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Review Tudor Black Bay Chrono „Pink”
With one rather simple esthetical change Tudor created probably the hottest chronograph of the year. The Black Bay Chrono with a pink dial is a true watchmaking paradox.
There isn’t probably any color that is (perceived as) less masculine than pink. I do realize it is quite politically incorrect to write that nowadays, but one can’t argue pink is still the one that causes the most controversies. Of course there are plenty of different shades, and some of them work better than the others, still – in theory – it remains the difficult, least popular of all. That thinking seams to be shared by watch brands of the world, cause think about it – how many pink colored dials can you recall? (pink, not salmon, mind you).
If we’d like to look back at quite recent history, return of the pink on a watch dial has to be granted to Rolex an its Oyster Perpetual collection, recreating iconic Stella dials. It’s hard to argue with Rolex driving force within the industry, as this simple range of watches – especially the ones with colorful faces – made almost everyone try to play and experiment with unusual shades, not common in everyday watchmaking. Still very conventional and traditional world of watches usually limits its perception of color to a few regulars, somewhere in between black and white. There were some color-based trends here and there, but rather short-lasting and limited to un-extravagant blues and greens. Pink remains truly exotic, reserved for very particular watches, usually from smaller micro-brands. There is however a noble exception to the rule… and here comes Tudor, all dressed in pink.
„Pink Panther”
Before we step into the pinkish world of the set Tudor Black Bay Chrono, let’s have a quick look at the origins of the watch – quite mysterious and unclear (as a few other thing about it). As you most likely know, David Beckham is Tudor’s ambassador since few years. Once a football super-star, now a co-owner of and MLS club Inter Miami. As it happens, Inter’s official color palette is pastel pink and black… so all fits, if not for one other aspect – Tudor’s partnership with Jay Chou.
You might not know him as well as Beckham, but Chou is a renowned Taiwanese singer and actor, and Tudor’s friend of the brand. He was supposedly the one who originally worked with the company on a pink dial chronograph, however it was both him and Beckham present in the promotional campaign of the BB Chrono Pink, so… The watch is not officially dedicated nor personalised for anyone, so it is up to us to decide. To judge the watch itself is a much easier task.
Dial
So Tudor decided to go pink. Exotic one might say? Yes, but so befitting. This particular shade of pink is pastel, rather toned down and paired with black details of the counters and minutes track, plus a few lines of text on the bottom half. For some contrast (and a vintage touch) water resistance is printed in bright red.
The dial is completed but typical Black Bay applied diving indices with luminova and a date window, cut out at 6 o’clock. Time is measured by a set of typical BB hands, with an hours “snowflake” hand and a stopwatch seconds counter with red tip. All in all it is a very tasty mix, classic but with a twist, making this watch stand out from the crowd. In a good, exotic but fun way – very eye-pleasing, so to speak.
BB Chrono
The rest of new Tudor BB Chrono, in almost every detail except one, is similar to all previous chronograph versions in steel. Hefty, steel case comes at 41 mm in diameter and 14,4 mm in thickness. On top there is an aluminium inlayed bezel with a tachymeter scale, and on the back a solid, plane caseback. The case is finished with brushing on the top surfaces and a solid mirror polish on the sides – which looks nice but enhances the overall heavy feeling. There is also a very neatly done, bevelled edge on the entire length of the lugs.
The crown on the right hand side of the case is signed with Tudor’s rose and screw-in, just as the two protective rings around chronograph pushers.
What’s brand new for the BB Chrono is the bracelet. For the first time the watch comes equipped with a steel “jubilee” type bracelet – the one made famous by Tudor’s bigger brother – Rolex. It is composed of 5-elements links, with two outside ones brushed and the rest polished. The bracelet tappers nicely from 22 mm lugs all the way to the butterfly claps with useful and easy T-fit micro-adjustment. Although one might think initially that the jubilee is a rather odd choice for the watch, it matches the entire feet and feel almost as good as the dial. Not to mention great execution and comfort on the wrist, which is important with a watch as substantial as this one.
Mechanics
The „Pink” iteration of the Black Bay Chronograph keeps the same movement too. Tudor equips the watch with a caliber created by/with Breitling, named MT5813. It provides a COSC chronometer certification, a rather impressive 70 h of power reserve and 4 Hz frequency of the balance wheel. The stopwatch is run with a column wheel, and the mainspring is loaded with a centrally mounted, tungsten rotor. All parts are finished in a very raw, industrial style – but worry not, as the movement is hidden behind a solid back. And it works just perfectly fine, with a stop-seconds and a quick date adjustment. It is also rather thick, which in turn makes the entire case a bit on the large side.
Experience… and a few words about (in)accessibility
The watch world runs by its own set of rules, and as it is still quite conservative, a success is usually a combination of some repetitive conditions. What works and sells is classic, minimalism, vintage (in every possible form and shape) – in short all that is well known, familiar and vastly accepted by the majority of customers. On paper, the Tudor BB Chrono “Pink” should not work, not even exist, but… put it on the wrist, and its works like hell.
Although it might not be a show of bravery, what Tudor designers did is they decided to leave the so called comfort zone, with a clear understanding that it might be playing with fire to introduce a predominantly men’s watch with a pink face. And… as it turned out… it works. Pink fits the overall feel of the hefty BB Chrono so well, creating a well-balanced and very attractive watch with that right mount of uniqueness. On top of that it is a very well made timepiece (Tudor is a king on it’s price level) with a solid movement and a cool bracelet that fits better that I expected it to be. But it is undoubtedly the dial – it’s shade, finish and the overall looks – that made people want to wear pink on their noble and sophisticated wrists.
But not to make things look all too pink, there might be a problem with getting one. Tudor made a rather interesting decision to secretly limit the watch and it’s accessibility. First off, there is no official price, but this one should be around what a regular steel Black Bay Chrono, which is about 5 800 EUR.
The watch will also be available only at Tudor’s official boutiques, and we have no idea for how long. When it was launched, a very enigmatic press kit said that the piece „might not be for everyone. And that’s OK because few of them will ever be made”. It surely means it is limited, but in what quantity, that remains to be a secret. If you however manage to defeat all the odds and grab one, you will not stop gazing at your wrist with a smile. It is for a good reason some say the watch dial is it’s face, and please a key part in the whole design. And this one is particularly handsome, although atypical and out of the conventional box.
Test watch provided by Tudor.
