, there’s a brand-new line, the 1926, a dressy, everyday option with strong hints of vintage and a decent dash of bling. Speaking of bling, there’s a new dial for the S&G — a new, molten gold champagne dial that really amps up the lux-factor of the already showy Black Bay.

But it’s the Black Bay Fifty-Eight where things really start getting interesting. Ostensibly a smaller, 39mm Black Bay; for me the real charm of this watch lies in the slimmer profile, giving it a completely different (and really good) on the wrist feel.

All these new additions are pretty great on their own, but the one that has everyone talking is the Black Bay GMT. And it’s easy to see why. Powered by a new movement, this GMT is integrated, meaning you can jump the main hour hand in one-hour increments, without impacting the timekeeping. It also looks the business, with that old-school blue and red Pepsi bezel (the colours are identical to the red and blue Black Bays BTW), and it’s offered on the now very familiar, traditional steel, leather and fabric options. The price is right, too, with the Swiss price starting at 3400 CHF.

So rather than showing any signs of slowing down, it’s clearly full steam ahead for Tudor.