Tudor has unveiled a new Black Bay Fifty-Eight model, a vintage-inspired diver’s watch that pays homage to the blue livery of the “Marine Nationale” Tudor Submariners of the 1970s. The brand had initially announced that they would not be introducing any new models this year, but has reversed that decision with the introduction of this new watch it calls the Black Bay Fifty-Eight Navy Blue.
The first Black Bay Fifty-Eight was an instant classic when it was unveiled in 2018. The watch condensed what we love about the Black Bay into a smaller 39-mm case (the original Black Bay was 41 mm) and retained the main attributes of Tudor’s diver’s watches - the Snowflake hands; the blend of applied triangular, circular, and rectangular indexes; and the enlarged crown stamped with the Tudor Rose. The watch’s old-school appeal and name come from the Tudor Submariner Reference 7924 “Big Crown” originally released in 1958.
The new Black Bay Fifty-Eight Navy Blue has a 39 mm stainless steel case with the distinct beveled lugs. It has a domed sapphire crystal and a navy blue anodized aluminum bezel. Fitted with a closed caseback, it is water resistant to 200 meters. The watch is fitted with a matt navy blue domed dial and hands and hour indices are rhodium-plated and filled with SuperLuminova.
The blue color scheme is a throwback to a diver’s watch Tudor introduced in 1969. When the French Navy (Marine Nationale) adopted this watch in the 1970s for their combat divers, this livery became part of the collective imagination. The Tudor “Marine Nationale” Submariner is a much sought after watch in the vintage market. The Black Bay Fifty-Eight “Navy Blue” follows in this tradition with its navy blue dial and bezel insert.
The watch runs the manufacture Calibre MT5402 and has a finish typical of the brand’s in-house movements. The tungsten monobloc rotor is open-worked and satin-brushed with sandblasted details, the bridges and mainplate have alternate sandblasted, polished surfaces and laser decorations. It has a power reserve of 70 hours and is chronometer-certified by Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).
The watch is paired with a riveted 316L steel bracelet with polished and satin-brushed finish, or a new “soft touch” strap offered with this model and made from a synthetic, tactile material resembling flannel. The popular jacquard NATO strap with silver band and buckle also returns on this model. We will update the story once we know the price of this watch but expect it be around the $3,500-mark.
