Tudor Black Bay Chrono Review: Tudor's Modern High Complication 8 Years Later

Mark Bernardo
Tudor Black Bay Chrono Review: Tudor's Modern High Complication 8 Years Later

The Tudor Black Bay Chrono hit the market, somewhat unexpectedly, in 2017, boldly elevating the already red-hot Black Bay collection into a new tier of horological prestige and marking the debut of a collaboration (again, rather unexpected) between Rolex-owned Tudor and its Swiss sport-watch competitor Breitling. Nearly a decade later, the model still represents the highest level of complication in Tudor’s 21st-Century lineup, and yet this Tudor chronograph also remains very manageable, as a subfamily, in terms of material, size, and colorway options — an area in which the larger Black Bay collection, some might argue, has gone a bit far in the opposite direction, now encompassing three distinctive iterations: original Black Bay, Black Bay 58, and Black Bay 54 (which we reviewed here), all touting different sizing and multiple colorways and materials. And this doesn’t even include the other “complicated” extension of the line, the Black Bay GMT, which recently debuted in the “58” sizing and which seems to unveil a new bicolor bezel or dial color every year since its 2018 debut.

Tudor Black Bay 41

Originally called the Heritage Black Bay — as it was clearly an homage to vintage dive watches from Tudor’s watchmaking history, which began in 1946 — the OG Black Bay model traces its aesthetic roots to the Oyster Prince Submariner, released in 1954, one year after big brother Rolex rolled out its own much more famous Submariner watch. This original version, Ref. 7922, used the same “Mercedes” handset found on many Rolex models and was water-resistant to 100 meters; its successor in 1958, Ref. 7924, upped this rating to 200 meters, which is still the standard for Tudor dive watches today.

Tudor Black Bay blue

Nicknamed the “Big Crown” because of its extra-large 8mm winding crown, this model was replaced in 1969 by Ref. 7016,  whose newly designed, distinctive square-themed hands and markers earned it the nickname “Snowflake.” The cleverly curated elements that make up the Black Bay DNA include the “snowflake” hour hand, large screw-down crown with Tudor rose emblem, and the assortment of geometrical hour markers — round dots and rectangles, with a dominant inverted triangle at 12 o’clock — derived from Tudor Submariners from the ‘60s and ‘70s. This combination of historical features, in addition to the very accessible prices, made the Black Bay Tudor’s first bonafide hit since the brand’s return to the U.S. market in 2013. 

tudor black bay 41

Unlike the core three-handed, dive-ready Black Bay 41 models, example above — and the Black Bay GMTs, which are clearly inspired by Rolex’s legendary GMT-Master — the Black Bay Chrono has no clear historical antecedent, which makes its design all that much more impressive, considering how much it not only fits seamlessly into the overall Black Bay family but also evokes an earlier era of chronograph design. And yet, in so many ways, the Black Bay Chrono might be the most boldly modern product in the Tudor lineup. As we approach the end of its decade on the market, let’s run down the particulars of the Black Bay Chrono and explore the intriguing options that are available.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Case and Bezel

Tudor Black Bay Chrono

The Black Bay Chrono debuted in a stainless steel case, with a large but not unwieldy diameter of 41mm and a thickness of 14.4mm. (Of course, back in 2017 when this model debuted, few would characterize these dimensions as very large at all.) The lug width spans 22mm and the case’s surfaces feature alternating satin-brushed and polished finishing. This sizing matches exactly that of the non-Chrono Black Bay cases (excluding the outlier 43mm sizing of the Black Bay Bronze), which are larger than those of the two descendants, the Black Bay Fifty-Eight (39mm) and Black Bay Fifty-Four (37mm).

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Bezel

Distinguishing this case from all of those, however, is the bezel, whose anodized aluminum insert is inscribed not with a traditional dive scale but a tachymeter scale, bringing this model more into the realm of motorsport than marine exploration. The water resistance of 200 meters is retained, however, via a screw-down, fluted crown with an relief-engraved Tudor rose, the brand’s longtime emblem derived from England’s House of Tudor. Notably, the chronograph pushers flanking the crown are also designed to screw securely into the case when the user isn’t operating the chronograph function, presumably for safety underwater.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Dial

Tudor Black Bay Chrono

As previously noted, the dial of the Black Bay Chrono has clearly extended the historically derived motifs of its three-handed predecessor and added some very vintage-style chronograph elements. The central hour and minute hands carry forward the “Snowflake” aesthetic, while the minute track and hour markers offer some subtle differences: the inverted triangle at 12 o’clock is retained from the original Black Bays, while the remaining hours are designated only by circles and/or printed indexes. The subdials at 3 and 9 o’clock — which record 45 elapsed chronograph minutes and 60 running seconds, respectively — displace the baton indexes that would have appeared in those spots and a date window replaces the one at 6 o’clock. (The date appears at 3 o’clock on the Black Bay 41, while the Black Bay 58 and 54 models are both dateless.) All in all, it’s a fairly streamlined look. 

tudor black bay chrono dial

The original models in 2017 had monochromatic, tone-on-tone black dials, with the subdials discreetly bordered by white-printed tracks, and the engraved tachymeter bezel was in solid steel like the case. In 2021, Tudor introduced the crowd-pleasing, more dynamic “panda” and “reverse panda” iterations (as seen here), with contrasting subdials, and also debuted the color-matched bezel inserts in anodized aluminum, contrasting the more austere look of the original all-steel bezels. The dial is slightly domed, following the similar curve of the sapphire crystal above it, and the handset and markers are soaked in Super-LumiNova for nighttime visibility. 

