The Unique Tudor Heritage Black Bay One Ref. 7923/001 For Only Watch 2015 Explained with Live Photos – Updated with results, sold for 375,000 CHF

We’ve been presenting you almost all the watches that will be auctioned the 7 November 2015 in Geneva by Phillips for Only Watch 2015. We showed you magnificent and unique watches like the Patek Philippe ref. 5016A-010, the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square with Sector dial or the FP Journe Tourbillon Souverain Bleu in tantalum. However, there is one that you didn’t see on Monochrome-Watches despite it being one of our favorite watches. We’ve been waiting because we have some live photos and this will definitely help you to appreciate the beauty of this unique edition. Here is Tudor Heritage Black Bay One Ref. 7923/001 For Only Watch 2015 – UPDATE: sold for 375,000 CHF.

If you’re not only a reader but a follower of Monochrome-Watches on social media (and especially on our Instagram account), you certainly spotted one of us wearing the über-cool Tudor Heritage Black Bay in Blue on a regular basis. This watch, introduced first in 2012 with a burgundy bezel and later in 2014 with a blue bezel, is a bestseller with an inspired design, a stunning quality and a very decent price. This watch is now used as the base by the brand for a unique piece that will be auctioned for Only Watch 2015 and we’re about to show you the main differences with the normal edition. But first, you have to know that the Tudor Heritage Black Bay One Ref. 7923/001 takes inspiration from an extremely rare vintage Tudor, the Submariner Reference 7923 produced from 1954. Here is an example:

[bctt tweet=”The Tudor Heritage Black Bay One 7923/001 is a reissue of the extremely rare vintage Tudor Submariner Ref. 7923″]

OK now you have the two bases: the vintage watch that inspired this unique edition and the modern watch on which the modifications are executed. Even if quite close at first glance from the normal Black Bay, the Black Bay One Ref. 7923/001 sports many unique details that makes it in fact quite different and desirable – of course, it remains a BB, meaning a watch that has a 1950s / 1960s look and that more or less resembles a Submariner (whether from Tudor or Rolex) but the feeling in the flesh is slightly different here. Here are the differences:

[bctt tweet=”The Black Bay One Ref. 7923/001 sports many unique details that makes it in fact different and ultra-desirable”]

• The bezel

Like its old sibling, the unique Tudor heritage Black Bay One Ref. 7923/001 comes with a fully black bezel (instead of the blue or burgundy insert, which by the way looks quite close from the Black Bay we’ve imagined in 2014… just saying). If you look closely, you’ll see that the marker at 12 is also different. The luminous dot is still in place but it’s now surrounded by a red triangle (something that is not reminiscent of the Tudor Submariner 7923 but from the early Rolex Submariner). Finally, the 15-minute scale printed on the insert between 0 and 15 is now away – again, for a more vintage look.

• The dial

The dial of the Black Bay One Ref. 7923/001 is based on the burgundy edition of the Black Bay, meaning that it features gilded inscriptions (the Logo, the name of the brand and the minute track) and luminous applied indexes surrounded with gold. This is reminiscent of the old 7923 with its gilt dial. Of course, the indexes are not painted directly on the dial but the resemblance is striking. Another detail to spot is the inscription at 6. Instead of “Rotor” and an arcuate “Self-winding“, the dial now features a gilded “Shock-Resisting” inscription, again a similarity with the 7923. Finally, the depth is now written in red – something that could be found on some old Submariners. Oh wait, there is something more: a glossy dial (instead of the matt grained dial of the normal Black Bay) and this is a very cool feature (not the most readable, due to reflections, but still a very good looking one).

• The hands

Usually, the Black Bay features the iconic “Snow Flakes” hands, that could be found for example on the rare and highly sought-after Tudor Submariner issued for the Marine Nationale (the French Navy). This Tudor Heritage Black Bay One again draws its inspiration in the vintage Ref. 7923 with classical baton hands with pointed tips – and still the gilded look, as they are made in rose gold. The second hand is also different, as it get rids of the squared marker for a round tip.

• Case / Bracelet

Itself, the case is totally similar to the classical Black Bay, meaning a 41mm block of stainless steel with polished surfaces on the sides, chamfered angles and satin finish on the top of the lugs. Inside still ticks a reliable and robust ETA 2824 (slightly modified though). The only difference is the insert around the crown that is, like in every other edition of the BB, matching the color of the bezel (meaning that it’s here black).

The bracelet is different however, with a lack of the end-links between the lugs. As in the vintage Submariner 7923, it features a bracelet with open spring bars – that is actually the same bracelet that can be found on the Tudor Ranger. The box will also include two other straps: a grey fabric strap and an aged leather NATO.

Taken on their own, all these little details may look insignificant but the result is a killer Black Bay that does look different from the classical editions. It’s a watch that we would love to see in the regular collection but this is not going to happen soon (and it will probably never happen). For the price… you’ll have to attend the Only Watch auction and prepare a serious budget. More details on TudorWatch.com, OnlyWatch.com and PhillipsWatches.com.

[bctt tweet=”The result is a killer Black Bay that we would love to see in the Tudor-Watches regular collection”]

Photos by our friends and partners Watchonista.

RESULTS: while the recent launch of the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Black Ref. 79220N could have kill the auction of this unique Tudor Heritage Black Bay One Ref. 7923/001 (both watches share the same black bezel with red triangle), it actually created the opposite effect, properly boosting the bids. This watch, estimated to 3,500 – 4,500 CHF just broke the ceiling and fetched 100 times the estimation with a hammer price at 375,000 CHF… for a Tudor Black Bay! That’s big “hats off“, both to Tudor, to Phillips Auction and to the buyer.