First of all, due the coincidental timing, I just wish to register my profound grief at the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Like many others, I have not known any other British monarch. Like many others, I did not have the good fortune to ever meet her, but had I done so, I think it would have had a near-religious impact on me. Incidentally, I do not say that lightly as I am not really a religious person, but I think it would have “touched” me as it were. She was, by any measure, a very special human being, and I think we all just thought – and hoped, that she would go on and on. Her selflessness, dedication, demeanour, kindness, and wisdom, are but a few attributes one can cite. These aspects, and others, will be terribly missed.
Looking forward, none of us can really know what the after-effects of this seismic event will be, but it is clear that King Charles has an extremely hard act to follow. Now, I cannot pretend to be a great fan – mainly due to how his and Camilla’s past behaviour impacted on Princess Diana, and, her subsequent tragic death was made more poignant. However, aside from that, I do think that Charles and Camilla are fundamentally decent people, and they seem to have found happiness together – which is one positive. Anyway, I wish them both well for the future. Now, to the matter at hand!
Until the 1st of September 2022 I had never owned a Tudor. No particular reason, other than they had not seriously crossed my path. The fact that they are viewed a bit as the poor man’s Rolex – and that David Beckham is their brand ambassador, to me at least, are not great benefits!
To be fair though, over the years, three Tudor watches have piqued my interest; the Monte Carlo/”Big Block” chronographs (similar to later Daytonas) from the early 70’s, plus, the Prince Date Hydronaut and Monarch Automatic from the late 90’s. Today, the price of the older chronographs have shot up, but the latter two are still within reasonable reach. Incidentally, I would refer interested readers to very good articles on these watches in past Revolution magazines, by editor and Tudor guru Ross Povey.
All the above said, I do think that the Black Bay models are also quite attractive. They are of good quality, robust, and at a fairly sensible price, and as such, have proved very popular with customers. So, it came to pass that my contact at Berrys, Mike, sent me a fairly minimalist WhatsApp message a few weeks ago, simply saying that they had in three bi-metal GMT’s with the “Root Beer” type bezel. Would I be interested? Actually, and to forestall my usual request for a “bit off”, he also noted that he could not discount as it was a pretty new model!! I promptly responded, thanking him, but demurring for the time being. The latter aspect was also partly due to the fact that I had already been invited to a Berrys/Tudor event in a few weeks time. As such I felt I could probe more then.
However, after a (very) short while I decided to investigated further. I gleaned more on the model and came to the conclusion that I quite like the aesthetics, plus, it would also be handy to have a decent – but not too expensive GMT, in case I ventured abroad. Additionally, as Tudor promote the range as having some action/sporty pretensions, I could also use it for cycling, badminton, and tennis – the only things I vaguely do any more! But, this particular version may be a bit too nice for really serious action! The only negative that cropped up occasionally in my research was that in the early launch year of the GMT range – so from 2018, some unreliability occurred with the date mechanism, in that it seemingly did not click over properly. From what I have read, it is clear that there was some initial delay in resolving the matter, however, the problem was identified and rectified and I have been assured that all is now well. In fact, this may not have actually been a component fault as such, but an over- lubrication issue. Allegedly.
In view of all the above, and now being more keen to secure one of the three, I went back to Mike and agreed to buy – at the rrp! What, with no discount? Well yes, however, I did secure a small alternative “gift” which I was quite happy with! Anyway, being a little distance from the boutique, I said to Mike that I would pick the watch up when I came over for the event in a few weeks time. I also told him that I would wear something else on the night, as to me it would smack too much of “ooh look what I just bought today, pose, brag” – far too corny for me!
Now to the watch, which in long hand is a; Black Bay S&G GMT ref M79833MN-0001, and was launched earlier this year. It is 41mm wide and 14.6mm thick, and has a polished and satin brushed steel case with a “root beer” coloured bezel. More specifically, the latter is half black and half, well, a kind of a dark terracotta hue, along with embedded gold numerals, dots, and a reference triangle. The screw-down crown and bezel edge are 18ct gold capped (plated) – as are all the bracelet links – aside from the lug end ones which are solid gold.
Turning to the dial, this is in a matt black finish and features an outer hour/minute track. There are meaty lumed hour dots and batons, and at 12 o’clock another reference triangle. There are of course four hands; the hour hand is sword-shaped, the stubby hour hand ends with the trademark snowflake (a slanted square really) – as does the shorter GMT hand. Finally, the sweep hand is needle-like with the snowflake near the end. All have significant lume. Lastly, a date window is at 3 o’clock – black numerals on a white base. All this is protected by a sapphire crystal.
Turning the watch over, a solid screwed-down back is revealed. Within beats the fairly new MT5652 calibre, which is in-house and was specifically designed as a GMT movement (so, not modular). A silicon hair spring and free-sprung balance wheel are present, along with 26 jewels and a beat of 28,000 vph. Some 70 hours power reserve is offered – a welcome and useful aspect. The movement is COSC rated – so accuracy up to -4/+6 seconds per day is more or less guaranteed. Waterproofing to 200m is also noted.
Finally, the bracelet. This nicely complements the case metals, and is of robust quality. As there appears to be only one adjustment hole on the clasp – for I guess micro adjustment, anything more will be via link removal. Tudor offer two more securing options – one via a classic brown leather deployant, and the other a really nice fabric Nato-type pin buckle, which is in black with a gold central stripe. In fact, the latter is made, I think, by a French weaver and is probably the best quality of it’s type I have seen. In fact I may think about getting one!
In conclusion – and bearing in mind I have not actually worn out and about yet, this is a very nice sophisticated tool-type watch from a quality Maison. I feel the price, at £4,420, is actually pretty good for what you get – and less of course for the other strap options. Although one could use in anger for recreation, it would also easily easily pass muster in a dress role.
As to the the Rolex angle, well yes, the overall design does of course have some similarities, however, I feel that this Tudor has enough of it’s own identity to be different. At the end of the day, Hans Wilsdorf simply wanted to offer people near-Rolex quality with greater affordability. To this end – over the years, I think he has succeeded pretty well!
Rating: 4.4/5
Unless otherwise noted, all words/images: The Writer