Tudor continues to expand their Black Bay 54 collection at this year’s Watches & Wonders with the Black Bay 54 “Blue”. Since the launch of the original Black Bay 54, the diver has settled into a role as a favorite among enthusiasts for its slender, compact proportions. The original release was a straightforward black dialed, black bezel affair, and last summer saw the surprise launch of the “Lagoon Blue” reference that re-characterized the watch as a fun, more jewelry oriented diver than we would have expected. A diver with a blue dial and bezel is frankly something expected in a dive watch lineup these days, so this release is not so much a surprise, but it’s interesting to see how Tudor executes on a dive watch standard.
In terms of specs, there are no big surprises here, and this edition of the 54 follows those that have come before. The case in stainless steel measures 37mm in diameter and has water resistance to 200 meters. It runs on the same MT5400 movement, which is COSC-certified and has a silicon balance spring and 70-hour power reserve. It’s available on both a rivet style three link bracelet or a rubber strap.
The blue dial is very, very blue. Tudor refers to it as “sapphire blue” and in the bright lights of their booth at Palexpo the sunray finishing and almost purple-ish hues are quite prominent on the dial. It’s very saturated, and I think even in less intense lighting it will have a lot of presence. If you compare it to other blue watches in Tudor’s own catalog, like the blue Pelagos for instance, the blue on the Black Bay 54 feels a lot more playful and dynamic.
The watch it reminded me of most, in a lot of ways, was actually the red Black Bay 58 released at Watches & Wonders last year. The dial has a similar character and level of saturation, but in a color that I think a lot more consumers have an interest in. That red watch from last year generated a lot of interest upon launch, and whenever I hear it spoken of in enthusiast circles it seems to be well regarded and appreciated. But red is often a tough sell, and loud by its very nature. Blue is simply a more commercial, palatable option, and I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing a lot more of these Black Bay 54 Blue references in the wild.
Much of the Tudor talk this year is surely to be about pricing, something that I think will hold true for just about every brand exhibiting at Watches & Wonders this week. The Black Bay 54 Blue is one of a vanishingly small number of Tudor releases at this year’s show that comes in under $5,000, which feels notable as price sensitivity continues to grow across the board. The retail price of the Black Bay 54 Blue on a bracelet is $4,725, and $4,475 on a rubber strap. The original Black Bay 54, when it was launched, sold for $3,850.
A nearly $1,000 price increase in three years is certainly not insignificant, and if you’ve been waiting for a Black Bay 54 that meets your personal aesthetic needs and the blue version is yours, you’d be right to feel like you’re paying a bit of a tax compared to the original. That said, given the high quality of these watches (the fit and finish is of course as solid as ever with Tudor) it’s hard to say that it’s not worth the money they’re asking if it’s a watch that you find appealing. At this point it’s also one of the few Tudor watches that is not Master Chronometer certified by METAS, so waiting for yet another Black Bay 54 could mean that the hypothetical next version carries an even higher increased cost thanks to that extra certification. Ultimately, it’s just another metric for consumers to think through as they determine what does and does not work for them in terms of where they find value in watches.
More information on the new Tudor Black Bay 54 Blue, and all of their other new novelties, can be found on their website here.
