Tudor Black Bay Navy Blue – we have done a quick test!

Text : Britta Rossander

A diver for many? Colour, function, kinship and above all the significance of the size make Tudor Black Bay Navy Blue a winner.  Eqotime’s Britta Rossander has gone head to head with Tudor’s latest addition to the Black Bay series.

It was buzzing everywhere. Tudor was not going to show any new models in 2020, just like big brother Rolex. This because of the cancelled Basel fair. But imagine my surprise when a few of us were going to get to borrow the new Black Bay Navy Blue and have it on the wrist for a good week.

Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf registered the Tudor trademark in the 1920s. Production did not get going until the 1940s. He wanted to give more people the chance to buy quality watches without nibbling at Rolex’s status. Tudor, which is to be regarded as its own brand, has access to Rolex’s technology and experience, which gives a hell of a lot of security to its quality.

The blue version of Black Bay is not only a logical step forward but also smart. The success of the original Black Bay has created an intense demand for more models. Navy Blue lives up to expectations and blue has after all proved to be a success colour for watches.

A good two years ago we saw the start of the development of the original 41mm model through Black Bay Fifty-Eight 39 mm, which was also considerably thinner than the original. It became an instant hit. Now, two years later, comes Tudor Navy Blue 79030B. This time with blue colour for the matte bezel ring and the domed dial. A tone inspired by the so-called ”Blue Snowflake” Tudor Submariners from the mid-70s that the French navy used.

My impressions

When you wear the watch on the wrist in sunshine the blue tone shines quite sharply but when dusk falls it changes and becomes beautifully deep blue. The combination with white Super-LumiNova on the hands, indexes on the dial and the numbers on the unidirectional bezel ring gives the watch a clean, modern and appealing look. Rather nice I think. A counterweight to all the vintage-inspired designs that have come during the last few years.

Navy Blue sits perfectly on the wrist. The one I had was with a blue textile strap with a silver stripe in the middle. I experienced the watch as quite compact, the bezel ring, which is without a slope, has a turning that feels pleasant, it feels neither cheap nor narrow. The crown is good looking, sturdy and easy to use. I think this indicates good quality.

It is a cool diving watch that suits slim men’s wrists and which, with a textile strap above all, sits perfectly on a female wrist. I myself even wore it with folk costume and got unexpected praise for wearing such a good looking watch!

There are three different straps to choose between and I know that some male journalists think it feels a bit thin with a textile strap but that with a steel bracelet on it felt better.

The textile straps are after all something that turned up at Tudor in 2010 and they weave them in France on Jacquard looms from the 1800s at the firm Julien Faure, which lies in the St-Etienne region southwest of city Lyon. On this strap ”Tudor blue” is the dominant colour but the icing on the cake is the silver threads in the middle.

Conclusion

In sumary I think the watch is robustly built, will surely have a long life, is reliable when it comes to precision and a winner with little competition when it comes to both price and desirability .

Quick facts 79030B

Case in 316L steel.

Diameter 39 mm

Thickness 11,2 mm thick (including the domed crystal.  

Water resistant to 200 m

The movement Tudor inhouse Caliber MT5402 with a silicon balance spring. It is what Tudor calls a midsize movement. COSC-certified, which Tudor has sharpened to an even lower tolerance that lies between -2 and +4 seconds of variation.

The power reserve is 70 hours.

The rotor is open, satin-brushed and has sandblasted details.

Snowflake hands (something we have recognised since 1969) with Super-LumiNova® which makes reading in the dark and especially under water very easy.

Three straps are available to choose from : textile with a silver stripe, blue soft touch and steel.

Five years’ warranty without registration or regular maintenance checks being required

If you want to play around and test different watch bracelet alternatives, our friends at Wristbuddys right now offer curved rubber bracelets in high quality made for Tudor Black-Bay Fifty-Eight Blue. We have tested them and like them a lot.