Words matter, as evidenced on the dial of the very succinctly named Tudor Black Bay Ceramic. We are of course referring to the Master Chronometre text at 6 o’clock. You might recall these words in relation to one competitor in particular, especially when you consider that only watches that have been tested, by, and met the standards of, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS) can be addressed as Master Chronometres. This is one instance of words on a dial that even Edouard Meylan of H. Moser & Cie might applaud – it might even be the most audacious in recent memory. Also significant is the price, S$6,510, which is the best-in-class for this level of Swiss watchmaking. For this pricetag, you also get a fabric strap in the mix

Of course, the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic must offer a lot of watch to convince us of that. Consider only the following information then: the case is ceramic, it is water-resistant to 200 metres, the five-year warranty is transferable and does not require registration, and the power reserve of the automatic manufacture movement MT5602-1U is rated at 70 hours. If you ran those specifications into an algorithm to determine what watches are available, there would be nothing at the level of the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic. Now, being METAS certified, this means that every watch in the production series is tested, not just a sample. This is rather like the ISO 6425 standard, although we note here for the record that the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic is only rated with the simpler ISO standard 22810:2010. 

Sticking to what is specifically relevant here, we understand that people looking at this watch will be wondering what the big deal is. If the above facts are insufficient, also consider that the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic is now the only model in the Tudor range in a full ceramic case, now that the Fastrider has reportedly been discontinued. It is also one of just two models in the Black Bay range to sport exhibition casebacks, and the calibre MT5602-1U does feature some interesting finishing touches, including most obviously the black treatment for the rotor, plates and bridges. At present, calibre MT5602-1U is the only one with these touches, but you may recognise it as a variant of all manner of in-house Tudor movements, right from MT5612 – the lineage is clear when you eyeball the movement. 

Returning to words on the dial, this model is the first to include the words Black Bay, while also omitting the usual water-resistance and other professional tool messages. That means the resulting two-liner is a first in a production model Black Bay — yes, this is also the first Tudor Black Bay with a ceramic case in regular production. There was a ceramic Black Bay model for OnlyWatch, but that was a unique piece. The use of ceramic here means that this 41mm model will wear a little differently to regular the Black Bay, but we have not experienced this watch in person yet, so check out WOW later this year for that. There are still significant elements in 316L steel here, including the crown, caseback, bezel ring (the insert is black ceramic) and folding clasp (for the leather-rubber strap) plus pin buckle (for the fabric strap). These should help alleviate some concerns about ceramic, as we have previously reported. 

On a final note about availability, expect this watch to be about as popular as other Black Bay models. As a significant milestone for Tudor, the watch will be even more in-demand. It has already received a lot of attention on the Internet and social media. It is already on WOW’s shortlist for most notable watches of 2021.

Movement: Automatic calibre MT5602-1U

Case: 41mm in black ceramic, with PVD-treated caseback; water-resistant to 200m

Strap: Leather and rubber, with complementary fabric strap

Price: S$6,510

For more information regarding the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic model, head over the Tudor website.

All images courtesy of Tudor.