It’s not only 2023 that will be remembered as a memorable year for Tudor Releases: 2021 was also a year that wowed us with a number of great Tudor premiers. The Black Bay Chrono reference M79360N-0001 and M79360N-0001; both stainless steel Black Bay Fifty-Eight references M79010SG-0001 and M79018V-0001; and the Pelagos FXD reference M25707b/23-0001, to name just a few. May 2021 also saw Tudor release its first METAS-certified watch, the Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-001, which has been setting new standards for Tudor ever since. This stealthy ceramic timepiece is an ambitious, sophisticated watch, to say the least. Join me as we take an in-depth look at it today.
Fact Check: The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic
This watch features classic Black Bay measurements: a 41-mm case width, 50 mm lug-to-lug, a lug width of 22 mm, and a 14.4-mm case thickness. Its hybrid leather and rubber strap gives it a lighter weight of 106.6 grams. This watch is powered by the in-house MT5602-1U movement, Tudor’s most important caliber to date, and which upon release was a watch world hit, as it made the Black Bay Ceramic Tudor’s first official Master Chronometer. Prior to that, only Omega had its watches certified in accordance with this stringent standard. Part of the Swatch Group, Omega, together with the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS), developed a quality standard for the certification of anti-magnetic watch movements. A demanding standard, it tests power reserve and water resistance, and requires watches to be able to withstand magnetic fields of up to 15,000 gauss. The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-001 is up to the test, as it delivers 200 meters (20 bar, 656 feet) of water resistance, 70 hours of power reserve, and up to 15,000 gauss of anti-magnetism. Talk about impressive!
The Ceramic Extreme Athlete
Prior to this, Tudor had been experimenting with ceramic for a while. The Tudor Fastrider Black Shield chronograph was followed in 2019 by the single-copy Black Bay Ceramic One on the occasion of that year’s Only Watch Geneva auction, where this Black Bay Ceramic prototype fetched a staggering 350,000 Swiss francs (approx. $350,000) for a good cause.
From this inspiration was born the Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-0001. This timepiece’s casing is a true masterpiece within the Tudor catalog. Its monobloc middle case is made of micro-blasted ceramic, and the watch has an amazing, deep black matte appearance. Instead of shining, its surfaces diffuse light as the surrounding conditions vary throughout the day. The polished surfaces give the housing a sophisticated, sporty look, making this watch wear thinner than its Black Bay stainless steel brethren. A “black sheep” of the Black Bay Fifty-Eight family, perhaps? You might say that, but of course only in a positive sense. After all, the ceramic watch recalls this gorgeous line of watches in a number of different ways.
The screw-down crown is made of PVD-treated 316L stainless steel, and features the famous Tudor rose logo. The narrow bezel is made of the same material, housing an entirely black satinized ceramic insert with an engraved diving scale. Its vertical finishing is simply stunning, helping make the bezel this watch’s most eye-catching feature. Turning it through its 60 clicks delivers the haptics and acoustics that feel and sound like the combination dial on a high-security safe. I mean, you weren’t really expecting anything less in terms of quality from Tudor, were you?
Dial With Subtle Vintage Flair
The black dial has a subtle sunburst pattern; a closer look reveals its velvet texture and optical depth. There’s a minimal amount of text on the lower half of the dial, with two lines of “Black Bay” and “Master Chronometer.” This writing, as well as the markers on the chapter ring, are done in dark gray, giving the dial a harmonious feel while contributing to the overall clean look of this watch.
The Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-001 is equipped with the classic Tudor hand set, with the famous snowflake tips on the hour and seconds hands. The Super-LumiNova on the hands and indices has an interesting off-white, cream hue that’s somewhere between off-white and bright beige. This is a smart alternative to plain white; it helps downplay the contrast to black a bit, while giving the watch an authentic-looking, subtle vintage flair. The domed sapphire crystal covering the dial adds additional retro charm. The display case back of the watch features another piece of sapphire crystal framed by a PVD-coated stainless steel ring that lets you observe the beating heart of this timepiece: the blacked-out MT5602-1U in-house movement. Now, the matte black Tudor Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-0001 won’t be making the blingiest of Instagram appearances. You will, however, be blown away when you hold this watch in your hands for the first time and experience its amazing appearance and outstanding legibility up-close.
Brief Interlude: The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic Straps and Other Options
1. Tudor Hybrid Leather and Rubber Strap
The Black Bay Ceramic comes on a gray-black hybrid leather and rubber strap with stitching that matches the color of the Super-LumiNova on the dial. It has a Tudor shield-shaped lock (with the Tudor logo) on its deployment folding clasp that’s made of black PVD-treated 316L stainless steel. The two plates of the clasp that snap together are underneath the strap and against your skin while wearing this watch, which may take some getting used to. Furthermore, the two keepers on the strap are a little loose, in my opinion.
A somewhat tricky topic with the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-0001 is its case height. For my average-sized, six-and-three-quarter inch wrist, its 14.4 mm is not only pretty thick, but simply too thick. The relatively deep downturn of the watch’s lugs doesn’t help here either: You’ll notice this results in an overly wide gap between the housing and ends of the hybrid strap. Great-looking as it is, the strap’s straight ends create too much space between the watch case and the strap, letting you clearly see the skin on your wrist, while also giving the straps room to turn all the way upwards and expose their ends’ surfaces. The strap’s material serves as a magnet for dust and lint, something that’s noticeable right away and therefore a less-than-optimal aspect of the Black Bay Ceramic.
