First Look – The Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel & Date Ref. 79730 (Availability, Specs & Price)
As part of the newly presented 2017 Collection, Tudor introduced one big novelty, a chronograph with a new movement (and, as of now, you should be aware of the Breitling provenance) but it’s not the one we’ll talk about today. We’d like to take more time before going on this specific watch, as it deserves to be looked with a clear mind. Yet, the second big news for Tudor was the introduction of the Date on the Heritage Black Bay, a feature that will certainly please many end consumers, and that comes along a new design, with a brushed stainless steel bezel – and believe it or not, but it does change drastically the look of the watch. Here are our first impressions about the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel & Date Ref. 79730.
Dive watches, almost by their very definition, tend to be oversized creatures from the deep. Historically the reasons for the chunky cases and gargantuan proportions were very clear, these watches were pushing the boundaries of what was possible – serious tools for a serious purpose. Somewhere along the way the functionality started driving the aesthetic, to a point where helium escape valves, 100 bar ratings and innovative bezel lock systems were implemented on watches that barely (if ever) saw any bottom time. It was starting to get a little ridiculous. If you wanted a solid timepiece you could swim with that didn’t do double duty as a dive weight your options were limited. Baselworld 2017 changed all that. Restraint was the order of the day all round, and the underwater world was no exception. There was a marked resurgence in the reasonably sized (sub 40mm) diver, and just as in the ‘50s, Blancpain led the charge with their 38mm Bathyscaphe model. The Bathyscaphe, originally released a few years after the first Fifty Fathoms, was always the civilian younger brother to the more military-minded original, so it makes perfect sense for the brand to shave 5mm off the diameter, and 2.63mm…
Some people’s love of their timepiece is intensely personal, to a point where it’s hard to fathom for an outsider. Others are entirely easy to understand. Aussie entrepreneur Mark Bouris, who you might know from as the TV face of the local version of The Apprentice and its celebrity offshoot. When he’s not busy being a financial guru he has a lot of love for his IWC Perpetual Calendar, that he refers to – with sweet emotion – as his ‘Double Moon’. It’s a love that knows itself. Here, he lists just how accurate the moon phase is, in detail. It’s also an exclusive love, with Mark listing its rarity – the only blue dial version in Australia to his knowledge – as a key charm. We won’t spoil the surprise any further. But needless to say, his affection for the watch is easy to share in. Let the #grail talk begin. Who’s in?
Last year’s slim Breguet Classique 7147 had a spectacular dial, with a central section in detailed engine-turned guilloche and a subdial in a delicate crosshatch pattern. It was, not to overstate things, the star of the show. It’s a very difficult art to master, but there’s no doubt that Breguet has the technique down pat. So, imagine our surprise when we were presented this year’s update of the 7147 and there was not a hobnail or brushed finish to be seen. In its place is a single piece of lustrous grand feu enamel – an equally tricky technique to master – and this single change creates a completely new look for this dressy design. Thanks to the multiple firings the white enamel is of a brightness and lightness, and has an undulating sensuality, that’s hard to capture in photos (and even harder in words). It also has delicately hand-painted Breguet numerals (of course) and a delightful minute track (the non-cardinal markers are stylised fleur de lys) . The best bit though is the delicate dip that constitutes the small seconds subdial. The hands are pure Breguet, and made of hand-blued steel. Looking beyond the dial, everything is as it was with guilloche…