Hello everyone! In this article, I’ll be shining a spotlight on my recent watch acquisition, the Tudor Black Bay 58.
This is essentially a series where I shine a spotlight on my personal purchases. I’ve previously done similar articles on my Kurono Tokyo Toki, IWC Mark XVIII Le Petit Prince, TAG Heuer Monaco CAW211B, Tissot PRX Powermatic 80, the Bell & Ross BR 05 and most recently, the Santos de Cartier. In this article, I’ll be showcasing another sports watch – the 2020 Tudor Black Bay 58 in blue. Here are 5 reasons why I bought it.
1) An iconic design
First launched in 2012, the Black Bay design has been around for a decade.
Today, the Black Bay is arguably one of the most recognisable dive watches in the market – right alongside its older brother (the Rolex Submariner), and counterparts such as the Omega Seamaster. In fact, it’s arguably become the brand’s most iconic model, and there has been multiple variations with differing complications (Black Bay GMT, Black Bay Chrono, etc). In my opinion, the Black Bay is probably the most successful watch design/family launched in the past decade. It has achieved what many brands tried and failed – no mean feat.
2) The Tudor brand
Being the younger brother of Rolex, the build quality of Tudor watches are rock solid.
For those uninitiated with the brand, Tudor was founded by Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf as a more affordable alternative to Rolex, but with its famed build quality. As such, Tudor watches used to be made in the same facilities as Rolex, though today the brand has its own manufacture. I appreciate the ethos behind Tudor, and in today’s age where stainless steel sport Rolexes are nigh unattainable, Tudor’s affordability and accessibility shines stronger than ever. Yet, its no budget cop-out – its brand ambassadors include the likes of David Beckham, Lady Gaga and Jay Chou. In other words, it has prestige and the build quality to back it up, resulting in Tudor generally being a respected brand even amongst the most ardent of watch enthusiasts.
3) In-house movement
A key part of that respectability stems from the fact that Tudor manufactures its own movements.
Powering the Tudor Black Bay 58 is Tudor’s Manufacture Calibre MT5402. It’s not just an in-house movement for in-house sake either – it actually boasts significant improvements as compared to its ETA/Sellita peers. For one, it’s COSC certified, meaning that it has an average accuracy of -4/+6 seconds per day. Secondly, the power reserve has been extended to a whopping 70 hours so you can take it off on Friday evening and find it still running on Monday morning. It even has a silicon hairspring (resistant to magnetism), making the MT5402 one of the most technically impressive movements at the ~S$5000 price point.
4) Perfect proportions
Of course, much of the above applies to the standard 41mm Black Bay as well. However, I specifically opted for the 39mm Black Bay 58 for one reason – it has the perfect proportions.
I used to have a Tudor Black Bay Dark, but eventually sold it away as I felt it was simply too bulky at almost 15mm. It certainly wouldn’t slide underneath a shirt cuff, and I could constantly feel its heft. In comparison, the Tudor Black Bay 58 is a svelte beauty. Its 39mm case diameter is the perfect sweet spot for my wrist, while the 11.9mm slimness makes me feel feel as though I was wearing a dress watch. It complements formal attire with ease, and there were genuinely moments where I simply forgot it was even on my wrist. I recall bringing the watch to a watch meetup, with one of the fellow enthusiasts stating that the wearability of the Black Bay 58 is “poisonous”. I believe its the best wearing dive watch on the market – Tudor has really nailed it with the vintage-inspired dimensions of the Black Bay 58.
5) Investment value
As the icing on the cake, the Tudor Black Bay 58 holds its value relatively well.
When it was first launched, the hype surrounding its release meant that the Tudor Black Bay 58 (especially this blue variant) was trading over retail. Thankfully, the buzz has now cooled, and the watch now trades for 10-20% below its MSRP. Yes, I’m a believer of simply buying what you like – but it doesn’t feel good to walk out of a shop knowing that the watch you just bought has just lost half its value. I won’t base my watch purchases on speculative investment value (if so my collection would mainly be sport Rolexes) but it’s definitely a boon to buy a watch that happens to hold its value well.
Conclusion
That rounds up my article on the Tudor Black Bay 58! I’m very happy about my purchase – I love the blue on blue in particular. It currently holds the “dive watch” role in my collection, and I suspect it will do so for quite some time. It’s undoubtedly the best watch in its class.
Tudor Black Bay 58 – Video Review
For those interested in seeing some hands-on footage of the watch, do watch my Youtube review of the Tudor Black Bay 58 below:
P.S Do check out the new “Discounts!” page for exclusive discounts for Wah so Shiok readers! More brands will be added very soon – stay tuned!
P.P.S If you haven’t already, do follow my social media channels on Facebook here, on Instagram here, and on Youtube here.
P.P.P.S Shiok is a common word Singaporeans use to express admiration or approval. As of 2016, you can find the definition of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary.