2. The Tudor Black Fabric Strap
The complimentary black fabric strap included when you purchase the Black Bay Ceramic is not a bad alternative. It’s black with a thin cream stripe down the middle, and has a PVD-treated pin buckle and metal keepers. This fabric strap is threaded under the watch’s ceramic case, and although it closes the gap I described above, it also does cover up the see-through display case back and movement. Because it runs along the underside of the watch, this strap raises it on your wrist, which has the effect of leaving the tips of the lugs exposed and sort of just hanging in space. That’s a shame, because from the side view, this aspect definitely detracts from the Black Bay Ceramic’s good looks.
3. Aftermarket Strap Options
The good news is, the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-001 is a strap monster that will look great with all kinds of alternative aftermarket options. Watch lugs with a nice turndown look well-balanced on watches with larger cases. So-called “blocked integration” straps are fairly well-known in upper price ranges, and are customized to specific watch models to deliver maximum comfort. They’re able to compensate for timepieces that might be a bit too thick, achieving just the right harmony between case and strap, allowing watches to fit perfectly on small- and medium-sized wrists that would otherwise be too big. A strap from Everest Horology Products has for years allowed my hefty, plus-15-mm-thick Rolex Sea-Dweller reference 126600 (SD43) to sit beautifully on my wrist.
Another producer of high-quality straps is Rubber B, which recently started offering straps for the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic in different materials, including perfectly-fitting rubber straps. You can even swap the original Tudor clasp from their hybrid strap onto your Rubber B selection. A Rubber B strap makes your Tudor feel noticeably better balanced on your wrist, and delivers a kind of watch metamorphosis: You might not even notice any more that the Black Bay Ceramic is larger than the 39-mm Black Bay Fifty-Eight. Now that’s change!
The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic: General Critique
The occasional, albeit rare, complaint pops up among the many reviews of the Black Bay Ceramic. Let me give you my two cents on a few of them:
1. Scratch Resistance vs. Patina
Thanks to its decreased density, ceramic is noticeably lighter, and three to four times harder than stainless steel. Some fans equate this lighter weight on their wrist with lower quality, while others really enjoy the added everyday comfort. Although ceramic doesn’t patina at all, which some watch fans adore about other watch materials, this does make a ceramic watch very robust, and a great choice for daily wear.
2. Legibility of the Black Bezel
One of the main things the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-001 is criticized for is its limited functionality. The dive bezel lacks contrast. It has no luminescent material on its numerals, and no lume pip at 12 o’clock, meaning you can forget using it for actual diving.
But come on: How many of the folks who purchase this watch are going underwater with it? And among those who do, how many of them are going down without an additional digital diving computer? As far as the eternal debate on diving bezels goes, folks really should assume that everybody who goes diving and is worth their salt is going to be able to perform the simple math of adding minutes. The same goes for all those using their diving bezels to keep track of how much longer their pasta needs to boil. In any case, yes, no matter how good the Black Bay Ceramic looks, its bezel legibility is going to be a challenge for the wearer.
3. Do You Really Need A Display Case Back?
So-called display case backs have been around since the start of the 1980s, and have been heatedly debated ever since. From the subjective eye of the beholder, the first sight of a caliber is certainly as fascinating as it is satisfying, which only intensifies the more complicated and well-finished the movement is. In any case, this is really a rather subjective issue in the watch world. The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-001 thus asks the questions: “Do dive watches need display case backs?” and “Is the MT5602-1U caliber good-looking enough to necessitate one?” There’s no doubt that skeletonized movements have a more attractive (cooler?) appearance, while at the same time making a watch more expensive. A display case back also ipso facto excludes the option of a nice engraving. But for those who don’t intend to personalize their watches, is that even an issue?
“One thing that’s certain is that the caliber in the Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-001 represents a milestone in the nearly 100-year Tudor history, and was an industry sensation upon its release. It’s no wonder that a caliber on this level, and in this price category, turns heads the way it did, and continues to do so.
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4. Ridiculously High Anti-Magnetism
Critics smirkingly point to the Federal Institute of Metrology’s anti-magnetic requirements, feeling that 15,000 gauss is more than excessive, especially when considering the magnetic levels emitted by smartphones (380 gauss), hair dryers (400), laptops (1,200), tablets (1,400), and the latest generation of MRI units with their 13,000 gauss. All of that is true. But while the usual suspects of watch enemies like shock, moisture, dust, and extreme temperatures are well-managed by today’s timepieces, magnetism remains a factor in the field of R&D, and for anyone wearing a watch there. Our increasingly digital world means our watches are/will be subject to increasing amounts of magnetic forces. So METAS-certified watches that deliver “too much” anti-magnetic resistance are well-equipped for today’s technological needs, and probably just about right for what’s coming our way in the decades ahead.
5. The Polarizing Snowflake Hand Set
Then there are the opponents of the Tudor snowflake hands. As we know all too well, these shapes polarize opinions like almost nothing else in the watch world. However, with the Tudor Pelagos line, it was already possible to observe a well-proportioned interplay between heftier hands that still manage to stay true to the angular shapes typical of Tudor dial designs.
You can observe a similar phenomenon with the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic reference M79210CNU-001, as well, with its hand set achieving the right harmony of color against the backdrop of its dark, understated dial. In my subjective opinion, the snowflake hands on this watch don’t look (entirely) out of place.
Maybe I’ve just gotten used to them. In any case, and as an avowed Rolex fan, let me leave you with my final comment, which is anything but subjective: I can’t get this amazing Tudor out of my head!
