Introducing the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Bronze
And after yesterday we talked in another article about Hamilton’s latest release in bronze, today Tudor has just brought to market a new addition to its star lineup, the Black Bay Fifth-Eight Bronze.
If only the launch of the new BB58 Bronze was already impressive, the fact that it comes with a bronze bracelet makes this release even more interesting, at first glance I would say it is brilliant. After having witnessed the strengthening of the BB58 line a few months ago with precious materials such as silver and gold, now comes the bronze to complete the podium.
This new bronze variant, in addition to the already mentioned bronze case and bracelet, has Arabic indices on the dial in the emblematic 3-6-9 positions, replacing lipstick-shaped indices, ok, it’s not exactly a novelty since in 2016 Black Bay in its regular line presented what would become its first Black Bay Bronze model in 43mm and which remains in its collection today with the same Arabic indexes. Another of the “news” is the fact that this new BB58, unlike the other two variants in precious materials, does not present an open case back returning to the previous configuration of the solid case back.
But moving on to the watch itself, it comes with the usual 39mm-diameter case in bronze, a material with historical connections to the sea and which has superior properties of resistance to corrosion caused by saltwater, brown-black gradient dial, which will lightening as it approaches the center, tone that extends to the bezel and as has been the norm throughout the entire BB58 line up to now. Inside operates the movement In-house Caliber MT5400, like the other two variants in silver and gold, remember that the steel variants come equipped with the Caliber MT5402 which is the base of the MT5400 whose difference is the fact that it comes with a smaller base plate.
The new solid bronze bracelet, in addition to featuring the same configuration as the 3-link steel bracelets and continuing to feature the debatable “historic rivets”, now features a most welcome quick wrist adjustment system called the “T-fit” which allows you to adjust the bracelet in 5 positions up to 8mm in length without the need for any tools. The BB58 Bronze in addition to the bronze bracelet is accompanied by a brown-bronze parachute strap with a bronze buckle.
Our Verdict
To say that we liked the new BB58 seems little, not so much for the final result of the variant itself but more than it could mean for future variants.
We like the Arabic indices 3-6-9, as we continue to find that the number of different geometric shapes on the dial due to the indices and the snowflake’s hands seems exaggerated across the Black Bay line in general.
Also, the return of the solid case back seems positive to us, in our view, a tool watch will always be a tool watch and an open case-back continues to look too much and too forced.
The addition of the bronze bracelet to this new variant makes us hope that soon we will also be able to count on silver and gold bracelets on the respective BB58 variants, as well as seeing the new T-fix bracelet clasp extended to the entire line, in our view, it would be incomprehensible to keep future productions of the BB58 line without counting this update on the bracelet, even if the final price may increase a little.
Read more on www.tudorwatch.com.
General Specifications:
Brand: Tudor
Model: Black Bay Fifty-Eight Bronze
Reference: M79012M-0001
Dial: Brown
Lume: Yes
Case Material: Bronze
Case Dimensions: 39 mm Diameter, 12.7 mm thickness
Crystal: Sapphire Glass
Case Back: Bronze
Water Resistance: 200 Meters
Strap: Bronze bracelet and an extra brown-bronze fabric strap with bronze buckle
Calibre: MT5400
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, diver bezel
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 Vph)
Jewels: 27
Power Reserve: 70 Hours
Chronometer Certified: COSC
Price: € 4,340
Availability: Now