Caliber MT5813 Movement

Tudor Black Bay Chrono caliberAs sleek and attractive as the chassis is, enthusiasts in the know understand that the real story of the Black Bay Chrono is under the hood. To develop the movement for the popular family’s first-ever chronograph watch, Tudor turned not to its parent brand Rolex but to an outside source, fellow Swiss sports-watch giant Breitling. The result has been mutually beneficial to both watchmakers. It starts with Breitling’s manufacture Caliber B01, introduced to great fanfare back in 2009 as the aviation watch specialist’s go-to in-house movement. Because so much of Breitling’s product line consists of chronographs like the Navitimer and Chronomat, Caliber B01 is designed not only as a base movement but a base movement with an integrated chronograph function. (Only recently, in fact, has Breitling introduced an in-house time-only caliber, the B31.)

To sum up, the arrangement between Tudor and Breitling ensured that Tudor, which needed a proprietary chronograph movement, had access to the B01 as its base, while Breitling, which at the time needed a reliable, chronometer-certified time-only movement for its Superocean Heritage models, had access to Tudor’s three-handed Caliber MT5612 that it had developed back in 2015. 

Tudor Black Bay Chrono pushers

The Breitling B01-based, self-winding Caliber MT5813 (“MT” for “Manufacture Tudor”), brings to the table all of the B01’s impressive technical attributes, including the ¼-second integrated chronograph function, powered by a column wheel with a vertical clutch; a 70-hour power reserve in a single mainspring barrel; a non-magnetic silicon balance spring; a brisk balance frequency of 28,800 vph; a jewel count of 47; and, as alluded to above, a COSC chronometer certification that speaks to the movement’s reliability and timekeeping accuracy.

Unlike Breitling, Tudor rarely puts its movements on display behind an exhibition caseback (it’s a Rolex thing, apparently), so the owner of a Black Bay Chrono won’t be able to look at the movement until it’s time to remove the caseback and service the watch. With this, and the mandate to maintain the brand’s relatively accessible pricing, undoubtedly in mind, Tudor has kept the decorative flourishes on the Caliber MT5813 chronograph to a minimum, and many might appreciate the somewhat industrial look. 

Bracelet and Clasp

Tudor Black Bay Chrono

Another area in which Tudor often turns to its past for inspiration are its straps and bracelets, several of which find homes in the Black Bay Chrono models. The design of the steel bracelets — which come in both a three-link and a five-link style, emulating the “Oyster” and “Jubilee” bracelets made famous by Rolex, albeit not actually referred to officially by those names — comes directly from those used on Tudor watches produced in the 1950s and 1960s. Those ancestors were notable for the visible rivet heads on their sides for attaching the links, and for a distinctive, stepped construction.

The bracelets on these Tudor chronographs also incorporate the proprietary “T-Fit” rapid-adjustment clasp system that can extend or subtract up to 8mm of bracelet length without the need for tools. The bi-material “S&G” models, which we touch upon below, are currently the only models available on straps — one, a black fabric strap made especially for Tudor on 19th-century Jacquard looms by its longtime partner, 150-year-old Julian Faure, based in Switzerland’s Saint-Etienne region; the other a “bund”-style strap in aged brown leather with ecru stitching.

Variations And Final Thoughts

Tudor Black Bay Chrono S&G

To circle back to our opening premise, the Black Bay Chrono has expanded somewhat modestly as a family compared to the rest of the series, which is not to imply that there are not some attention-grabbing alternatives to the core “reverse panda” timepiece shown in our photos above. The most luxurious are the aforementioned Black Bay Chrono S&G (Steel and Gold) models, introduced in 2019. These vintage-looking Tudor chronographs — which, to hardcore Rolex fans, will evoke the classic, collectible “John Player Special” Daytona models of the 1960s — match up a brushed-and-polished steel case with yellow-gold bezel, crown, and chrono pushers. Completing the package are gold trim on the hands and markers, golden text on the tachymeter scale and dial, and champagne-colored subdials. 

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Blue

The “Tudor Blue” boutique-only edition released in 2024 (above) uses the brand’s signature blue color for the dial, with contrasting silvered sundials for a fresh take on the panda style. That same year, Tudor generated a ton of watch-enthusiast buzz with the release of the Black Bay Chrono Pink (below), fronted by a domed, bright pink main dial with black subdials and a black, anodized aluminum tachymeter-scale bezel. Conceived with Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou, known for his pink attire, and style icon and fellow Tudor brand ambassador David Beckham, who chose the color for his CF Inter Miami soccer team, this “pink panda” was made in very limited quantities.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Pink

Beckham’s influence is also evident in another Tudor chronograph with the “Flamingo Blue” edition released in early ‘25, which is sort of a companion piece to the Pink model, with a pastel-esque, turquoise dial and contrasting black subdials, and for which Becks himself helped build a lot of pre-launch enthusiasm by previewing it for his millions of Instagram followers.

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Carbon 25

Most recently, Tudor, as it often does with special editions, channeled its history of motorsport timing with the release of the Black Bay Chrono Carbon 25 (above), the first Black Bay in a forged carbon case. The model’s energetic color scheme, with a “racing white” dial, black subdials, and light blue details like the minute track and dial text, is an homage to the livery of the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Team, the watchmaker’s current Formula One partner. Whether Tudor will continue to pursue a “less is more” strategy with the Black Bay Chrono is anybody’s guess, but these recent releases would seem to indicate that many different ideas remain on the table. 

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