Editor’s Note: Clay is an unrepentant watch flipper. Not the soulless, profiteering kind, but the kind who loves watches so much he has to experience as many as he possibly can. Shortly after he acquired his Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue, we got dinner together and I challenged him to wear it every day for a year. Clay agreed and to his credit made it 4 months without wearing another watch—about 3 months longer than I thought he’d last. So, when he says below that the BB58 Blue is good, it means something. – M.R.
I’m not one to add unnecessary fluff, I’m more of a “let’s get to the point” type of dude. With that, the Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue is good. It’s damn good.
Quick history lesson: Tudor introduced their first dive watch in 1958, the Big Crown. In 2013 Tudor brought the Black Bay lineup to the States with the 41mm. Over the next 5-7 years, the Black Bay line up certainly found its stride as it branched out from dive style watches to sport watches, chronographs, and GMTs.
Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue Specs | |
Case Diameter 39mm | Crystal Sapphire |
Case Thickness 11.9mm | Lume Super-LumiNova |
Lug-to-Lug 47mm | Strap/Bracelet Bracelet, leather, or fabric |
Lug Width 20mm | Movement Tudor MT5402 COSC |
Water Resistance 200m | Price $3,800 |
In spring of 2018, Tudor introduced the first round of 39mm Black Bay’s with the black and gilt dial. This seemingly rocked the watch world as some of you cashed in your IOU’s with your local Authorized Dealers, and others flocked to the resale pages. Two years following that release, Tudor released the Black Bay 58 Blue and y’all about lost your minds (not like you had anything else to talk about in mid-2020).
The Case
Coming in at a case width of 39 mm and a lug-to-lug of 47 mm, this watch works with a variety of wrist sizes. For reference, my wrist would be considered 6.5” and round. The lugs curve down ever so slightly, hugging the wrist in all the right places. Like the pool at your local Fairfield Inn, the Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue features a crown that is devoid of guards. This crown features a coin edge design that ensures a sure grip under most conditions and is stamped with the quintessential Tudor Rose.
I’ll describe the case as the Black Bay 41 mm preparing for a 10-year high school reunion…sucking it in a little. Like the 41, the 39 mm versions feature a slab-sided case with mirror finished sides and bevels, and a brushed mid and top case. The mirroring is susceptible to fingerprints, smudges, scratches, and dings here and there. But hey, this is a tool-watch. Wear it. Use it. Abuse it. I promise, the watch can handle it.
The anodized aluminum bezel matches the color of the dial and I find myself turning the very clicky 60-click bezel as my modern-day fidget spinner. The bezel, which features a nice coin-edge, is one of the best I have had the pleasure of fidgeting with as it has no back play, is tactile, and crisp. I was unable to find my ISO certified dive gloves for this review, nevertheless, I was able to turn the bezel under water at the pool with little-to-no issue. However, toss on those gloves and you might run into a slight problem as the bezel sits just flush enough to the case.
The Dial
The color can best be described as a matte light navy blue (oxymoronic, huh). I’ll be the first to tell you, the true color of this watch is difficult to capture on camera and is best admired in person.
This wouldn’t be a Tudor without the snowflake hour and seconds hands. All applied indices are surrounded with a playfully clean, thin polishing. The dial itself is straightforward, and like me, lacks fluff. Given the hint of vintage design cues from the earlier Tudor Snowflake’s, I would consider this a timeless design.
The lume is white during day and channels its inner Flubber at night with a nice green glow that’ll allow you to tell the time at any movie theater, no matter how long the movie is.
The Rest
The bracelet, like the rest of the watch, feels great and is void of jingle-jangles (professional horology term). The clasp is your standard deployant clasp with a single locking mechanism. The only thing I wish Tudor would have done was offer the same clasp adjustment system from their Pelagos, or included its T1 clasp that offers the Tudor version of Rolex’s Glidelock. (Come on Uncle Seiko, I’m counting on you to come up big here.) Thankfully the clasp does offer 3 microadjustments allowing you to find that perfect size. A small point of contention with the bracelet are the faux bracelet link rivets—it sounds like a lot of folks are turned off by this. Personally, I don’t see what the big issue is—you cannot see the rivets while wearing the watch and there’s no way I’d want to actually size a bracelet with actual rivets.
I am someone who has more watch straps than I care to admit, and the Black Bay in blue wears all of them so well. Looks perfect on a NATO, and even looks (dare I say it) perfecter on a majority of leather straps.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, the Black Bay 58 Blue is just plain good. Other cliches could include but are not limited to “a home-run,” “knocked out of the park,” (for my Axe fans) “double pits to chesty,” and “punches above its weight class.” Take your pick and enjoy the watch.
You can learn more about the Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue at the brand’s website.