The brand’s Black Bay 54 collection pays homage to the design of its first diving watches and is equipped with technically advanced mechanical movements.
TUDOR has a rich history of crafting watches meant to withstand challenging physical conditions while looking good in the process. First established in 1946 by Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, the Le Locle, Switzerland-based manufacture has for nearly 80 years been at the forefront of high-performance watchmaking. Wilsdorf’s mission when founding TUDOR was to “offer watches with the quality and dependability of a Rolex, at a more affordable price point,” according to the brand. And he had planned ahead, having registered the name TUDOR in 1926 (Rolex’s name was registered in 1908).
In the early 1950s, the brand began making watches to be worn by divers utilizing the new SCUBA (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) equipment to stay underwater for longer periods of time and at deeper depths. The watches that SCUBA divers wear need to keep perfect time under high water pressure for their safety. Knowing the time allows the diver to calculate how much air is left in the tank. Accurate timing of the intervals of a diver’s ascent for decompression is also crucial to prevent decompression sickness.
The First Dive Watch
TUDOR’s early dive watches are the inspiration for the overall design of the brand’s Black Bay 54 collection, which was introduced in 2023. The Black Bay 54 watch “embodies the purest modern expression of the brand’s first-ever dive watch,” according to the brand, alluding to the Oyster Prince Submariner reference 7922, which was released in 1954. The Oyster Prince Submariner was the gold standard for timing accuracy and robustness in its time and equipped the US and French navies.
Modern Technology
The 37mm Black Bay 54 reflects the proportions and design of TUDOR’s first dive watches to a T, but it is powered by a modern, technically advanced movement, the brand’s time-only Calibre MT5400. Also modern is the watch’s depth rating, which now stands at 200 meters. Like the original, the Black Bay 54 has a unidirectional timing bezel that marks the minutes without the standard hash marks found on modern divers’ watches. The watch’s second hand has a lollipop design, another nod to the original.
Modern advances in luminosity offer a great advantage over the early divers, allowing for greater readability in the dark depths (and on dry land). On the Black Bay 54, grade A Swiss Super-LumiNova® is applied to the hour markers, hour, minute, and seconds hands and on the bezel.
“We keep the best of the past. The best watchmaking practices, the best designs,” the brand said in a statement, “and push the boundaries of what’s new.” That motto is certainly in evidence in the Black Bay 54 collection.
Into The Blue
In 2023, the Black Bay 54 was introduced in stainless steel on either a steel bracelet or a rubber strap. Recently, the Black Bay 54 Lagoon Blue joined the lineup with a sand-textured dial in a shade of blue that invokes the sea and sky. And it’s ready to take to the sea: The watch is equipped with the same Calibre MT5400 movement and depth rating of 200 meters.
The Black Bay 54 stands ready for adventure, whether it’s on the sea’s shore or in its depths.
