Hands-On: The Tudor Black Bay Chrono Hits Its Stride

The two beautiful chronographs you see here are the new, slimmed-down versions of the all-steel Black Bay Chrono. Their  vintage-leaning designs harken back to early Rolex Daytonas about as clearly as one could imagine from modern Tudors with 200 meters of water resistance. With black tachymeter bezels and the choice of panda or reverse panda dials, they channel the golden age of sport watches while providing a solid, modern, unmistakable Rolex-Tudor build across the board – case, pushers, bracelet, and clasp. If I put on my personal Black Bay Fifty-Eight after not wearing it for a while, I often think that it could be a more expensive watch if someone in Geneva wanted it to be. The quality feels obvious. These new watches also convey that sense. Upon first seeing the steel Black Bay chronograph early Wednesday morning in its new panda and reverse panda guises, I realized that the chronograph version of the Black Bay had hit a stride following the Steel & Gold. If the overall Black Bay line's greatest strength is channeling classic dream watches from the mid-20th century, this one gets the job done easily. Think about it. The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight of 2018 took inspiration from the company's 7922 Submariner. Last year's version of the Black Bay Fifty-Eight pointed back at the much loved Tudor Marine Nationale Subs, aka Blue Snowflakes. And the Black Bay Chronograph Steel & Gold calls to mind the Rolex Daytona John Player Special, a whale of a vintage chrono in gold. After spending a bit of time with these two chronographs, a colleague and I both saw elements of the 6263 Daytona looking back at us. These modern, 200-meter-water-resistant chronos are a bit bigger than any of the vintage antecedents we might ascribe to them. Thinner than the original Tudor Black Bay Chronograph of 2017, the new Black Bay Chronograph in steel comes in at 14.4mm thick according to Tudor, just like the Steel & Gold Chrono of 2019. The original steel chrono of 2017, which debuted the same Caliber MT5813 movement we see here, was 14.9mm. A refinement of the case design and repositioning of the movement account for the loss of half a millimeter and a less bulky wearing experience than that of the first Black Bay Chrono in Steel. I reached out to Tudor Geneva for confirmation, and indeed save materials, these watches feature the same case as the one seen in 2019's Black Bay Chrono Steel and Gold. This being a hands-on piece with two much-talked-about Tudor steel sport watches, we didn't just put hands on them, we put digital calipers on them. The new steel chronos measured 41mm in diameter by 14.2mm thick by 49.9mm lug-to-lug. At nearly 50mm lug-to-lug, it's not a small watch, that's for sure. Photo by Atom Moore. Photo by Atom Moore Still, for the medium-to-large wristed among us, they have a really nice form factor, which I think hits a sweet spot for casual wear. It's 100 percent a casual modern sport watch, and a highly water-resistant one at that. In terms of the two dial options, we have two archetypal choices when it comes to vintage-inspired sport chronographs, and they present a dilemma. Panda, or reverse panda? Each is ubiquitous from a design standpoint, because generally speaking, each looks so good and each tends to read so legibly. I think that holds especially true for the reverse panda version of this watch. Not only is it beautiful, but it also has the goods in terms of reading the time at a glance. The new panda dial has its charms, too, but in person, the white lume-filled hands – particularly the snowflake hour hand – blends into the whiteness beneath it, as do the lume-filled hour markers. It made me wonder if I'd ever seen a white dialed Tudor Black Bay before, and I can't say that I have. In each dial version, the dive-watch-inspired snowflake hand, while designed for low light legibility at a glance, partially obscures the 45-minute chronograph totalizer from about the two-minute position to the 30-minute position. This is something Jack spent part of his Week On The Wrist with the first Black Bay Chronograph pondering. His story is a great read, so please check it out . It contains lots of information relevant to these two watches and to where they come from. While the hand in question blocked the readout of the 45-minute register more than he would like, Jack found it to be a minimal problem where daily use was concerned. In general, the dial shares much in common with that of the Steel & Gold. The red accents are back, of course, including the red-tipped chronograph seconds hand and the line of text indicating the depth rating. And the movement is interesting for a few reasons. First off, it's unusual in that it marks a collaboration between Rolex and Breitling, whose chronograph provided the basis for the MT5813. Unlike Breitling, however, Tudor's version of the chronograph is fitted with a silicon hairspring. While the two versions we went hands-on with came on stainless steel bracelets, Tudor is providing a few different options for each dial configuration. In addition to the bracelets you see here, each watch can optionally be outfitted with a black fabric strap or, and here we really channel Paul Newman, a black leather bund strap. The Tudor Black Bay Chrono. 41 x 14.4mm stainless steel case (though my caliper measurement came in a bit thinner), 49.8mm lug to lug. 200-meter water resistance. Tudor MC 5813 chronograph movement with silicon hairspring and column wheel with vertical clutch beating at 28,800 vph. Hours, minutes, sub-seconds, chronograph, date. Available on stainless steel bracelet, leather bund strap, or fabric strap. Retail prices: $4,900 on straps, $5,225 on bracelet. For more information, visit Tudor. Photos by Tiffany Wade & Atom MooreA slimmer steel case and vintage vibe for Tudor's modern chronograph.