Black Bay Ceramic

The Black Bay Ceramic is a prime example of TUDOR's expert command of one of the industry's most demanding standards in terms of chronometry and resistance to magnetic fields, as well as its mastery of technical material engineering. Tested by the Federal Institute of Metrology or METAS, this Black Bay model is the epitome of high-tech aesthetic language. Its matt black ceramic elements, charcoal dial and black hands, including lume, accentuate the Black Bay Ceramic’s outstanding performance. Ceramic is a difficult material to work with, but now TUDOR has developed a matching ceramic bracelet with ergonomic qualities that serve as testament to the brand’s mastery of technical innovation, as well as a new aesthetic in line with TUDOR’s tradition of "going dark".

Going dark with a new look
Aesthetically, the TUDOR Black Bay Ceramic combines contemporary, high-tech details with a bold, blacked-out theme. Its matt black monobloc ceramic case has sand-blasted surfaces with bevelled edges, mirror-polished for a striking contrast, and is finished with very pronounced lines. The all-ceramic bracelet is light on the wrist and makes the watch easy to wear. The insert of its rotatable bezel is also in black ceramic with a sunray satin finish. The engraved graduations in matching tones offer an additional complementary matt detail, which responds subtly to changes in light. Its dial is also black-on-black (actually black-on-charcoal, but you get the idea), including its applied hour markers with "dark" luminescent material. In other words, this watch is all black. It’s a totem to technical mastery and for that, TUDOR continued the tradition of "going dark" with a blacked-out aesthetic.

The manufacture calibre MT5602-U
The Manufacture Calibre MT5602-U, which powers the Black Bay Ceramic, displays hour, minute and seconds functions. It offers the general look and feel of TUDOR Manufacture Calibres with a dedicated sun laser design and bears the Master Chronometer mention on its bridges, emphasising its distinctive performance. Its rotor is fashioned in tungsten monobloc and is openworked. It also features the distinctive laser radial grooving with sand-blasted details. Its bridges and mainplate have alternate sand-blasted and polished surfaces and laser decorations.

The build of the Manufacture Calibre MT5602-U is designed to ensure robustness and precision. To do this, the variable inertia balance wheel is maintained by a sturdy traversing bridge with two-point anchoring. It is certified as a chronometer by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), with its performance going beyond the standards set by this independent institute. In fact, where COSC allows an average variation in the daily rate of an uncased movement of between -4 and +6 seconds and TUDOR applies a 6-second (-2/+4) variation standard on its fully assembled watches, METAS requires a Master-Chronometer-certified watch to run within a tolerance range of 5 seconds (0/+5). Not only is the Manufacture Calibre MT5602-U certified to be more accurate, it is also rated as anti-magnetic, making it impervious to magnetic fields below 15,000 gauss.

Another notable feature is that the power reserve of the Manufacture Calibre MT5602-U is “weekend-proof”; that is to say, it has been certified for 70 hours by METAS, which enables the wearer to take the watch off on a Friday evening and put it back on again on Monday morning without having to wind it. Even if you need a weekend away, your watch does not.

The essence of Black Bay
Like other models in the Black Bay range, the Ceramic adopts TUDOR's characteristic angular hands known as "Snowflake" that appeared in the brand’s 1969 catalogue. The result of a subtle blend of traditional aesthetics and contemporary watchmaking, the Black Bay line is far from simply being an identical rerelease of a classic. Resolutely anchored in the present, it brings together over seven decades of TUDOR diving watches. Whilst it is neo-vintage in conception, its manufacturing techniques and its robustness, reliability, durability and precision as well as the quality of its finish are above modern industry standards.

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