I’ll be honest, I kind of phase out when I hear the word anniversary brought up these days, insofar as it relates to watches, at least. Every year, every quarter even, there is a new release associated with some sort of anniversary, and while they aren’t all bad watches, the fact that they’ve been tied to an anniversary doesn’t lend much in the way of excitement. That said, there are a few anniversaries that I’ve got a pin in, and a big one happens to be this year: the centennial of Tudor watches. Now, I am famously bad at making predictions when it comes to Tudor watches, but it’s a brand that has shaped much of how I think about watches and how I use them for the better part of a generation, so I’ve got some thoughts on how this year might unfold.
The Non-Sports Watches
We need to begin with a relatively recent release from Tudor, which came in the aptly named 1926 collection. The watch is the 1926 Luna, a moonphase set within a rather formal case and bracelet boasting earthy sunray dials. This watch was well received, and I think it shows a demand for more watches that fall outside of the realm of tools and divers. I believe Tudor will continue to build within this collection and, at some point, introduce their own movement architecture within.
This is a collection with plenty of potential, and one that I’d love to see mature into its own thing with even more unique details. With 100 years of history in the books, there’s no shortage of meaningful design elements that would make sense to bring to life in a modern way, and if you ask me, this is the area to do it. Along with more SKUs in the 1926 collection, I can see a potential new collection forming to give way to more of this history that doesn’t align to the purely functional end of the brand.
A Shift for the Black Bay
The Black Bay has been Tudor’s bread and butter since reemerging in the North American market in 2012, and while it has welcomed plenty of new variations, it really hasn’t changed all that much at its core. Last year, we saw the introduction of new, larger Black Bays, meaning the collection now has pretty broad coverage. But again, the formula has remained unchanged. This might be a good year to breathe some fresh life into the Black Bay with a change in approach to the 41 and to the 58, and I’m not just talking about new colorways.
There’s not a ton of ingredients to worth with when it comes to the Black Bay, and I can’t see them moving away from the snowflake hour hand, but I do think some slight refinements might be in store. This could be in the proportions and presentations of the hour markers, or something as small as a change to the chapter ring. A new bezel assembly and insert would also make a big impact on the overall visual of the watch. Of course, the obvious change would be the addition of a date complication as an option, and I don’t think such a move is out of the cards.
More than any of that, what I’d like to see from the Black Bay is a fully redesigned case. Nothing dramatic, but a re-structure of the proportions from the case wall to the bulge of the caseback would go a long way with the Black Bay, and work to curb the only consistent criticism the watch has known since its release. Small refinements here would be a game changer, and it’s the one thing I’d like to see the most in a new Black Bay.
One final note on the Black Bay collection is acknowledgement of the Black Bay Pro. This is still the only watch that uses the ‘Pro’ moniker, and other odd details such as the lume blocks at the hour make this an outlier. A trimmer case here would be a very welcome move, but on the whole, this is still a darling of a watch that deserves more love than it gets.
Pelagos Identity Continues to Evolve
The Pelagos may have begun life in a very straightforward manner, offering a modern hard core diver alongside the historic Black Bay. It has since become, well, something else. I mean, it’s still very much a modern hardcore diver when it needs to be, but it now also incorporates an expansive FXD arm of the collection. There are exotic case materials, complications, and odd colorways all living in the FXD realm, and it kind of waters down the Pelagos identity as a whole. Will this be the year that we see it spun off as its own collection?
I’m not sure that will be the case, but there’s no denying the effectiveness of the FXD to house all manner of ideas from the brand. There is one Pelagos that I think could use some more attention, and that is the Pelagos 39. This watch exists in a vacuum, but it’s one that would do well with a supporting cast. The framework of the 39 is brilliant, and with some other colorways they could fulfill a big demand for a modern 9411. Heck, now that the Black Bay 58 GMT exists, there should be no reason to not build a Pelagos 39 GMT, perhaps even with a 12 hour bezel to set it apart.
The base FXD in black and blue colorways remain extremely compelling watches to this day, and the only thing I’d hope to see is the strap from the MN live up to the robust quality of the one seen on the black US Navy example. But I also wouldn’t complain about more options in base form in terms of bezels and dials.
A Chronograph
Every year there is but one request that I truly hope for, and this is a return of the early ‘70s chronograph design language as seen in references like the 7031/0, 7032/0, 7149/0, 7159/0, 7169/0, etc. It’s about 15 years since the release of the Heritage Chronograph models took a first stab at this, and it’s damn well time to revisit with a slightly more refined hand. These designs are wholly unique to Tudor, and they need to be represented in their modern catalog.
Since a modern Big Block design was shown and created for Only Watch, I also suspect we’ll see something of a similar nature be released as a production ready design, but that doesn’t quite scratch the same itch. We need a new Homeplate and Monte Carlo built within a reasonable case confines and a modern twist, and I can’t think of a better time to do it than the 100th anniversary.
In truth, I think we’ll get a multitude of great releases from Tudor this year, no doubt entirely different from anything I’ve described above. And honestly, that’s kind of why I love the brand. They rarely take the route anyone expects them to, yet all of their releases just make sense in their own way. I hope we get some releases totally out of left field from Tudor, and I can’t wait to be proven wrong. Again. Either way, cheers to 100 years, Tudor.