Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight revives 1960s French Navy flair

When Swiss watchmaker Tudor released the first Black Bay Fifty-Eight diver’s watch back in 2018, it was applauded and highly sought after thanks to its vintage sizing, purist design roots, precision timing certification and relative affordability.

The black dialled watch was everything modern watch fans were looking for in a stylish and robust timepiece that could be worn daily. Fast forward two short years and Rolex’s sister company has unveiled the next variant in the model line-up in the form of the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight ‘Navy Blue’.

As the name suggests the bezel and dial now receive the matt blue treatment, but it’s more than just a colour change. Vintage watch aficionados will immediately recognise the inspiration borrowed from the classic Tudor Submariner ‘Blue Snowflake’ of the early 70s, which was the diver’s tool of choice for French Navy during that era.

Heritage aside, the new piece retains the 39mm stainless steel case paired to a large unguarded crown and sleek matt blue aluminium bezel with fine knurling. On the dial face, there are sizeable lumed hours and minutes hands along with clear hour markers to make for high legibility even when submerged in low-light conditions.

Powering the watch is Tudor’s Calibre MT5402 automatic movement which is COSC chronometer certified to ensure precision timekeeping. It also affords a hefty 70-hour power reserve.

It is with the available strap options that the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight ‘Navy Blue’ gets to be a bit more creative according to personal style. There’s the traditional stainless steel bracelet or an attractive jacquard fabric strap woven in matching navy blue with a silver stripe. The third strap option is a blue ‘soft touch’ synthetic strap.

Interested parties can now visit Tudor.

Specifications

Case: 39mm
Material: Stainless steel
Movement: Calibre MT5402 (COSC certified)
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Dial: Blue
Power reserve: 70 hours
Strap: Steel bracelet, blue jacquard fabric strap or blue ‘soft touch’ synthetic strap
Water resistance: 200 metres