Ever since Tudor made its comeback to the U.S. market in 2013 (after almost a decade of absence), the brand has made huge strides in establishing itself as a top-notch watchmaker that offers an appealing mix of solid designs, quality materials, in-house movements, and great value. Among Tudor’s wide range of watch collections, the Tudor Black Bay is one that stands out as the most diverse and popular. With Tudor regularly adding new models, there are now more than a dozen variations within the Black Bay lineup. As such, we’ve put together a handy Tudor Black Bay buying guide to outline the similarities and differences between these Tudor watches.

The Origins of the Tudor Black Bay

Launched in 2012, the Tudor Black Bay watch draws inspiration from a blend of different diving watches. The case silhouette, dial execution, and domed crystal evoke the design of the Oyster Prince Tudor 7922 Submariner from 1954, while the large winding crown shape is directly inspired by the "Big Crown" Submariner ref. 7924 from 1958, a model often highlighted in any Tudor 7924 review. The angular “snowflake” hands pay homage to the Tudor dive watches used by the French Navy in the 1970s. Although the 1960s cases featured crown guards, Tudor looked back to the earlier 1950s models, which did not include crown guards, and these 50's era watches also featured oversized crowns, earning the nickname "big crown."

• 2012 – Black Bay ref. 79220R in burgundy
• 2014 – Black Bay ref. 79220B in blue
• 2015 – Black Bay ref. 79220N in black
• 2016 – Black Bay ref. 79230R/B/N with a new in-house movement

Over the last eight years, Tudor has expanded the Black Bay watch collection to not only house diving watches, but also simpler time-only models, practical dual time watches, and sporty chronograph watches – while still maintaining the Black Bay’s fundamental design blueprint. Additionally, since 2016, Tudor has fitted many Black Bay models with in-house-made movements, replacing the ETA-based calibers the brand had initially relied on for the collection.

The Tudor Black Bay Collection

We’ve divided our Tudor Black Bay buying guide into three distinct sections according to their functions: Black Bay diving watches, Black Bay complications, and time-only Black Bay watches. Each section is tailored to help you find the perfect Tudor Black Bay watch that suits your style and needs. Whether you’re drawn to the rugged elegance of the diving models or the sophisticated charm of the complications, this guide has you covered.

Black Bay Diving Watches

The bulk of the Tudor Black Bay collection is comprised of diving watches and at the core is the archetypal Black Bay ref. 79230. Introduced in 2016 (to replace the preceding ref. 79220), the Black Bay ref. 79230 came with a new in-house movement, a vintage-style rivet bracelet, and the Tudor shield logo on the dial replacing the Tudor rose emblem. The Black Bay ref. 79230 sports a 41mm steel case topped with a unidirectional bezel and a choice between a burgundy, blue, or black aluminum bezel insert.

The snowflake hands, doming of the crystal, and winding crown shape are all nods to Tudor’s vintage dive watches. On the other hand, the 41mm size, the use of sapphire for the crystal, and the in-house COSC-certified automatic movement cover modern expectations of a contemporary dive watch. The Tudor Black Bay comes with a range of band options including steel bracelets, leather straps, or fabric straps.

Aptly named the Black Bay Dark, this version takes all the fundamentals of the original Black Bay but dresses them in sleek black PVD, as highlighted in any thorough Black Bay Dark review. There's also the Black Bay Bronze, featuring not only a bronze case and gray bezel but also a larger 43mm diameter. While the above Black Bay dive watches are time-only, Tudor also offers date versions in the form of the Black Bay Steel and the Black Bay S&G models.

Though both models include 41mm cases, the former is crafted entirely in steel, including the bezel, while the latter combines steel with yellow gold-capped details for a two-tone colorway. The lineup also includes the Tudor Black Bay 58, a tribute to the vintage ref. 7924 "Big Crown" from 1958. With its smaller 39mm steel case and gilt dial and bezel, this Black Bay is the most retro-inspired of the collection.

Lastly, there’s the Black Bay P01, which was based on a prototype made for the US Navy and originally developed as a cross between a dive watch and a sailing watch. Rather than a standard dive bezel, the P01’s 42mm case features a 60-notch, 12-hour graduated steel bidirectional rotating bezel with a ‘stop system’ to lock it into place.

