Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze m79250bm-0001 - $3,000

Actual mint, worn less than a dozen times... which is why I'm selling it.

The Heritage Black Bay Bronze features an imposing bronze case, 43 mm in diameter. An aesthetic reference to the use of bronze in historic ships and diving equipment, the choice of this metal — a high-performance aluminium bronze alloy with brushed finishes — lends a highly functional appearance to the watch and guarantees the development of a subtle and unique patina.

THE TUDOR MANUFACTURE CALIBRE MT5601
This is a variant of the TUDOR Manufacture Calibre developed specifically to equip the Heritage Black Bay Bronze model. Slightly larger in diameter and displaying hours, minutes and seconds functions, it bears the reference MT5601, in which “MT” stands for “Manufacture TUDOR”.

In 2015, TUDOR announced its first Manufacture Calibre in its history. A high-performance calibre of excellent precision and proven robustness, it offers a 70-hour power reserve meaning that its wearer can, for example, take off the watch on Friday evening and put it on again on Monday morning without having to wind it. 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).

CHARACTERISTIC ELEMENTS

The characteristic elements of the new Heritage Black Bay Bronze have been drawn from TUDOR’s history. It inherits its general lines, as well as its domed dial and crystal from the TUDOR’s first diving watches.

It features the particularly prominent winding crown from the famous 7924 reference of 1958, aka Big Crown, while its characteristic angular hands, known as snowflake, were borrowed from TUDOR watches used by the French National Navy in the 1970s. The drilled holes on the side of the lugs and their particularly pronounced chamfering are also key design features inspired by history.

AN AGED BROWN LEATHER STRAP AND A WOVEN FABRIC STRAP

TUDOR has identified the historic uses of its watches and reinterpreted them in its latest models. For example, the French Navy had TUDOR watches delivered without bracelets and then fitted them with their own straps, handmade or otherwise. One of them, found on a period watch, is made of elastic recovered from a French rescue parachute.

It is from this ultra-functional relic, recognisable by its central yellow thread, that the beige and brown woven jacquard strap fitted to the Heritage Black Bay Bronze descends. In keeping with the characteristics of the Heritage line, it is also accompanied by an aged brown leather strap with an angled cut to accentuate the rustic effect.

The history of the TUDOR divers’ watch dates back to 1954 and the launch of reference 7922. The first in a long line of ergonomic, legible, accurate and robust divers’ watches, it perfectly embodies the approach formulated by the American architect Louis Sullivan, according to whom the form of an object must follow its function. Furthermore, it laid down the aesthetic and technical foundations of an ideal divers’ watch, those of an understated, functional and reliable tool. The sixty years that followed the launch of the original 7922 saw the constant improvement of the TUDOR divers’ watch and each model gained unanimous acclaim from professionals in the field, including some of the greatest military navies in the world.

It is this relationship with these navies which evokes ideas of travel and adventure that the Heritage Black Bay Bronze celebrates.

Case
Bronze case, bronze-coloured PVD-treated steel case back, 43 mm, satin finish

Movement
Manufacture Calibre MT5601 (COSC)
Self-winding mechanical movement with bidirectional rotor system
Power reserve Approximately 70 hours

Winding crown
Bronze screw-down winding crown adorned with an engraved TUDOR rose

Waterproofness
Waterproof to 200 m (660 ft)

Bezel
Bronze unidirectional rotatable bezel with disc in matt brown anodised aluminium

Dial
Brown, domed

Crystal
Domed sapphire crystal

Bracelet
Aged leather strap with bronze buckle