Tudor Unveiled Its New Watches for 2021, and Nobody Saw Them Coming

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This year, the Watches & Wonders Geneva trade show is once again an online event — only this time, it includes brands such as Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe and more. Check back here often for our coverage of this horological mega-show to see all the latest watches.

Tudor’s new watches for 2021 are finally here, with chronograph and dive watches in the brand’s flagship Black Bay collection the stars of the show. You wanted “panda dials?” Tudor delivered. Gold and sterling silver-cased dive watches? That was somewhat unexpected, but it seems just about everything looks good on the massively popular Black Bay Fifty-Eight.

As Rolex’s sister brand and one of the hottest names in watchmaking, anticipation ran high, but it’s safe to say not many people saw any of these watches coming from Tudor. Each of them offers a fun, retro-inspired aesthetic, and will of course offer the strong value and incredible quality the brand is loved for.

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The New Black Bay Chrono for 2021

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The new Black Bay Chrono comes in “panda dial” versions

Contrasting black subdials on a white main dial is often colloquially called a “panda dial,” while the opposite is a “reverse panda dial.” The new Tudor Black Bay Chrono comes in both versions, and it looks pretty killer. With roots in motorsport, it’s a look that was popular in the 1960s and is experiencing a resurgence — along with just about everything in watches from that era. Contrasting subdials have been found on models in the past like the two-tone S&G models, but black and white has a very classic, retro look.

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The Chrono’s case is now thinner than ever — but other features are unchganged

Chronographs tend to be chunky due to their complicated movements, so every bit of thickness that can be shaved off is appreciated. The new Black Bay Chrono’s case is now 14.4mm thick, but the 41mm diameter is the same as previous versions. The bezel is in black aluminum, and the movement inside is same the MT5813 which was jointly developed with Breitling.

Price: $4,900 (strap); $5,225 (bracelet)

The New Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925 and 18k Watches for 2021

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They feature new case materials, including uncommon sterling silver

The “925” in the new Black Bay Fifty-Eight dive watch’s name stands for sterling silver. Although often thought of as metal used in jewelry design, it’s an unusual material for use in watch cases. In order to make it most appropriate for watches, Tudor uses its own proprietary (and undisclosed) alloy, but it’s said to offer an especially “luminous” effect (distinguishing it from plain old stainless steel) and presumably avoids easy tarnishing. It’s matched to a taupe dial and aluminum bezel, for a distinctive but warm look.

A second new model, simply called the Black Bay 18k, is rendered entirely in 18k gold and matched to a green dial and aluminum bezel. (The Black Bay Fifty-Eight has been popular for its 39mm case size that offers a better wearing experience for many than the standard Black Bay at 41mm.) The entire case of both the silver and gold models is rendered with a brushed finish.

A display case back shows off the in-house movement

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Unlike other Black Bay dive watches, each of the new silver and gold Tudor Black Bay watches have case backs with a window displaying the excellent, COSC-chronometer-certified, in-house MT5400 automatic movement. Such a display case back poses some extra challenges to water resistance, but Tudor manages to maintain the perfectly dive-ready 200m rating. The price premium for silver above the impressive value proposition of steel isn’t outrageous, either — but gold is, of course, significantly more expensive.

Price: $4,300 (silver); $16,800 (gold)

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Tudor Black Bay Chrono Watch Gets Updated Looks For 50th Anniversary

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Marking 50 years of its chronographs, Tudor is updating its Black Bay Chrono with a reworked case, plus two dial and three strap options. 1954 saw the first Tudor dive watch and 1970 debuted the first Tudor chronograph with the Oysterdate. The two worlds have merged in the Black Bay Chrono that merged the trademark Black Bay dial and its high-contrast geometric shapes with ageless chronograph elements such as a tachymeter bezel, panda dial and two chunky pushers.

It’s been 4 years that we debuted the Tudor Black Bay Chrono hands-on here. Let’s first see what’s new and then what has remained unchanged. The 41mm stainless steel case is “refined by the ingenious cut of the lower part of the sapphire crystal and a repositioned movement.” In keeping with the traditions of its parent company, Rolex, Tudor actively and wilfully refuses to provide any sort of meaningful explanation as to the engineering changes and slight, but certainly calculated modifications it has performed during this upgrade. Although we are yet to see these hands-on (which we will do very soon), judging from images we can say that that the lug structure and case profile appear to have been tweaked slightly.

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The end result appears to be one of improved overall proportions: as you might find in the hands-on we linked to in the previous paragraph, 2017’s Black Bay Chrono had rather long and thin lugs along with a very tall case profile in between the lugs. The black anodized aluminum bezel of the 2021 Tudor Black Bay Chrono also does tremendous service in tidying up the overall look, creating a tighter and better proportioned front.

The dial remains domed and comes finished in matt black or opaline, with contrasting sub-dials, creating that much-loved panda and reverse panda aesthetic. The date remains discreetly at 6 o’clock, just underneath the text that boasts the 200m water resistance rating of the Tudor Black Bay Chrono – a neat feature that is much appreciated on a watch that very much wants to function as one’s only watch that is perfect for any situation and attire.

