The Tudor Black Bay Dark is overwhelmingly monochromic, except for a single line of red text on its dial, and a largely obscured red triangle on its bezel. This is no ceramic watch though, unlike those from Tudor’s Fastrider Black Shield collection. Instead, the standard Black Bay case has been given a black PVD treatment with a satin finish to achieve this cool and menacing look. The steel construction gives the watch the weight and heft one would expect from old-school dive watches.

As a descendent of historical Tudor dive watches, the Black Bay preserves some of its predecessors’ signatures, such as the “snowflake” hour hand. What the modern model may lack in exclusivity or provenance, it compensates with technical advancements in the form of a fresh and efficient movement, Calibre MT5602. Chronometer certified by COSC, this in-house development has a going time of 70 hours which, while not uncommon for newer mechanical movements released in recent years, is still nearly double that of average ones in the market.

Like its siblings, the Black Bay Dark is offered with different strap options. One can choose between a black PVD-treated stainless steel bracelet and an aged leather strap with black PVD-treated folding clasp. The third option of a woven fabric strap with black PVD treated buckle is included as extra for both of them.

The Tudor Black Bay Dark is notably different from the Black Bay Bronze, another show stealer, in two notable areas. Firstly, it retains the 41mm case size of its siblings, unlike the slightly larger Black Bay Bronze, which clocks in at 43mm. Secondly, the dial of this watch has rectangular markers on the three, six, and nine o’clock positions, again like its siblings and unlike the Bronze’s Arabic numerals.

Specs

• Dimensions: 41mm
• Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
• Power Reserve: 70 hours
• Movement: Self-winding Tudor Calibre MT5602
• Materials: 41mm in PVD-coated steel
• Water Resistance: 200 meters.
• Strap: PVD-coated steel bracelet or black aged leather, both with PVD-coated steel deployant buckle; additional fabric strap with PVD-coated buckle.

This story was first published in WOW.