Into the Blue: A Closer Look at the New Tudor Black Bay Chrono Boutique Edition

Celebrated for their strong design elements, precision, and timeless style, Tudor watches usually combine classic aesthetics with technical breakthroughs. The brand is mostly known for its dive watches like Tudor Black Bay, which has a devoted following due to the model’s durability, vintage-inspired style, and superior performance. A new Black Bay variant has just been launched by the watchmaker; the release almost coincides with the commencement of Geneva Watch Days today. The new Black Bay Chrono (Ref. E 79360B) watch is a boutique edition featuring a deep blue bezel and a blue domed dial.

Boutiques are usually run and owned by a brand while retailers are authorised dealers of watches for a brand. Boutiques prioritise presenting their brand in the best possible light. On the other hand, retailers typically have a variety of watch brands, with no particular emphasis on promoting a specific brand. So, what kind of experiences do boutiques offer? First of all, watch boutiques offer a fantastic opportunity to watch buffs to have genuine face-to-face conversations with other watch enthusiasts. On top of everything, a wide variety of timepieces from a brand are available at its boutiques.

The Black Bay Chrono Blue Boutique Edition retains the classic case of the collection, measuring 41 mm in diameter; it is crafted from stainless steel. The dial is protected by a domed sapphire crystal, framed by an external blue stainless steel bezel with blue anodised aluminium inserts and a tachymetric scale with silver markings. At 3 o’clock, the stainless steel screw-down winding crown has a TUDOR rose in relief, and there are stainless steel screw-down pushers at 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock.

To add another layer of character to the model, this boutique-exclusive timepiece has a 45-minute counter at 3 o'clock, a small seconds at 9 o'clock, and an instantaneous date window at 6 o'clock, with rapid adjustment without non-correction range. There are eight dotted hour markers and 12 o’clock is denoted by an inverted triangle. There are Snowflake hour and minute hands at the centre, with Super-LumiNova® luminescent material, and a red arrow-tipped chronograph seconds hand. Water resistance of 200m/66ft is mentioned at 6 o’clock in red. The watch has been officially certified as a Chronometer by COSC; in fact, the brand describes this as "the spirit of asphalt and sea".

The Manufacture Chronograph Calibre MT5813 powers the watch and delivers a 70-hour power reserve; there is a non-magnetic silicon balance spring. Furthermore, this movement has a column wheel mechanism, a vertical clutch, and a variable inertia balance. Its rotor in tungsten monobloc is openworked and satin-brushed with sand-blasted details, and its bridges and mainplate have alternate sand-blasted and polished surfaces with laser decorations.

The Chronograph Manufacture Calibre B01 from Breitling serves as the foundation for this movement, which features a high-precision regulating organ developed by Tudor and exclusive finishes. This movement is the result of a long-term collaboration between the two brands. The watch is finished on a 5-link stainless steel bracelet, sporting polished and satin-brushed finishes, and a Tudor T-fit rapid adjustment clasp.