Tudor launches a new watch

Ordinarily, I would be in the ear of a junior reporter if he or she wrote a headline like “Tudor launches a new watch”.

Never use the word ‘new’, since it is superfluous at the top of a news story.

The verb ‘launches’ is over-used. Find something else.

And, what on earth is newsworthy about a watchmaker making a new watch?

But, in this case, the shock in the headline comes from its banality because we were not expecting anything new from Tudor or its parent company Rolex this year.

In a statement on April 6, Rolex said: “In view of the continuing extremely difficult context impacting the entire world, and in order to protect people by avoiding gatherings and one-to-one meetings, we have decided to postpone the announcements to a later date. We have presently not defined a new timing for our release; we will get back to you in due time with further information.”

It is not just the case that journalists were not expecting anything new out of the Rolex/Tudor camp, its retailers have repeatedly told WatchPro they have heard nothing either.

So, it is with breathless excitement that we introduce the new Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight in navy blue, the 2020 colour of the year, according to Pantone.

Not only is the watch a surprise, it is also going on sale today, another departure for a brand that normally unveils watches months ahead of the date they hit stores.

The last time Tudor had a watch go on sale on its launch date was in 2016, a spokesperson said this morning.

Fifty-Eight refers to 1958, the year in which Tudor produced the reference 7924 or “Big Crown”, its first divers’ watch waterproof to 200 metres.

The 2020 homage comes in a 39mm stainless steel case housing a COSC-certified in house Calibre MT5402 with silicon balance spring and 70-hour power reserve.

Its navy blue matte domed dial is a classic Black Bay with snowflake hands lit up in the dark with what Tudor describes as grade A Super-LumiNova.

It can be worn on two types of fabric strap or a steel bracelet and comes with a five year guarantee.

It is on sale from today for £2,760 on bracelet and £2,520 on either fabric strap.