Coming out of Watches & Wonders, there was plenty of commentary that Tudor had an iterative, kind of “off” year with a confusing pseudo-heritage piece in the Monarch being an unexpected standard bearer. We, frankly, really enjoyed all the new stuff, and thought some of the reactions were a bit out of left field, but regardless, I think their announcement today should get many of the skeptics claiming Tudor has lost a step to rethink their takes. The new Tudor “Bumblebee” Black Bay Chrono 39 is not merely a fun new summer color for their flagship chronograph, but an entirely new case size for that watch that speaks directly to enthusiasts who have been asking for a scaled down version.
Tudor is positioning the “Bumblebee” as a follow up to the Pink and Flamingo Blue chronographs that have appeared over the last few years. These brightly colored watches have been incredibly popular with collectors as alternatives to the standard black and white variants. Here we have a bright yellow dial with contrasting black subdials at 9 and 3 with a black tachymeter bezel in aluminum. The snowflake hands and hour markers are also outlined in black, and there’s a black minute track at the dial’s perimeter, all of which play up the “Bumblebee” theme.
But the real news here is that new case. It measures 39mm in diameter in stainless steel, and 13.1mm in height. That’s down from 14.1mm tall on the larger 41mm chronograph, which is a meaningful difference. The lug to lug span is listed at 47mm, so this should make for a much more compact wearing experience compared to its larger sibling. The case finishing appears to be identical, with a mix of brushed and polished surfaces, and the watch is mounted to a three link bracelet with a T-fit clasp (no, there is no five link option as of yet).
The “Bumblebee” Black Bay Chrono 39 runs on the Manufacture Calibre MT5813, which is column wheel chronograph movement with automatic winding and 70 hours of power reserve.
A smaller chronograph case from Tudor is exciting and unexpected. The 41mm Black Bay Chronograph is a watch I’ve grown more fond of as it has evolved into a proving ground of sorts for new colors and materials across various special releases, but the size has always been a bit imposing. But 39mm is a straight-up vintage inspired size to correspond with the heritage influenced theme of the Black Bay itself. The yellow dial, of course, will not be for everyone, but it would be silly to think that Tudor will not follow up on this watch eventually with more traditional colors that appeal to a wider audience. Based on Tudor’s recent history of providing every conceivable option for every watch across their collections, it would also be appropriate to speculate that a five link bracelet option could be on its way at some point as well. There’s probably nothing coming that will quiet the critics of the snowflake handset on this watch, however. That ship seems to have sailed, and I think it’s here to stay.
The retail price of the “Bumblebee” Black Bay Chrono 39 is $6,725. More information can be found at Tudor’s website here.
