Simon de Burton examines the motoring heritage of Tudor and its latest expression in the Heritage Black Bay Chrono
The Rolex Cosmograph may have gone down in history as one of the most celebrated driver watches of all time, but Tudor – the brand’s stablemate – also has a track record in the automotive world.
Back in 1955 an internationally accomplished motorcyclist took a respectable third place in the gruelling, 29-hour ‘Trophee de Monaco’ after riding his Ariel’s KH 500cc Twin from the UK to Monte Carlo via the Alpes-Maritimes. The event involved ‘more than 1,000 miles of merciless vibration’ during which, the rider’s trusty Tudor Oyster wristwatch never missed a beat. It is chronographs, however, that are most commonly associated with motorsport -but Tudor didn’t launch its first until 1970 in the form of the Reference 7031 and 7032 ‘Oysterdate’ models.
The Tudor Heritage Black Bay Chrono
Nicknamed ‘Homeplates’ because they featured five-sided hour markers in the shape of the final base of a baseball field, they soon became popular with both professional and amateur racing drivers – and, in Japan, were known as ‘Porsche chronos’ following an advertising campaign featuring the marque’s 911 coupé.
Subsequent Tudor chronographs included the so-called ‘Monte Carlo’ models (with markings similar to those of a roulette wheel); the ‘Big Block’ (the first self-winding Tudor chronograph), the ‘Prince’ of the 1990s and the more recent ‘Fastrider’ that was available in a special edition paying homage to Ducati motorcycles.
This year, however, Tudor has launched an all-new motorsport-orientated watch in the form of the Heritage Black Bay Chrono which combines a classic, 1970s aesthetic with an all-new self-winding, chronometer-certified movement developed in partnership with Breitling.
Featuring a screw-down crown and push pieces for serious water resistance and an engraved tachymeter bezel for speed and distance calculations, it’s a good-looking and robust sports watch that’s versatile enough to wear day in, day out. And, as with all Tudor models, it offers decent value for money – the bracelet version costs £3,610, the leather strap version £3,390. And, in both cases, you get an additional fabric strap thrown-in for free….
