Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT Review: Tudor's Most Versatile Travel Watch?

Tudor has been on a roll in recent years with expanding its contemporary repertoire of watches, and has debuted several heaters across its collection this year alone. But if I were to pick out one model as a standout among the bunch over the past few years, I think that a release from 2024 still takes the cake as its most impactful addition to its modern catalog – the Black Bay 58 GMT. I know everyone might not agree with me here, and we’re all entitled to our own unique favorites (I will say the Black Bay Pro is a close second, for transparency), but there’s something about the Black Bay GMT that continuously impresses me. From its wearability to its versatility and great color palette, there’s a lot to love. So, as a testament to my Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT favoritism, today, I’m diving into the depths with this watch, exploring how it came to be, what works about it, what it possibly leaves to be desired, and, of course, some speculative guesses on where I think the brand might go next.

Some Context and History 

As always, it’s necessary to begin at, well, the beginning, and do a little bit of digging into the brand’s legacy to chart the trajectory of how we get to the Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT. For an even further exploration into the longstanding history of Tudor GMT watches, I will refer you now to this definitive guide on the subject here. Unlike its luxurious older sibling, Tudor’s connection with GMT functionality can’t really be traced back anywhere specific in the 20th century. Tudor, in its early days –  before the brand really stepped out into its own, and still leaned on advertising its connection to Rolex, and shared casemaking production – often released more approachably priced tool watches that echoed what the Crown was doing at the time, but that never really happened in the case of the GMT-Master. For whatever reason, Tudor just did not get around to making a GMT happen for itself in the 20th century. Instead, the brand put most of its metaphorical tool watch eggs in the diver basket with its own take on the Submariner diver beginning in 1954.

Tudor would actually keep calling its divers Submariners until the early 2000s. In this scope of time, the brand would switch between utilizing a more Rolex-like Mercedes-style hand and the Snowflake-tipped hands introduced with the French Marine Nationale partnership in 1969, somewhat interchangeably. In 2012, we arrive at our first 21st-century pit stop on today’s journey with the extremely significant launch of the Black Bay. This moment is not only significant for the watch of today’s subject, but for Tudor as a brand – in addition to further severing identification with Rolex, it was repositioning itself as a solid tool watch brand with a keen eye for heritage designs that would resonate with a new generation of consumers.

After a somewhat dark period in which the Tudor Submariner was officially discontinued, the 2012 launch of the Black Bay hit the scene with a bang and was something of an immediate smash hit. Not only did the new name of the collection feel more uniquely Tudor, but the product itself resonated with the audience, combining tool watch utility with heritage callbacks (again, Snowflake hands) in modern proportions and a reasonable price point. As a brief aside, the name “Black Bay” for itself is kind of a clever work of marketing – it doesn’t refer to a specific point or moment in the brand’s history, but rather elicits an appropriate maritime “vibe.”

So, what is the necessary next step if you’re a watch brand with a certified hit on your hands? You expand the crap out of the line, obviously. Tudor smartly worked on pumping out subsequent follow-ups to the Black Bay in the years since its launch (but didn’t go overboard, I don’t think). The blue-hued Black Bay was next, followed by the first Black Bay with an in-house movement in 2016, and in 2018, we got the first Black Bay 58, ushering in more vintage-inspired proportions into the collection with its 39mm diameter over the classic 41mm size. Right alongside the smaller Black Bay 58, Tudor launched its very first GMT take on the line with the appropriately named Black Bay GMT. While the brand experimented with offering some GMT watches during its identity crisis in the 2000s, the Black Bay GMT was its first to use a “true” GMT movement via the manufacture caliber MT5652. This initial model featured the “Pepsi” blue and red bezel that collectors love, but the proportions were on the chunky side (though not unwearable), with its 41mm diameter and 14.7mm case profile. 

Now, we’ve got the two key ingredients necessary for the watch of today’s subject in the mix: smaller 39mm proportions and Tudor’s own in-house GMT movement. The actual combining of the two would take some time (six years to be exact). In 2024, watch enthusiasts finally got the winning combo they’d been dreaming about (or screaming about on the internet) from Tudor, and the brand finally unveiled the Black Bay 58 GMT, complete with a new in-house caliber in a winning color combo of black and burgundy with touches of rose gold. 

Black Bay 58 GMT Case and Wearability

Like I’ve sort of hinted at above, the case dimensions of the Black Bay 58 are a large part of its wow-factor. First, the 39mm diameter  (47.3mm lug-to-lug) itself immediately starts ringing off the potential Goldilocks proportion alarm bells. Though a lot of people out there tend to refer to it as more vintage-inspired, I personally think the range of 38mm-40mm is kind of the general sweet spot of today. But in addition to the scaling down of the case diameter, Tudor really knocked it out of the park with the slimness of the Black Bay 58 GMT. Whereas the first Black Bay GMT sacrificed slimness to work in the GMT movement, the 12.8mm case profile of the Black Bay 58 GMT is so much more in step with the non-GMT BB58. It’s just under 1mm thicker than the 11.9mm profile of the BB58 for crying out loud! Typically, some sacrifices need to be made in the real estate when it comes to adding an additional function in the movement department, but Tudor really took what the enthusiasts wanted to heart here.

