The day we received the news that a new Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze with blue dial had been released as a limited edition for watch retailer Bucherer, we knew we had to have one. Well, after a whole week of ownership, here's our hands-on review of this very special watch that is as hard to get as finding a needle in a haystack considering that is exclusively sold through Bucherer. While no information regarding the exact number of watches produced has been confirmed by Tudor or Bucherer, our best guess is that there might be 250 to 500 pieces max.
This family owned retailer founded in 1888 and known for releasing 'Blue Editions' of watches honoring their corporate color, operates 16 stores in Switzerland, 10 in Germany, one in Austria, one in Denmark and one in France. Fortunately for us, we were able to get one of the last examples available in Switzerland as it is pretty much sold out by now. Therefore, it is no surprise that the watch is already commanding up to 35% premium over its retail price in the secondary market.
The Dial
Unlike its sibling the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze released during Baselworld 2016 and which you can see here, the new Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze Blue for Bucherer ref. 79250B sports a gorgeous dark blue dial in the same hue as Bucherer's corporate color instead of a brown one. Additionally, the choice of color is also based on the use of blue as the 'Tudor color' that first appeared in 1969, when the Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner ref. 7021 was launched with a blue dial.
The matte blue dial on the Bucherer Tudor Bronze features applied Arabic numerals at 9, 6 and 3 o'clock, gilt transfers, ecru luminescent material and a snowflake hour hand. Thanks to its slightly domed sapphire crystal, the watch has a relatively vintage look and feel.
The Bronze Case & Crown
The new Tudor Black Bay Bronze Blue Bucherer ref. 79250B comes equipped with the same Bronze/Aluminum alloy case measuring 43 mm as its brown dial sibling. Regardless of the larger case diameter when compared to the Heritage Black Bay in stainless steel, the Bronze version doesn't wear that much bigger, to be quite frank.
Even though the bronze alloy utilized by Tudor warrants a more uniform 'patina' that builds over a longer period of time than that of other bronze watches in the market, upon wearing the watch for the very first day, we were able to see that gorgeous darker color starting to appear on the case band and crown. After a full week of wear and even though we have already even swam with it, the case has not changed much more and barely any additional patina has appeared —a huge downside in our opinion. We'll just have to wait and see how it evolves.
Equipped with a screw-down crown signed with the iconic Tudor rose logo, the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze Blue Bucherer doesn't have a crown tube in contrasting color like all the other Heritage Black Bay watches in stainless steel. Without a doubt, something we absolutely prefer.
The Bezel
Just like the regular production Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze, the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze Blue Bucherer features a bezel setup in bronze with blue aluminum insert. The blue bezel insert features gold colored graduation and a luminescent pearl insert at 12 o'clock.
The Straps
The Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze Blue Bucherer comes with two straps: a distressed brown leather strap like that on its sibling the Black Bay Bronze and a blue fabric strap with beige colored stripe that gets its inspiration from the fabric on the straps of the parachutes of the French Marine National. A great plus is that both straps are already fitted with their respective bronze pin buckles.
The Movement & Case Back
This Heritage Black Bay Bronze Blue for Bucherer just like the Heritage Black Bay Bronze is powered by the newly released automatic Tudor in-house calibre MT5601. This movement released in 2015 provides a power reserve of 70 hours and is COSC certified.
The movement is protected by a solid case back in brownish PVD stainless steel matching as close as possible the hue of the bronze case. The case back features the engraving 'Bucherer 1888' repeatedly around the perimeter of the case back.
On the Wrist & Pricing
On the wrist, the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze Blue Bucherer wears slightly smaller than its actual size and not that far off from a 41 mm Tudor Black Bay in stainless steel. The watch looks very rugged on the distressed leather strap and its wrist presence is simply fantastic. For sure the type of watch that patina will make better as you collect memories with it. We really can't wait for that crazy patina to start to appear and transform this watch into a living organism that changes day after day.
Sticker Price CHF 3,800 —approximately $3,900 USD. For more info on Tudor click here.
