Welcome to a special Watches and Wonders edition of Dialed In, Esquire’s column bringing you horological happenings and the most essential news from the watch world. As the show takes place in Geneva, we’ll keep you up-to-date on the biggest makers’ biggest releases of 2024.
Is anyone thirsty? Wouldn’t a cola be refreshing right now?
Funny enough, while a certain other brand was defying the rumor mill and unveiling a black-and-gray bezel that watch enthusiasts didn’t quite expect, the folks at Tudor dropped a “Coke” GMT on the watch world—and satisfied more than a few fans’ long-held hopes in the process.
If you’ve been following the releases from this year’s Watches and Wonders, there’s a decent chance you’re just as nuts about this horology stuff as we are. Which means you know that this isn’t Tudor's first foray into GMT territory. The maker debuted the Black Bay GMT with a red-and-blue “Pepsi” bezel in 2018, then followed up with the Black Bay Pro in 2022. The former, at 41mm, feels a little large for some wrists, a fact only compounded by its relatively beefy 15mm thickness. The latter, at 39mm, hits closer to the sweet spot for many when it comes to preferred diameter, but it still sits high and hefty on the wrist.
Why, eager fans asked, can’t we just have a GMT complication in the pretty-much-perfect dimensions of the much-beloved Black Bay 58?
Do you know where this is going? Of course you do. Today, on day one of the biggest watch show of the year, Tudor delivered the Black Bay 58 GMT. It’s a gorgeous piece of work, with a jumping local-hour complication (a “true” or “flyer” GMT), a bi-directional bezel with an aluminum insert, and master chronometer certification from METAS (which is even more stringent than COSC). It’s 39mm in diameter and 12.8mm thick, meaning the sizing is nearly identical to the original BB58’s. The gilt accents may prove divisive for some; in our book, they not only look great but also do a solid job of connecting this new offering with the OG, which similarly embraced a little bit of shine.
The GMT wasn’t the only addition to the Black Bay 58 family today. There’s also an 18K gold version with a green dial and bezel. The first solid-gold dive watch from Tudor, it’s glitzy but still tool-y—the kind of piece that manages to actually walk the line between glamor and utility and look good doing it.
For folks who prefer a little more heft, the original 41mm Black Bay returns in its third iteration after the 2012 debut and the 2016 update. In monochrome black with a “T-fit” rapid adjustment clasp (also found on both the GMT and gold 58’s) and a METAS certification, it’s a natural next step for the brand’s flagship line.
Finally, there’s the delicate, diminutive Clair de Rose—in 26mm, 30mm, and 34mm diameters—with a new blue dial. With its lineage traced all the way back to Tudor’s jewelry watches from the thirties, it’s being marketed as more of a feminine option. That said, considering the trend toward smaller and smaller watches, we wouldn’t be surprised if some folks viewed it—especially in 34mm—as more of a unisex piece.