Black Bay

• Reference: 79230R, 79230N, 79230B
• Case: Stainless Steel; 41mm
• Bezel: Unidirectional; Burgundy, Black, Blue
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5602; Time-Only; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay Dark

• Reference: 79230DK
• Case: Black PVD Stainless Steel; 41mm
• Bezel: Unidirectional; Black
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5602; Time-Only; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay Bronze

• Reference: 79250BA
• Case: Bronze: 43mm
• Bezel: Unidirectional; Slate Gray
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5601; Time-Only; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay Steel

• Reference: 79730
• Case: Stainless Steel; 41mm
• Bezel: Unidirectional; Steel
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5612; Time + Date; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay S&G

• Reference: 79733N
• Case: Stainless Steel & Gold; 41mm
• Bezel: Unidirectional; Black
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5612; Time + Date; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay Fifty-Eight

• Reference: 79030N
• Case: Stainless Steel; 39mm
• Bezel: Unidirectional; Black
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5402; Time-Only; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay P01

• Reference: 70150
• Case: Stainless Steel; 42mm
• Bezel: Bidirectional with lock; Steel
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5612; Time + Date; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay Complications

Strictly not dive watches but rather models that borrow the same basic design cues  – like the Tudor Snowflake hands, domed dial and crystal, and 200m water resistance – but fitted with complications, Tudor offers Black Bay watches equipped with chronographs or GMT complications.

The Tudor Black Bay Chrono includes a 41mm stainless steel case with a pair of screw-down chronograph pushers flanking a screw-down winding crown. There's also the tachymeter scale engraved into the fixed steel bezel while the black dial is home to a pair of registers at 3:00 and 9:00 along with a date window at 6:00. Tudor recently added the Black Bay Chrono Dark, which benefits from black-PVD treatment on the case and bracelet. Furthermore, for fans of the two-tone color scheme, there’s also the Black Bay Chrono S&G, which includes yellow gold-capped details on the case accompanied by golden accents on the dial and bezel.

Aside from chronographs, Tudor also makes the Tudor Black Bay GMT with a red and blue "Pepsi" style bezel similar in tone to the ones found on Rolex GMT-Master II watches. Like Rolex's version, Tudor’s GMT watch is fitted with an additional 24-hour hand to allow the wearer to read local time and home time simultaneously, while also allowing for the display of a third-time zone if the bezel is rotated accordingly.

Black Bay Chrono

• Reference: 79350
• Case: Stainless Steel; 41mm
• Bezel: Fixed; Stainless Steel; Tachymeter
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5813; Time + Date Chronograph; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay Chrono Dark

• Reference: 79360DK
• Case: Black PVD Stainless Steel; 41mm
• Bezel: Fixed; Black; Tachymeter
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5813; Time + Date Chronograph; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay Chrono S&G

• Reference: 79363N
• Case: Stainless Steel & Gold; 41mm
• Bezel: Fixed; Black & Gold; Tachymeter
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5813; Time + Date Chronograph; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay GMT

• Reference: 79830RB
• Case: Stainless Steel; 41mm
• Bezel: Bidirectional; Burgundy & Blue; 24-hour
• Functions/Movement: Cal. MT5652; Dual Time + Date; 70hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 200 meters

Black Bay Time Only

Rounding out the Tudor Black Bay collection are the time-only models that offer the type of versatile casual sports watch that can be worn all day, every day. Available in all-steel variants or opt for the Tudor Black Bay two-tone edition. Some of the size options include 32mm, 36mm, and 41mm. Unlike the diving and complications versions of the Black Bay, these models run on ETA-based automatic movements and offer a slightly reduced water resistance rating of 150 meters. The details that do carry over to the Black Bay 32/36/41 editions are the essential Snowflake hands, large lume plots, and case shape.

Black Bay 32

• Reference: 79580
• Case: Stainless Steel; 32mm
• Bezel: Fixed; Steel; Smooth
• Functions/Movement: Cal. 2824; Time-Only; 38hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 150 meters

Black Bay 32 S&G

• Reference: 79583
• Case: Stainless Steel & Gold; 32mm
• Bezel: Fixed; Gold-Capped Steel; Smooth
• Functions/Movement: Cal. 2824; Time-Only; 38hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 150 meters

Black Bay 36

• Reference: 79500
• Case: Stainless Steel; 36mm
• Bezel: Fixed; Steel; Smooth
• Functions/Movement: Cal. 2824; Time-Only; 38hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 150 meters

Black Bay 36 S&G

• Reference: 79503
• Case: Stainless Steel & Gold; 36mm
• Bezel: Fixed; Gold-Capped Steel; Smooth
• Functions/Movement: Cal. 2824; Time-Only; 38hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 150 meters

Black Bay 41

• Reference: 79540
• Case: Stainless Steel; 41mm
• Bezel: Fixed; Steel; Smooth
• Functions/Movement: Cal. 2824; Time-Only; 38hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 150 meters

Black Bay 41 S&G

• Reference: 79543
• Case: Stainless Steel & Gold; 41mm
• Bezel: Fixed; Gold-Capped Steel; Smooth
• Functions/Movement: Cal. 2824; Time-Only; 38hr Power Reserve
• Water Resistance: 150 meters

From straightforward three-handers to complex chronographs to robust dive watches, the collection provides a solid assortment of sporty vintage-inspired Tudor Black Bay watches for sale for different tastes and budgets. It’s no wonder that the Black Bay watch lineup has driven Tudor's impressive growth and popularity in the current market for premium watches.