Inside the 41mm stainless steel case is the “manufacture chronograph calibre MT5813” – a movement that, unless things have changed dramatically in the background, is in fact largely manufactured by Breitling. This is one of the greatest cross-brand collaborations of recent years (or even decades) in the relatively affordable luxury watchmaking segment and we are thrilled that it came to be. The existence of the collaboration is also a fact Tudor has openly discussed back in 2017 – which is what one would expect after the “in-house” drama that hit TAG Heuer and Bremont in the last decade. In today’s official communication the MT5813 is introduced as a movement that is “derived from the chronograph manufacture calibre Breitling 01, with a high-precision regulating organ developed by TUDOR and exclusive finishes. [It] is the result of a lasting collaboration between the two brands, which have chosen to pool their expertise in the design and production of certain mechanical movements.” That’s all great but, on a personal note and if we were to stay consistent with what the aforementioned two brands’ recent history has taught us, these frankly probably shouldn’t be labelled as manufacture movements. They are such proper movements, they don’t even need no such labelling anyway.

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Naming schemes aside, powered by the MT5813, the Tudor Black Bay Chrono is among the absolute best value propositions as far as chronograph technologies and refinement are concerned. For under $5,000 one receives an excellent chronograph caliber that boasts 70 hours of power reserve (like the much more expensive Rolex 4130), features a vertical clutch and a column wheel (again, like the much more expensive Rolex 4130) and has a silicon hairspring (something that not even the 4130 currently has). And yet, the package still comes in at several thousand dollars under the cheapest B01-equipped Breitling watch.

With its relatively minor yet noticeable updates, the 2021 Tudor Black Bay Chrono combines a confident vintage aesthetic with some proper cutting-edge 21st century watchmaking. Case and bracelet quality on Tudors of late have been consistently impressive – we’ll check on those when we get our hands on these, but chances are extremely slim for that to change for the worse. The 2021 Tudor Black Bay Chrono is priced at 4,950 CHF on the bracelet and 4,650 CHF on the bund strap or jacquard-woven strap – both prices are inclusive of taxes. You can learn more at the brand’s website.

The Watches We’re Expecting to See at Watches & Wonders 2021

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Watches & Wonders — previously SIHH — is upon us yet again. Like last year, the trade show is digital, but unlike in past years, the Richemont Group (and assorted independent) brands now have some heavy-hitting company joining them.

That’s right: Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chopard (and more) have jumped ship from (now-dead/sort of rejiggered into something else, kind of?) Baselworld and hopped on the Watches & Wonders train. Which means we get to play an extended, expanded game of:

Watches We Expect to See at Watches & Wonders 2021

A New Rolex Explorer II

Rolex

2021 marks 50 years since the debut of the ref. 1655 Explorer II back in 1971. The watch has undergone numerous variations big and small since then, perhaps none physically bigger than the up-scaling of the model’s case from 40mm to 42mm in 2011. The ref. 216570 is now ten years old and probably due for an upgrade. Given Rolex’s recent predilection for upping its case sizes while the rest of watch world has finally been moving in the opposite direction, we can only hope that if a new model debuts, it will regress toward the 40mm direction and not expand toward the size of a small neutron star. (Note: a teaser on Rolex’s website seems to confirm the imminent debut of a new

A Colorful Nomos Club

Nomos Glashütte / Gear Patrol

For the record, this isn’t something I expect to see — rather, it' something I want to see. I love the Nomos Club, so much so that when folks are buying a first “serious” watch for someone and ask my opinion, I often point them here. And what with all the colorful dials we’ve been seeing lately in the Rolex “Stella” vein, why not apply some of that levity to the Club’s hand-wound variants? (Several of the Neomatik diver’s variants do already come in bright “siren” colors.) But imagine this guy in bright, fun colors? I’d be all over that.

A Tudor Black Bay GMT in Some New Color Scheme

Tudor / Gear Patrol

I don’t have any good reason to believe that Tudor will necessarily release a new version of its beloved GMT watch that debuted in 2018. I just figure it’s been three years and we’re due for an update. And I kinda want one. (What I actually want is one in a 39mm case that’s roughly 13mm thick, but who’s counting.) Giving the world a few more color options for the dual-color bezel just seems like a no-brainer in today’s horological climate, and frankly, they’d sell like hotcakes. (I’d predict a new BB58, but we just got a blue dial last summer.)

A 1940s-Inspired Breitling Premier

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Next year marks 70 years of the Navitimer (technically, anyway), so I’m saving my predictions for that model for next year’s show. What could be on the horizon for this year? Honestly, not a clue. The Superocean’s not having a special anniversary soon, either, and the Premier won’t have its special day until 2023. I’ll tell you what I want to see, however: a 1940s-styled Premier with pump pushers, a step case and a 38mm diameter. Is that likely? Not a chance. Buy a guy can dream, can’t he?

The Patek Philippe 5711’s “Victory Lap”

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I’m totally spitballing here, and probably dead wrong, but: Back in February, when Patek Philippe’s president Thierry Stern announced that the brand’s beloved Nautilus ref. 5711 was soon to be discontinued, he also mentioned to the New York Times that the watch “will have a victory lap.” “We will have a surprise final series of the Ref. 5711. And it is not what was left in the pipeline.” Could that mean some sort of special, final 5711 to see the reference off to the great horological gig in the sky? Who knows, but we certainly have our fingers crossed.

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