It looks like the time-only, non-diver, non-GMT Black Bay has finally grown up. It started as a watch with a glossy black or blue dial, an Oyster-style bracelet, and an ETA or Sellita movement. Then a sunburst silver dial was added, and now it’s time for the next step. The case has been redesigned, and it comes on a Jubilee-style bracelet. Also, all of the dial variations (blue, anthracite, and light champagne) now feature a sunburst finish. And finally, they’re all powered by Tudor’s in-house COSC-certified movements. And that means it’s the end of the curved smiley text on the dial.

In addition to what feels like the final evolution for the Black Bay lineup, Tudor also introduces new dial colors to the Royal collection. The new and more daring salmon and chocolate-brown options join the silver, blue, mother-of-pearl, and black dials that were already available. Unlike the Black Bay, though, the Royal didn’t get an in-house movement…yet. Let’s take a quick look at what came out today.

Tudor Black Bay anthracite dial

Black Bay 31/36/39/41

I used to own a Black Bay 36 with a glossy black dial, and the new Black Bay I saw today felt completely different. It definitely feels like it’s a grown-up now. First of all, the case got an update. It used to have these very straight flanks. Now the case is much curvier on the sides, a little bit like the Rolex Explorer 114270 that I currently own. Of course, it looks and feels great, but I must say that the case loses a bit of its aggressive attitude. In that sense, I do understand why Tudor now went with the more elegant five-row Jubilee-style bracelet. It’s a logical choice, but it does change the Black Bay’s sporty character to a dressier one.

Tudor Black Bay silver dial

And that transition carries over to the new dials as well. The former glossy dials were more like no-nonsense sports watch dials. The all-new sunburst blue, anthracite, and light champagne dials add a more sophisticated feel to the watch. The blue dial comes with white printing, the light champagne does it in black, and the anthracite one gets a Black Bay Fifty-Eight theme. Because whereas the blue and champagne dials have steel hands and indices, the anthracite one has gilt-tone detailing all over. It does make it look like the sportiest of the three, but still, these dials feel a lot more sophisticated than sporty.

Tudor Black Bay blue dial

Manufacture movements

As you might have read, Tudor just inaugurated its all-new Le Locle manufacture. That’s why it makes sense that all of the Black Bays in all four sizes are powered by movements from there. And they’re also all COSC certified, which means they’ll run between +6 and -4 seconds a day. The only difference between the movements in the different sizes is that the 31mm Black Bay gets a 50-hour power reserve instead of 70 hours for the 36, 39, and 41mm models. That power reserve is definitely an advantage over the ETA and Sellita movements that these models housed before.

Now let’s talk size for a moment. The 39mm size was available before in the two-tone versions of the Black Bay but not for the steel models. Of course, the Black Bay Fifty-Eight already had a 39mm case, and we all know how well that was received. So I think it’s great that there’s finally something in between the 36mm and 41mm options. Additionally, all sizes are also available with diamonds on the dial. You know, just for when you’d like to make it look a little more sophisticated than it already does.

Tudor Royal

Alongside the updates to the Black Bay collection, Tudor also introduced new dial colors for the Royal lineup. The mother-of-pearl dial was already available, and it was definitely the most daring one. Now a salmon and a chocolate sunburst option have also been added. The salmon, available in steel, goes great with the Royal’s more classic styling. But I must say that the chocolate works very well in the two-tone versions of the Royal as well.

Other than that, not much has changed about it. I checked with the Tudor representatives here at Watches and Wonders, but the Royal is not powered by a manufacture movement yet.

Final words

Both the updated Black Bay models and the new dial options for the Royal are available right now. The Black Bay starts at CHF 3,550 for the 31mm size and goes up to CHF 3,850 for the 41mm version. The Tudor Royal has a price of CHF 2,900 for the 28mm version in steel, going up to CHF 4,200 for the 41mm size in two-tone. For more information, please check the official Tudor website.

Let us know what you think about these new introductions by Tudor in the comments below.

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