This case size one-two-punch of being slimmer and smaller also serves to open up the watch to a wider variety of wearers, myself included. As a woman with a somewhat puny wrist, the dimensions of the classic Black Bay GMT quite honestly look ridiculous on me. But immediately, when I first got my hands on the Black Bay 58 GMT and put it on my wrist, I was almost agast at how good it looked. The bracelet, in my mind, is also a huge win. Though some people love to hate the faux rivets, the addition of the T-fit clasp for easy adjustment is a big step up from the trifit clasp the Black Bay 58 originally debuted with. Of course, if those faux rivets on the sides of the links really bother you, you can always go for the more sporty rubber strap option. Additionally, with the screw-down case back, you’re getting 200 meters of water resistance, and the screw down crown has tied back in the old Tudor rose emblem of yesteryear as a fun callback. 

Black Bay 58 GMT Dial 

Across the entire Black Bay collection, the overall design ethos when it comes to the dials is pretty utilitarian and tool-oriented. In the case of the Black Bay 58 GMT, however, I will argue that the brand has ascended the typical tool watch formula and given us something more elevated, something more luxurious, while still being legible. It really boils down to the small details that have a big impact. 

First things first, we have the familiar dial layout, with the triangular twelve o’clock hour marker mixed with pips and rectangular-shaped hour markers at six and nine o’clock, complemented by the date window at three. While typically, I usually prefer color-matched date windows, I think the ivory color of this date window works in this case, and makes it feel more at home and in the same color world as the other indices. Since this watch does have diving roots after all, we’ve got a healthy serving of green Super-LumiNova on all the hour markers and the signature Snowflake-tipped hands. The dial is matte black, but where things get interesting and, in my opinion, more premium looking, is in the case of all the gilt going on. From the hands to around the minutes track, indices, GMT bezel, and the script, everything’s gotten the gilt treatment, which really ties into this watch’s vintage-inspired ethos. Some people could go without it, but the gilt really works for me, making the watch capture that vintage appeal with warmth without feeling dated or aged. 

Another key detail of the Black Bay 58 GMT is the two-tone GMT bezel in burgundy and black. Before its release, many were anticipating that if a BB58 GMT were to exist, it would probably have a more typical Rolex-esque color combo, like the familiar red and blue “Pepsi” combo. But Tudor really stepped into its own here with the somewhat unexpected choice of burgundy, which the brand only seems to be leaning into further. And again, I think matching the gilt for the 24-hour scale just looks killer. As far as material construction goes, the bezel insert is in aluminum. Protecting the dial, we have the domed, glassbox-style sapphire crystal, which is another detail that channels the vintage aesthetic. 

Black Bay 58 GMT Movement

The proportions of this watch, especially that slimmed-down case height, owe a lot of credit to the new movement introduced with the Black Bay 58 GMT – the Manufacture Calibre MT5450-U. Whereas the brand’s first GMT movement was a huge step in the right direction, it left a lot of room for improvement (including some date setting conundrums that Tudor eventually ironed out). The MT5450-U, on the other hand, is sort of a mic drop moment for Tudor. In addition to being Tudor’s first Master Chronometer Certified (and COSC-certified for good measure) movement, it’s also a true flyer GMT, allowing for completely independent setting of the local and GMT hands, all while remaining slim enough to fit within the 12.8mm case profile. Additionally, the MT5450-U has a power reserve of 60 hours, features hacking seconds, hand-winding, and has a 4 Hz frequency. 

Final Thoughts

With Tudor’s Black Bay 58 GMT, it seems to me that the brand is solidly proving itself as a big contender in the landscape of Swiss Watchmaking, and one that is not afraid to give the people what they want. It’s not only a watch with some serious tool watch chops, but also makes the case that there are ways to infuse beauty into the utilitarian – all while still delivering on the functionality and mechanical fronts, even if the caliber is not on display. Do I think the bracelet could use a bit more aesthetic refinement? Sure. I also think Tudor should go ahead and give us a Jubilee-style bracelet option, too, while they’re at it. But all in all, I think the brand delivered one of the most versatile tool watches available, not just in terms of what it can do, but who can wear it. The only path forward I can imagine for the Black Bay 58 GMT is further expansion and refinement, but I personally think the brand should stick to the elevated looks of this model. The only logical assumption is that we will be seeing more BB58 GMT options in the future, though we might have to be patient for a couple more years. You can learn more at tudorwatch.com