Tudor: The Shield of Rolex, Forged in Quality and Adventure

A Brief History of Tudor

Tudor was founded by Hans Wilsdorf in 1926. At the time of its founding, Hans had a specific mission: To offer watches with the reliability and dependability of a Rolex, but at a more accessible price point. Tudor quickly became established as a brand that produced tool watches; watches that are robust, durable and can be worn in harsh conditions.

Some of the iconic time pieces to ever come out from their manufacture include the Tudor Oyster Prince in 1952, the Dive Watch Legacy, similar to the Rolex Submariner, worn at one point in history by several naval forces, most notably the French Navy. With that partnership, it cemented Tudor’s reputation as a maker of professional-grade dive watches. The iconic ‘snowflake’ hands designed for better legibility underwater was what sets it apart from Rolex. Tudor then burst onto the global market with its global relaunch starting around 2009, largely driven by the Black Bay collection, where it met with huge enthusiasm and brought in a new generation of watch lovers all around the world.

The Black Bay Collection: Reviving a Legend

The launch of the Black Bay Collection in 2012 served as a catalyst for Tudor’s Renaissance. It masterfully blended vintage design cues from Tudor’s iconic dive watches of the past with modern watchmaking standards.

The most cutting edge watch from the collection was the release of the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic. It was a bold statement. Launched in 2021, it took the familiar Black Bay aesthetics into a new high-tech realm, showcasing Tudor’s advancements in materials sciences and movement technology.

The Black Bay Ceramic: New material, new timekeeping standard

The Black Bay Ceramic featured the latest and great of what Tudor has achieved so far. Features include:

1. Matte black ceramic case – Ceramic is prized for its extreme hardness and extreme scratch-resistance that is lighter than steel, while at the same time resistance to fading from UV exposure and hypoallergenic properties.
2. Monoblock construction – The entire case is made from a single block of ceramic, meticulously carved and machined down, which is a challenge to make, given the hardiness of ceramic.
3. ‘All Black’ aesthetics – The dial, hands, markers, bezel insert and diving scale are all black, including the manufacture calibre MT5602-1U visible through the sapphire exhibition case back is finished in black. This well-thought-out design is what makes the Black Bay Ceramic visually different from the rest of the lineup.
4. METAS Certification – The Black Bay Ceramic is the first watch manufactured by Tudor to be given the Master Chronometer certification from the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology or METAS. This includes passing a series of rigorous testing against magnetism, water resistance, power reserve and a high level of accuracy from various positions. This places Black Bay Ceramic and Tudor in an elite category of watchmaking, demonstrating a commitment to exceptional chronometric performance and robustness, particularly in real-world conditions
5. Awards and Recognition: The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic won the “Petite Aiguille” prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) in 2021, a prestigious award recognizing its overall excellence and value proposition.

Why I bought this watch

I bought this watch in 2024, but long before then, when it was first launched 2021, I knew this was the watch for me. It was love at first time. Aside from the unique material being used for the case (ceramic), the all black aesthetics were truly unique and far ahead of its time. While I was not a fan of dive watches in particular, only one caught my eye and made me inclined to get one anyway, and that was the Black Bay Ceramic. The attention to detail in creating this watch is astounding. I love the fact that the movement in which you can also see through the exhibition case back, was also coated in black, creating harmony in the overall aesthetics. This tiny little detail was what sold me on getting this watch.

It was not until 2024 that my passion for watches was reignited again by my friend and colleague at work. Back then, I always had the assumption that my Muhle pilot watch which I described in my earlier post was the end of my watch collection journey. For along time I was content with what I had, despite getting to know other watches that caught my attention over the years. That passion to collect watches again was reignited when my friend and I were casually having conversations about our favourite watches and the story behind those watches that resonated inside us. The tipping point was when my friend steathily bought an IWC Porteugesier and showed it to me one day at work. At that moment, I immediately knew which watch I was going to get next. And that was the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic.

The Black Bay Ceramic was a bit more expensive than the regular Black Bay watches. Firstly, the watch is made from ceramic, a much harder material to work with. Secondly, it has an exhibition case back, which is rare for a Tudor watch. And thirdly, it was the first watch from Tudor to be METAS certified. All three properties added a premium to the price, at around S$7500. This is about S$1000 more expensive than the regular Black Bay. But up to this day, I had no regrets. It still remains as one of the most unique watch in my entire watch collection, primarily for its material, and color. This is the only watch that I will be confident in wearing in any occasion because I know that the ceramic dial will be able to withstand anything that you throw at it and still survive in one piece.