Inspiration for the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Navy Blue

What do the new Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Navy Blue, Heritage Black Bay and Vintage Tudor Submariner have in common? We know that the Black Bay 58 is an updated version of the Heritage Black Bay, but both these models take design elements from the vintage Tudor Submariner. The new Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue was released last week on July 1st, and boy, is it amazing. If you have been following our blogs, then you know that this was predicted weeks ago to be released by Tudor in July. While predictions are fun and get us excited, nothing compares to a new model actually being available in stores and on your wrist. It is everything we could have hoped for and more. As with most new Tudor models, there is an inspiration behind this watch. We are going to take a look at the inspiration behind the new Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Navy Blue.

 Snowflake Submariner MN - Image Source

Let's start at the beginning with the Tudor Submariner. The first Tudor Submariner was released in 1954 with the Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner; this was known as the first generation of the Tudor Submariner. The second generation of the Tudor Submariner occurred when the model known as the “Snowflake” Submariner was introduced in 1969. These “Snowflakes” had distinct design qualities, like the square shaped hour indicators and the angled hand style. These separated them from the first generation and from the Rolex Submariners. The “Snowflake” Submariner was also the first model to use the new Tudor shield logo and the first Tudor to use luminescent markers and hands. These models were offered with either a black or blue dial.  

 The Tudor Heritage Black Bay on a Swiss-Made Everest Band in chestnut brown.

Fast forward to 2012, Tudor released the Heritage Black Bay. This model took design elements from multiple Tudor Submariner watches in the past, like the Snowflake hands, gilt dial, over-sized crown and red triangle. While it used these elements from the past watches, it still has a very modern look making it a line of its own. The success of this model led to the release of the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight at Baselworld in 2018. This model, like the Heritage Black Bay, also used design elements from the past, but the biggest difference between the two is size. The Black Bay 58 case is 39mm and 11.9mm thick, making the case 2mm smaller and almost 3mm thinner than the Heritage Black Bay. Since the Tudor Black Bay 58 was released, it has become increasingly popular bringing us to the release of the new Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue in 2020.

Black Bay 58 Navy Blue - Image Source

What makes the new Navy model so special is the inspiration for the color choice. The Navy blue on the bezel and dial is a rich color that looks great in any lighting. The color choice was inspired by the earlier Tudor Submariner “MN,” which stands for the Marine Nationale or the French Navy. These “Snowflake” models that were blue were the issued watch by the Marine Nationale. Tudor used this Submariner model as the inspiration for the new Black Bay 58 Navy Blue. 

Here are some specs of the new 2020 Tudor release:

Name: Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Navy Blue (Ref. 79030B) - Automatic

Case Material: Steel                                                                                            

Dial Color: Blue

Indices: Applied

Lume: Hands and Markers                                                                

Case Diameter: 39mm                                                                          

Thickness: 11.9mm

Water Resistance: 200 meters

Watch Strap/Bracelet: 3 choices: Steel bracelet, "soft touch" blue synthetic strap, or blue/silver fabric strap.                                                                                

Movement Caliber: MT5402                                                                            

Power Reserve: 70 Hours                                                                                

Price: $3,700 on steel bracelet, $3,375 on Tudor fabric watch strap.

Like the Tudor Heritage Black Bay, the new Black Bay Fifty-Eight Navy Blue uses elements from Vintage Submariner models, making it have a modern yet vintage look. These models share multiple qualities but are all very much their own unique model. We love that the Tudor Black Bay Fifty Eight Navy Blue comes with multiple Tudor watch strap options! Customizing a watch to fit your taste and style is always a great idea, and choosing your own watch strap is a great way to do that.