Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 79030N with a new 39mm case
Tudor takes a dive into retro waters with a new in-house movement and a smaller-sized case.
The retro revival is in full swing and the late 1950s are a recurring source of inspiration. Even Vacheron Constantin played the vintage card with a whole new collection – the FIFTYSIX – designed to capture the mood of the fifties and appeal to a hipper client base. Tudor’s latest Black Bay model shrinks in size to 39mm to emulate the brand’s first dive watches and is kitted out with a new in-house movement.
Diving into the past
The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 79030N revisits Tudor’s rugged dive companions produced during the 1950s, which were resistant to depths of 200 metres and would become renowned for their angular ‘snowflake’ hour hand, the red triangle on the rotating bezel and the large winding crown.
One particular model, reference 7924, which was dubbed the Big Crown, was the source of inspiration behind the new Fifty-Eight watch and many of its features are faithfully recreated starting with the 39mm diameter case. The black and gold colour scheme of the Black Bay Fifty-Eight is another detail vintage fanatics will appreciate, picking up directly on a 1958 Oyster Prince model. In fact, the hour markers, hands and minute track feature a golden finish as do the numerals on the black anodised aluminium bezel.
Tudor Calibre MT5402
Having stepped out from under the wing of its powerful sibling Rolex, Tudor consolidated its independence with its first in-house movement back in 2015 and today introduces a second, smaller-sized family of movements. Measuring 26mm in diameter, the hours, minutes and seconds are governed by the new calibre MT5402 with its beefy 70-hour power reserve.
Equipped with a variable inertia balance fixed by a sturdy bridge and a non-magnetic silicon balance spring (Tudor has access to the Rolex patent), the new movement is COSC-certified. The movement features well-executed finishes; the openworked rotor is satin brushed and the bridges and main plate have alternating sandblasted surfaces and laser decorations.
Revival riveted bracelet
Just like the folding bracelets of Tudor divers of the 1950s and 1960s, with visible rivet heads to attach the links, the new Black Bay Fifty-Eight comes on a three-link stainless steel bracelet with polished and satin-brushed finishes and the nostalgic rivets. The watch is also available with a brown leather strap or a cool black fabric strap with a gold-coloured band in the centre.
The model on a steel bracelet will retail for CHF 3,400, while the leather and fabric models are priced at CHF 3,100. More details on www.tudor.com
12 responses
Nice Watch. Could you please mention the thickness?
Thickness: 11.9mm
Spectacular watch’s… Lug to Lug?
How i can order one through internet
Do you happen to know the lug width and lug to lug length?
Thanks Jeff. Length from lug to lug is 20mm.
Hi Rebecca, you answered in Jeff’s lug width question – not lug to lug length which is the most critical measure concerning watch cases. This is still causing confusion with most of the people. For example Rolex Explorer 1 lug to lug length is 47.3mm and lug width is 20mm.
This might be the start to a series of perfect Black Bays. Let’s hope they do one in blue with a cool-tone black dial and white gold hands and markers like the original BBB.
I have a question, although it might sound silly. You said that the Black Bay 58 recreates the shape of the Tudor 7924, which however featured a case with a diameter of 37.5 mm. I fear that the new Black Bay 58 with its 39 mm won’t be able to recreate the magic of the the Tudor 7924, or I may be mistaken about the 37.5 mm of the 7924.
Of course, I didn’t see the new BB 58, so I can just judge from the information I have read. But 39 mm is already the normal size of a Rolex sportswatch until 2011. So, apart from the missing crown guards, I can’t really see the difference from the submariners from the 1970-2011 featuring cases of 39-40 mm diameters?
Has somebody some more information on that?
Hello Raymund.
The 7924 was indeed 37mm. The new BB 58 tends to recreate the concept, but isn’t a copy-paste. It is more modernly sized, even if smaller than what Tudor has previously done.
And as for “the magic”, only a try on the wrist will be able to give the answer. The watch will be in stores in July 2018… A bit of patience and you’ll do your own judgement.
One very good point concerns the thickness. While previous 41mm BB were around 15mm, this new one is 11.9mm, meaning much closer to old Submariners.
Thank you for your reply, which I think is perfectly correct. I think the BB58 is slimmer compared to the post 2010 Rolex sport watches and to the Tudor BB 41 mm, but is rather in line with the ‘modern’ submariners (with the introduction of the Tudor 7928 and Rolex 5512/13), than with the Tudor 7924 or Rolex 6538/5510. The beauty of the latter models was their small size (37-38 mm), combined with a particular robustness. The case achieved this robustness not through a larger diameter, but through the fact that it was rather built in hight with an extremely domed crystal (plexi). The magic comes, in my opinion, through the relativ small but thick case and the compactness. I am curious to see whether Tudor has managed to recreate this magic.
I think we could have a good idea of the new BB58 before July 2018 if Tudor could produce a picture of a 7924 and a new BB 58, putting one case above the other to see diameter and hight. These pictrures already exist, for instance, for Rolex Explorers I , 36mm vs 39 mm etc.