Another hit for the Swiss giants or just a watch to flex on Instagram?
Thanks to platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, hype around the world of watches grows daily. One day it might be about what watch the latest celebrity is wearing in a paparazzi image and the next everyone is sharing their predictions for upcoming models.
In recent months and years, hype has resulted in a tangible impact on the pricing and demand of certain models. Think Patek Philippe and the 5711, Rolex and basically any watch made from steel or even the gold Daytona we discussed recently. The popularity of Tudor has risen in tandem with the growth of its Black Bay range. It's no wonder then that when they released a much-requested navy blue version of the immensely popular Black Bay 58 in 2020, people went a little crazy over it.
But now the hype has died down a touch, and we’ve started to see the Black Bay Fifty Eight Navy Blue in AD’s windows (depending on where you are in the world), we wanted to ask the question - is this watch just all hype or is it actually as good as everyone makes it out to be? After all, it is simply just a new colour scheme, right?
The Tudor Black Bay Fifty Eight Navy Blue - What it does
The Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue - Image Credit: WatchGecko Online Magazine
Released in 2020, the Black Bay 58 Navy Blue is a product of the online-only watch launch. Rather than a grand celebration at a Baselworld type show, Tudor sent the model to its ADs around the world pre-launch.
A good idea on paper, until some ADs decided to post images of the watch before the agreed date meaning when it was time for the official announcement, everyone already knew what to expect. But this didn’t stop the hype from building and maintaining for the remaining months of the year.
The Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue vs the Tudor Black Bay 58 Black - Image Credit: WatchGecko Online Magazine
The world has been waiting for a Navy Blue 58 ever since the first 58 iteration was released in 2018, but Tudor wanted to go a step further as they changed both the dial and the bezel to blue.
In recent history, the Black Bay Diver 41 (which is available in blue) just keeps the colour to the bezel and sticks with a black dial, however, look a little further back to the original blue Snowflake & Tudor Submariners and you’ll find matching blue bezels and dials. It makes a lot of sense then that it's within the realms of possibility then that a new Black Bay would follow the same lineage of the originals...
The Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue - Image Credit: WatchGecko Online Magazine
What is fascinating with the 58 Navy Blue is how thoroughly modern it not just looks, but feels in person. Yes, well verse watch aficionados will recognise the snowflake hand isn’t anything new, but thanks to the gilt less dial and bezel configuration in favour of bright silver gilded markings, the 58 Navy Blue has managed to strip back that ' vintage style’ to simply the hour hand and the remarkably subtle faux rivets on the bracelet.
The Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue - Image Credit: WatchGecko Online Magazine
Now the hour hand is out of context and stripped of surrounding influences, the strength in the hand design resonates a whole lot more when wearing the Blue. Unlike the sunburst blue seen on the 41mm Black Bay diver bezel, the blue on the 58 is a much softer one. It’s actually quite subdued in person. Don’t think you’ll be getting a rich, deep blue but rather a matt blue which is generously toned down.
Is it a good investment?
If you can buy a Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue at retail then it will be a very solid investment. The watch hasn’t been released long enough to fully see if the watch will hold its value long term, however, within a year they’re still trading on the second-hand market for around the same price as you can buy them at retail.
That isn’t a terrible thing at all considering many watches are like brand new cars and can easily lose value as soon as it's on your wrist with your name on the papers.
Will it go up in value?
Again it is hard to say if the Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue will go up in value as it has only been out for 1 year. The likelihood is that because this is a popular, very commercial product the 58 Blue won’t shoot up in value over time but will hold its value well. Apart from the new colour, the 58 Blue doesn’t really do anything different to the other 58 so it is likely to not become an immensely collectable watch in the future.
An example of a Black Bay that has done well recently is the original models that use ETA movements. These have started to creep up in value as Tudor has developed the Black Bay further and further. As the Navy Blue 58 is a relatively simple change, I wouldn’t expect the same to happen with it.
The Black Bay 58 Blue is a sports watch we don’t really need to go into great detail regarding its stats, how it wears, the case proportions or if it's well made (if you’re curious, we covered this here). Even if you haven’t handled a Black Bay 58, you’ll know that all of the above have been executed to a desirable degree.
The Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue - Image Credit: WatchGecko Online Magazine
The 58 Navy Blue is the ultimate expression of who Tudor should be and what they need to be releasing. A commercially successful watch brand that offers historical context whilst not getting overly caught up in the past. To some degree, Tudor is still following in the footsteps of its bigger brother, just in its own way that ensures they keep the desirability of the Rolex relationship without it stepping on the coronet’s toes.
Watch straps for the Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue
Fans of the WatchGecko Online Magazine will know we’ve explored watch straps for Tudor watches many times before, and the Black Bay 58 Navy Blue offers a distinctive appearance with a versatile lug width making it ideal for a strap change. As the Black Bay 58 is now Blue when it comes to watch straps there are a few core concepts to consider to make the most out of the colour scheme. Blue is such a versatile colour that its pretty hard to find a strap colour that won't work here but our personal favourite include:
Leather watch straps, specifically brown as they can add a lovely sense of warmth
Make sure you pick up 20mm wide watch straps as the Black Bay 58 has a 20mm lug width!
Let us know in the comments below if you think we should see how different we can make it look with a few watch straps.
Final thoughts on the Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue
The Black Bay 58 is the benchmark for ‘entry-level’ luxury diving watches. It has perfectly combined a well-made product, with a great amount of demand and interest mixed with an inoffensive design and impressive proportions. The Black Bay 58 is an incredible blank canvas for the brand and with this new colour configuration, Tudor has created a watch with DNA rooted in yesteryear and pulled it bang up to date.
The Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue - Image Credit: WatchGecko Online Magazine
How much is it?
The Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue costs £2,760 for the watch on the steel bracelet. If you’re after a watch from the Rolex family with its own personality, and you’re comfortable spending that sort of money then there is no better choice in my eyes than the Black Bay 58 Navy Blue. We did recently compare the Oris Aquis to the Black Bay to see the Oris which is now powered by their new impressive Calibre 400 movement could challenge the dominating Black Bay range at this price point. Interested in hearing the outcome of this comparison? Click here to give it a read...
To find out more about the Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue click here to head over to tudorwatch.com.
Still interested in hearing more about Tudor? You’ll want to check out the following articles and videos from our archive then:
