Introducing: The Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT — By Very Popular Request
Almost ever since the Tudor Black Bay 58 came out, people have been craving a GMT version. But, of course, this isn’t the first GMT watch in Tudor’s collection. The regular 41mm Black Bay GMT debuted in 2018. After that, the smaller 39mm Black Bay Pro showed its face in 2022. However, both of those watches are 14.6mm thick and might feel a bit intimidating on smaller wrists. That’s exactly why Tudor is now introducing the slimmer Black Bay 58 GMT.
I wore that 41mm Tudor Black Bay GMT for a week on my 17cm wrist and experienced just how bulky the watch was. Yes, it had the classic Pepsi/Black Bay look with the red and blue 24-hour bezel and the snowflake hands. But it was just a tad too heavy and thick on my wrist. It seemed like the Black Bay Pro was going to be the solution for the smaller-wristed out there. But unfortunately, that watch was also quite bulky. The new Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT seems like the next step in the evolution towards a more wearable version. Let’s take a quick look at what Tudor released today.
The Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT
I’ll give you the exact numbers on its size first since you can already see for yourself what it looks like. The new Tudor Black Bay 58 has a 39mm diameter, a 47.8mm lug-to-lug span, and a 12.8mm thickness. That makes it 0.8mm longer from lug to lug and 0.9mm thicker than a regular Black Bay 58. But it’s when you compare it to the 14.6mm thickness of both the Black Bay GMT and Pro, the size of the Black Bay 58 GMT is impressive. It seems like the designers at Tudor have earnestly tried to develop a GMT watch with the perfect dimensions for smaller wrists.
In terms of looks, the Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT continues with the gilt-tone theme we know so well from the original Black Bay 58. The matte black dial is combined with gold printing and similarly styled snowflake hands. The bidirectional 24-hour bezel has a familiar “Coke” colorway in black and burgundy red but with gold numerals. It’s the same successful vintage-inspired recipe as on so many of Tudor’s Black Bay watches, and it seems to work great again on this new Black Bay 58 GMT.
Master Chronometer certified
The designers were able to slim down the Black Bay 58 GMT because of the new MT5450-U automatic GMT movement. This new Kenissi-manufactured caliber holds a power reserve of 65 hours and can withstand magnetic fields of up to 15,000 gauss. You can be sure of that because it has been certified by METAS. Therefore, it should also run within a tolerance range of 0/+5 seconds a day. That’s more accurate than COSC’s (-4/+6) and Tudor’s internal standards for manufacture calibers (-2/+4). Finally, METAS also ensures that the watch can handle the advertised water resistance. In the case of the Black Bay 58 GMT, it can go as deep as 200 meters.
Competitive pricing
You can get the new Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT both on a cut-to-size rubber or stainless steel bracelet. Both come with Tudor’s convenient T-Fit clasp. This means you can adjust them on the move without needing to have a tool on you. The version on the rubber strap costs €4,450, and the one on the bracelet will set you back €4,670. That means the GMT version of the Black Bay 58 on the bracelet is €600 more expensive than the time-only version. This seems like a reasonable premium, though, as the regular BB58 isn’t a Master Chronometer and lacks the GMT function.
One more thing
Oh, and there’s one more thing for the Black Bay 58 lineup. Tudor is introducing a full-gold satin-brushed bracelet for the three-hand Black Bay 58 in 18K gold with a green dial and bezel. That watch was previously only available on a leather strap for €18,250. The version on the gold bracelet will cost you €32,500. For more information on today’s Tudor novelties, check the brand’s official website.
Of course, we’ll try to get our hands on the new Black Bay 58 GMT as soon as possible. In the meantime, let me know in the comments below what you think of it.
