The Tudor Black Bay of 2012 will undoubtedly go down in horological history as one of the smash-hit designs of the 21st century. The timepiece proved key to the revival of the Rolex sister brand – created in 1926 to offer quality watches to the less well off, but which ceased to operate in the UK, America and most parts of Europe from the late 1990s until its 2009 relaunch.
That original Black Bay was a reinterpretation of a 1950s Tudor dive watch, spruced up with a distinctive burgundy bezel and buff dial markings for an appealing retro look.
But where exactly is “Black Bay”? According to Tudor’s whimsical explanation, it is a ‘fictitious hidden cove, which holds secrets that can only be discovered over time’.
More interestingly, there actually is a Black Bay on the Caribbean island of St Lucia – which would be a great place to head to in order to test the very latest iteration of the Black Bay watch, the 58 GMT (pictured here).
While the standard Black Bay measures 41mm in diameter, the 58 – first seen as a three-hander in 2018 – comes in at a more of-the-moment 39mm but, until now, it wasn’t available with a dual time zone GMT movement.
The 58 GMT changes that. It is being lauded by many as the traveller’s watch de jour thanks to its on-trend size, wearability, durability, pleasing aesthetic and – in Tudor tradition – sensible price.
Based on the far more expensive Rolex GMT-Master system – devised in 1955 for pilots of Pan Am’s new trans-Atlantic passenger jets – the “GMT” (for Greenwich Mean Time) mechanism is simple to use and easy to read.
Just set the main hour hand to the local time wherever you are, and then synchronise the secondary (red) one with the 24-hour rotating bezel to show “home” time (using the red half to represent daylight hours and the blue for night).
And when you land in St Lucia, you can immediately head for a swim in Black Bay without removing your Black Bay GMT – because it’s waterproof to 200 metres and comes with Metas certification to prove it, as well as to vouch for its precision, accuracy and exceptional resistance to magnetic fields.
And, at £3,770 on a rubber strap (or £3,960 on a bracelet), you might have enough left over for some snorkeling kit…
Simon de Burton is a journalist and author who writes for the FT’s How to Spend It, BritishGQ and Boat International, among other publications
