The Tudor Black Bay Date replica is an emblematic model that celebrates more than 60 years of TUDOR divers’ watches. Fitted with the Manufacture Calibre MT5612, it introduces a date function to the Black Bay family.
The Black Bay Date draws its most characteristic features from past models in the brand’s history. Its general lines, domed dial and crystal were inspired by the first TUDOR diving watches. It features the particularly prominent winding crown from the famous 7924 reference of 1958, aka the Big Crown, while its characteristic angular hands, known as snowflake, were borrowed from the TUDOR watches used by the French National Navy in the 1970s.
Presented in a 41 mm case, the TUDOR Black Bay Date is available with an all steel look or in a steel and yellow gold version. On the steel model, the disc of the rotating bezel is machined from steel and circular satin-brushed for a matt appearance and a highly functional effect. Named S&G, the steel and gold version offers a more elevated feel to the watch with its rotating bezel, winding crown and centre links of the steel bracelet made of satin-brushed gold for an understated, mat effect.
The Manufacture calibre MT5612 is a variation of the movement presented by TUDOR in 2015 and introduces a date function to the Black Bay family.
MT5612 is a high-performance calibre of superb precision and proven robustness. With a 70-hour power reserve, a wearer can take off the watch on Friday evening and put it back on again on Monday morning without having to re-set and wind it. Beating to a frequency of 28,800 beats/hour or 4Hz, the movement is regulated by a variable inertia oscillator with silicon balance spring. This is held in place by a traversing bridge, guaranteeing its robustness. The movement is certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).
The bracelet of the Tudor Black Bay Date Replica is inspired by the folding riveted bracelets of the TUDOR watches from the 1950s and 1960s, which were famous for having the heads of the rivets attaching the links visible on the side of the bracelet. The links also had a distinct stepped construction. These aesthetic details are incorporated into the bracelet of the Black Bay Steel, integrating modern manufacturing methods using solid links.
The Black Bay Date models are also available on an aged leather strap with folding clasp or a fabric strap. A signature feature, the fabric strap is made using the Jacquard technique, a traditional method achieved by a hundred-year-old family business from the St-Etienne region of France.
The history of the TUDOR divers Replica watch dates back to 1954 with the launch of the original reference 7922. The first in a long line of ergonomic, legible, accurate and robust divers’ watches, it perfectly embodies the approach formulated by the American architect Louis Sullivan who stated that the form of an object must follow its function. Furthermore, it laid down the aesthetic and technical foundations of an ideal divers’ watch; an understated, functional and reliable tool. The sixty years that followed the launch of the original 7922 saw the constant improvement of the TUDOR divers’ watch. Each model gained unanimous acclaim from professionals in the field including some of the largest navies in the world.