Brown & Co. Magazine Holiday 2021

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TUDOR GOES FORGOLD—ANDSILVER

NEW CASE MATERIALS AND A NEW

CERTIFICATION FOR THE BLACK BAY

Tudor’s new releases for 2021 go a long way to reinforce its mandate to produce high-quality watches at great price points. This year, the focus is on the flagship Black Bay and Black Bay Fifty-Eight lines, with new case materials, new movements, and a new performance guarantee. The Black Bay Fifty-Eight is getting both an 18k gold case and a 925 silver case. The addition of gold in the line takes the model up a notch on the luxury scale, and the silver is surprising because it’s a rare metal for watches. Since wristwatches became popular in the 1940s, gold has been the standard metal because it is soft enough to machine, yet hard enough for daily wear when alloyed with other metals. Silver was historically ruled out because of its softness and its tendency to tarnish. But times and timepieces change. Just as gold alloys are improving, silver has been upgraded.Tudor is the first brand to introduce the metal into watches, and although the precise alloy formula is top secret, Tudor says it is tarnish-free and hard enough for daily wear. The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925 Silver is 39 mm wide, a vintage size that makes it wearable for both men and women. Silver takes a high polish, which gives the metal a decorative quality and a sheen like no other material, and it is an affordable alternative to gold. Is it poised to make a comeback in the watch industry? Time will tell. The Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925 Silver has an open caseback through which to see the movement, a new caliber for Tudor, the automatic MT5400, with a 70-hour power reserve. It is chronometer rated, which means it is COSC certified at an average daily variation in the daily of between -4 and +6 seconds. Tudor does further testing in-house and confirms that the MT5400 tests between -2 and +4 seconds in variation. Tudor takes the accuracy standard up another notch with the new Black Bay Ceramic, an all-ceramic-cased watch with another powerful in-house movement that is METAS certified. Tudor is only the second brand in the watch industry to certify its watches with the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology — the other is Omega. Tudor meets the qualification with a new movement, the MT5602-1U, which has a silicon balance spring and 70-hour power reserve. It is produced by Kenissi (a joint venture owned by Tudor, Breitling, and Chanel). The caliber is not only COSC-certified, but it also meets the higher standards of METAS. In order to qualify, it is tested at two temperatures, in six different positions, and must be

THE TUDOR BLACK BAY FIFTY- EIGHT IN 18K YELLOW GOLD.

THE TUDOR BLACK BAY FIFTY-EIGHT 925 SILVER.

able to function within a five-second range of variation each day (0/+5), compared to the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) rate of -4/+6. The certification also guarantees the timekeeping accuracy of the watch when subjected to magnetic fields of 15,000 gauss. The 41 mm Black Bay Ceramic has an open caseback showing the openworked movement, which has been given a black finish. It comes with two straps, one fabric and the other leather and rubber. The case is black ceramic and the bezel is PVD-treated steel with a ceramic insert. The 18k yellow gold Black Bay Fifty-Eight is also a first for Tudor and seems ahead of its time in its redefinition of the dressy sports watch. The gold adds a touch of elegance to the model, while the green dial and fabric strap retain a sporty edge. It’s also trendy: green is the hottest color in timepieces at the moment and looks great with yellow gold. It contains the MT5400 caliber, and like the other new Black Bay Fifty-Eight, it is water resistant to 200 meters. The new 18k gold model is a nice dress/ sport watch at a great price point. Just what we expect from Tudor.

18 ] B R O W N & C O . J E W E L E R S M A G A Z I N E

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