Hands-On Review of the Tudor Black Bay 54
It’s safe to say the Black Bay, first released in 2012, reinvigorated Tudor as a brand. The no-frills diver struck a chord with collectors with its vintage inspiration, affordable price tag and Rolex pedigree. I liked it so much that I purchased the original model with red bezel and eta movement. In the years since the Black Bay has become what many call a modern icon, and Tudor has expanded the lineup, releasing additional Black Bay models with complications (chronograph and GMT) and in different sizes and color combinations.
Not long after the original Black Bay was released, Tudor expanded beyond the original blue and red bezel options to a more traditional black bezel. This additional colorway made the Black Bay even more vintage-esque and offered collectors a watch as close to the Rolex and Tudor divers of the 50s and 60s as we’ve seen.
But perhaps the only criticism of the original Black Bay lineup was the size of the watch. Its 41mm size just didn’t fit with the era it was trying to emulate. Aided by a trend in the watch industry for smaller watches, Tudor released the Black Bay 58 in 2018. With a 39mm case diameter, this watch is more closely aligned with one of the earliest Tudor divers, released in 1958.
Flash forward to 2023, and once again Tudor has downsized their flagship diver, releasing the Black Bay 54 at Watches & Wonders. I had the chance to go hands-on with one and I have to say that it might be my favorite Black Bay to date.
The Black Bay 54 pays tribute to the Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner Ref. 7922 released in, you guessed it, 1954. And the Black Bay 54 takes many of the aspects of the original. First and foremost is the size. Both the 7922 and Black Bay 54 are modestly sized 37mm. Collectors have been calling for a 37mm Black Bay for a while now, especially since Rolex will never size down the Submariner, and Tudor definitely delivered. The watch sits well on my 6.75-inch wrist, dare I say better than both the original 41mm Black Bay and 39mm Black Bay 58.
The black bezel of the Black Bay 54 also takes closely after the 7922 with numbers every 10 minutes and thick stick indexes in between. It is aluminum and unidirectional, as you’d expect from a modern diver. The bezel turns nicely, and I believe Tudor might have the best bezel movement among all dive watches (including Rolexes). The crown is scaled down from the 7922’s 6mm crown to 5.7mm, but it is still easy to grip and set the time with.
The watch comes on a riveted oyster bracelet. However, the rivets are just for show. You can easily size the watch using a jewelry screwdriver. The Black Bay 54 also comes with the brand’s T-Fit micro-adjustment. This allows the wearer an extra 8mm on the bracelet without having to add any links. While I really like the T-Fit concept, especially since it gives you a little more flexibility than most brand’s micro-adjustments, I did notice a little slipping of the T-Fit when the watch was on my wrist.
As I discussed before, the Black Bay 54’s case is 37mm. It is also 45.6mm lug-to-lug and 11mm thick. The thickness includes a nice domed sapphire crystal that adds an extra vintage touch.
One of the things that drew me to the Black Bay in the first place is the gilt dial. Gilt dials are watches that feature gold text and hour markers on a black dial. This generally appeared on watches such as the Rolex Submariners, GMTs and Explorers of the 1950s and 1960s. The Black Bay 54’s matte black dial, with gold lettering, outlined hour markers and minutes track really adds a richness to the watch that I think is sometimes lost on standard divers.
The watch runs on the COSC-certified Tudor Manufacture Calibre MT5400 automatic movement with the bidirectional rotor, 27 jewels, 70 hours of power reserve, and 28,800 VPH. It is also water resistant to 200 meters, so it can function as a serviceable dive watch (the original Ref. 7922 had 100 meters of water resistance).
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with the Tudor Black Bay 54. To me, it is the closest watch you can buy to the vintage Rolex and Tudor divers of the 50s. And while you get the vintage aspects of those watches (such as the riveted bracelet, domed crystal, and gilt dial), you get the reliability of a modern watch. By adding the Black Bay 54 to the Black Bay collection, the really is an option of any wrist size. And at 37mm the 54 is just a great unisex option. And finally, at $3,900 USD on stainless steel bracelet, the 54 is a no-brainer for me.
