The Heritage Black Bay, presented for the first time in 2012 and honoured by the jury of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie in Geneva the following year, has been updated for 2016 with a mechanical movement developed, manufactured and assembled in-house by TUDOR.
One of the brand’s truly iconic models, it celebrates 60 years of diving watches with extraordinary heritage.
The characteristic elements of the Heritage Black Bay’s personality have been drawn from TUDOR’s history. It inherits the general lines, as well as the domed dial and crystal from the first TUDOR diving watches.
It features the particularly prominent winding crown from the famous 7924 reference of 1958, known as the Big Crown. It borrows the characteristic angular hands, known as snowflake, from the watches delivered in large quantities to the French National Navy in the 1970s.
The TUDOR in-house movement MT5602 was manufactured by TUDOR and developed as an update to the Heritage Black Bay model. It displays hours, minutes and seconds, and bears the reference MT5602, in which “MT” stands for “Mouvement TUDOR”. In 2015, TUDOR announced the first mechanical movement in its history to have been developed, manufactured and assembled in-house.
A high-performance calibre of excellent precision and proven robustness, it offers a 70-hour power reserve. Beating to a frequency of 28,800 beats/hour or 4Hz, the movement is regulated by a variable inertia oscillator with silicon balance spring, held in place by a traversing bridge – a guarantee of its robustness. Furthermore, the movement is certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).
TUDOR has also reworked the steel bracelet which comes with this model, taking inspiration from the brand’s riveted bracelets made in the 50s and 60s. These were famous for having rivet heads for attaching the links in evidence on the side of the bracelet, as well as a stepped construction. These two aesthetic details have now been integrated into the bracelet of the Heritage Black Bay model, which benefits at the same time from modern manufacturing methods with solid links.
Also available with an aged leather strap and folding clasp, the Heritage Black Bay model is supplied in both cases with an extra strap in matching fabric: black or burgundy for the version with the burgundy bezel, blue for the version with the blue bezel and black for the version with the black bezel and red triangle. Made in the Jacquard technique according to traditional methods by a hundred-year-old family business from the St-Etienne region of France, these straps are a signature feature of TUDOR’s Heritage line.
The Heritage Black Bay model is available in three versions, each with its own personality. With its burgundy bezel, black dial, rose-gold hands and markers and cream coloured luminescent coating, the original TUDOR Heritage Black Bay has the soft and warm patina of an antique watch.
Radically different and rightly nicknamed “Midnight Blue” by aficionados of the brand, the TUDOR Heritage Black Bay with its blue bezel displays the ice-cold face and sharp contrasts which lend to the watch the look of a professional technical instrument.
Of the three, the TUDOR Heritage Black Bay “Black” version best captures the pioneer spirit of the first TUDOR diving watches.
A notable new decorative detail is the famous red triangle on the unidirectional bezel, taken from the TUDOR models of the 1950s.
Technical details
Model: Tudor Heritage Black Bay (with MT5602 Manufacture TUDOR movement)
References: 79230B, 79230N & 79230R
Case
Steel, 41 mm, polished and satin finish
Bezel: Steel unidirectional rotatable bezel with disc in matt burgundy, matt blue or matt black anodised aluminium
Screw-down steel winding crown, with the TUDOR rose engraved and black-lacquered, with burgundy, blue or black anodised aluminium winding crown tube
Crystal: Domed sapphire crystal
Waterproof to 200 m (660 ft)
Movement
MT5602, Manufacture TUDOR (COSC)
Swiss Chronometer Officially Certified by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute)
Self-winding mechanical movement with bidirectional rotor system
Power reserve: Approximately 70 hours
Oscillator: Variable inertia balance, micro-adjustment by screw
Non-magnetic silicon balance spring
Frequency: 28,800 beats/hour (4Hz))
Total Diameter: 31,8 mm
Thickness: 6,5 mm
Jewels: 25 jewels
Functions
Centre hour, minute and seconds hands
Stop-seconds function for precise time setting
Dial
Black, domed
Bracelet
Steel bracelet or aged leather strap with folding clasp and safety catch
Additional fabric strap with buckle included in the box
Retail Price
Swiss Price (VAT incl.): From CHF 3’200.—