Tudor Black Bay GMT, 2020

Dealer description — S.Song Watches

When Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf envisaged a brand to bring Rolex quality timepieces to the everyday man, I doubt he envisaged timepieces as well-made as modern-day Tudors. While still under Rolex's control, Tudor has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and ever since the launch of their Black Bay range in 2012 it seems there is no stopping for the Genevan Giant. Inspired by their old dive watches, the Black Bay range is a modern yet grounded interpretation of Tudor's Submariner ref. 7922, to be specific. Known for their tool-watches, it is no surprised that Tudor would use the Black Bay collection to marry 200m dive watch water resistance with both, time only setups and complications like chronographs and GMTs, as we have here. In essence, the Black Bay range can be characterized as a watch that merges everyday function with historical design and watchmaking excellence. Taking design inspiration from their sibling brand Rolex, Tudor has adopted a Pepsi-style bezel for their Black Bay GMT but in typical rebellious younger sibling fashion, opted to do it their own way. Deciding to swap the bright blue and vibrant red that was made famous by Rolex' GMT-Master, Tudor has gone with a muted tone of matte burgundy and an equally toned-down shade of matte blue. Completing the vintage aesthetic of the Black Bay, the GMT we offer here is mounted to a steel bracelet with faux rivets on the outside of the links. This design choice is a subtle nod to the Black Bay's roots while also showing that Tudor can merge aesthetic choices with modern functionality. Truth be told, the Black Bay GMT is a modern everyday tool-watch that appeals to vintage tastes, and to say it succeeds in hitting every nail on the head would frankly be an understatement.