First established in 1926, Swiss watchmaker Tudor is famous for their high-quality sport and tool watches. The company was founded by Hans Wilsdorf, who also founded the Rolex brand. To this day, Tudor and Rolex are owned by the same company. Along the way, they’ve also adopted Rolex’s Oyster case, which was the first waterproof wristwatch design, where the bezel, crown, and caseback are all screwed together. I like to think of Tudor as Rolex’ little brother; they make good quality watches at a far lower price point.
Today, I want to talk about five of Tudor’s best sports watches. These timepieces all sport Tudor’s iconic hour and minute hands. They’re also backed by Tudor’s transferrable five-year guarantee. Let’s take a closer look!
Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Blue
The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Blue has a 39mm case that’s crafted from polished stainless steel. It has a wide sea blue bezel with white dive markings, tt of course rotates for timing the dive. The watch is powered by an in-house MT5402 movement. This is a COSC-certified, self-winding movement with a power reserve of 70 hours.
The sapphire crystal is scratch-resistant, and has a tall domed shape. This creates a distorted ring at the edge of the dial when you view it from a shallow angle. At 3 o’clock, you’ll find a steel screw-down town with an embossed Tudor logo on the end. As long as the crown is secure, the case is waterproof to 200 meters. The watch includes a riveted steel bracelet, with polished side plates and brushed facing.
The dial is blue to match the bezel, and is very minimalist, with no date window or other complications. Around the outside is a secondary index with tiny hashes at the minute marks and thicker hashes at the five-minute positions. Inside of this is the primary index, which consists of a series of large lume circles at the five-minute positions, with lume bars at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock and a downward-pointing arrow at 12 o’clock.
The hour hand is short and fat, with a diamond-shaped block near the end. The minute hand is longer, thinner, and sword-shaped. Both are silver with a lume fill for low-light visibility. The second hand is long and very slim, with a lume-filled diamond near the tip.
Tudor Pelagos 39
The Tudor Pelagos 39 has a similar size and profile, with a 39mm diameter. However, the case is crafted from titanium, which is both tougher and lighter than steel and is 100% corrosion-proof. The bezel is wide, with a titanium frame and a black inset with silver-white dive markings. It rotates unidirectionally, which means it’s technically functional as a dive watch. The sapphire crystal is flat across the top, but slightly beveled at the edge to create an accent. And with a titanium screw-down crown, the watch is water-resistant to 200 meters.
The Pelagos 39 comes equipped with a matching titanium bracelet, and the kit includes a black rubber strap with a traditional pin buckle. It’s powered by an in-house COSC-certified MT5400 movement, which is self-winding, with a 70-hour power reserve.
The dial is black, with a subtle sunburst finish and no complications to speak of. The outer index consists of fine white hashes at the minute positions, with fatter hashes at the five-minute marks. The inner index has white lume circles at the five-minute marks, with bars at 3, 6, and 9, and an arrow at 12 o’clock. The hands have the same iconic design as the Fifty-Eight Blue, but they’re made of titanium instead of steel, so they’re silver-white instead of just silver.
Tudor Black Bay Pro
The Tudor Black Bay Pro is a GMT watch, with a 24-hour bezel with black markings etched into the satin finish. The case has a diameter of 39mm, with a satin finish on the upper surface and polished edges. The sapphire crystal is scratch-resistant, and domed to provide an attractive highlight. In addition to the screw-down crown, there’s also a set of screw-down pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock.
This watch is water-resistant to 200 meters, and comes equipped with a satin steel bracelet with faux rivets. Th MT5652 movement is COSC-certified, and boasts a power reserve of 70 hours.
The dial is matte black, with fine cream hashes at the minute positions around the outer index. The five-minute positions are marked by broader hashes, along with large cream lume circles. Lume bars mark the 6 and 9 o’clock positions, with an arrow at 12 o’clock. A small cream-backed date window marks the 3 o’clock position.
The hands should look familiar to anyone who’s a fan of Tudor watches. They’re primarily gold, with an attractive cream lume fill. However, you’ll also notice a GMT hand. This hand tracks a second time zone around the bezel, and is long and orange, with a diamond-shaped lume-filled tip.
Tudor Black Bay Chrono
The Tudor Black Bay Chrono has a 41mm stainless steel case, which lends it a medium wrist presence. Most of the surface has a brushed finish, while the edges are polished. The stainless steel bezel has a matte black anodized aluminum inset with a series of silver tachymeter markings.
The domed sapphire crystal is scratch-resistant and puts a highlight on the edge of the dial. There are 2- and 4-o’clock pushers in addition to the crown, and the watch has a 200-meter water-resistance rating. It’s equipped with a 316L stainless steel bracelet with a satin finish and a safety release catch. The Black Bay Chrono runs on a Tudor MT5813 COSC-certified automatic movement with a 70-hour power reserve.
The cream-colored dial has an outer index with fine black hashes at the minute marks and ultra-fine hashes every 15 seconds as befits a tachymeter watch. The five-minute hashes are a bit fatter, and the positions are also marked by large round lume dots at the five-minute positions. An arrow adorns the 12 o’clock position, and you’ll see a small date window at 6 o’clock.
To the left and right, there’s a pair of black chronometer subdials. In addition to Tudor’s standard hour and minute hands, there’s a slim second hand with a tiny arrow at the tip.
Tudor Black Bay GMT
The Tudor Black Bay GMT is also a 41mm stainless steel watch. The first thing you’ll notice is the bezel, which is blue on top and red on the bottom. It has 24 hour markings in Arabic numerals, with circles marking the half-hour positions in-between. The bezel is bi-directional, and can be quickly rotated to set the GMT function to a new time zone. Other features include a scratch-resistant domed sapphire crystal, a tri-link bracelet, and 200-meter water-resistance. The COSC-certified movement has a power reserve of 70 hours.
The satin black dial has an outer index with white hashes to mark the minute and five-minute positions. The rest of the dial is largely similar to Tudor’s other offerings, with large white lume markings. There’s a date window at 3 o’clock instead of a lume marker, and a GMT hand that looks similar to the second hand but is red instead of silver.
Leave a Reply