Introduction

Tudor Black Bay GMT was one of the hottest watches to be released at Baselworld 2018 alongside the Black Bay 58 and its cousin, the Rolex GMT Master II “Pepsi”. My attention was instantly with the Black Bay 58, but over time the GMT pulled me away and eventually led to me parting with $3900 to claim one as my own. I’ve owned it for almost 4 months now and it gets a healthy amount of wear in my small collection. Below I’ll touch on a few pros and cons and whether it will be a long term keeper.

Details

If you’ve handled a Black Bay in the past, you’ll be familiar with the dimensions of the GMT variant. Formed from 316L stainless steel, the case measures in at 41mm diameter, 15mm thick, and 50mm lug to lug. I do wish Tudor figured out a way to shave a few millimeters from the overall height, but the bevel under the case does a decent job at hiding some of that. The 41mm diameter combined with the 50mm lug to lug should work on a large portion of wrists without looking oversized. The finish is what you’d expect at the price point. A statin brushed finish on top of the lugs accompanied by mirror polished sides and a nice, prominent bevel that runs along the top of the case from lug to lug.

The rivet style bracelet carries on the brushing from the top of the lugs and has polished sides to match the case. The rivets on the bracelet are purely for looks instead of purpose since the links are secured by screws. I preferred the cleaner look of the bracelets shipped with the ETA model black bay’s, but the rivet style bracelet isn’t a deal breaker. The flip-lock style clasp is simple, but solid. It has ceramic ball bearings to reduce wear and tear caused by friction over time. A few more micro adjustments would have been welcomed additions or, if we are really dreaming, the quick adjust system of the Tudor Pelagos. I’m not a movement snob or nearly qualified enough to discuss the details of the in house movement, but I can tell you I’ve had zero issues. It’s easy to manipulate via the big crown, smooth winding, and keeps time within +0.4 seconds per day for me.

Wearing Experience

The Tudor Black Bay GMT could easily be a daily wearer. Business casual and below is where this watch is meant to live which fits perfectly into my lifestyle. The bi-colored bezel does lean towards casual, but you won’t want to wear this thing with a suit due to the thickness anyway. The combination of the matte dial and aluminum pepsi bezel give the GMT character without being overly flashy and it should only get better with age. One downside that affects the wearability of the black bay gmt is the weight. It is heavy on the bracelet and I get some wrist fatigue after an extended period of wear. Swapping out the bracelet for a leather strap or NATO helps depending on the season or activity.

Verdict

At the end of the day, I think it’s well worth the $3900. It’s built to high tolerances, well finished, and houses an in-house GMT movement with a jumping local hour hand and 70 hour power reserve. It’s built to last a lifetime and Tudor will always be around to keep it in excellent shape. Is it a keeper for me? Also yes, for now. I’d love to see Tudor put this GMT movement in a watch with a diver’s bezel (GMT Pelagos, anyone?). I also think that it would look incredible and also aid wearability if it was titanium instead of stainless steel, but that’s a dream. In reality, it’s been a great 120 days with the Black Bay GMT and I’m looking forward to many more.