With parts of its body borrowed from vintage models that were in production fifty or even seventy years ago, the mens replica Tudor Heritage Black Bay automatic diving timepiece looks not like a tribute to classic “Rolex’s smaller brothers”, but rather like a Frankenstein of a watch. A very handsome-looking Frankenstein, for that matter.
Its barrel-shaped body with long lugs, as well as the luminous hour markers clearly derivate from the 1954 Ref. 7922 model.
Judging by the photos and information materials that I was able to find on the Internet (I would like to especially thank tudorcollector.com for that,) the watch was designed using two historic Tudor models as a source of inspiration.
To make the Tudor Heritage copy watch stand out, Tudor repainted the bezel disk in a very attractive-looking Burgundy Red and added a more ergonomically shaped setting crown that, too, has a wine-red color accent.
Introduced in 1954 or 1956 together with the legendary Rolex Submariner Ref. 6200 that lived a short live, but spawned the gorgeous Submariner Ref. 6538, the timekeeper from Tudor sported the same dial and an oversized 8 mm “Brevet +” crown, but was powered by a different, lesser-grade movement.
However, the unidirectional rotating bezel and a rather unusual hour hand come courtesy of another model: a 1968 Tudor Snowflake Ref. 7021 that was first released as a simple three-hander, although later a date window with the famous magnifying lens was added.
As to the specs, the new timekeeper is offered in a pleasantly small (for a diver that is rated for 200 meters, at least) stainless steel case that combines polished and satin-finished surfaces. Being just 41 millimeters in diameter, the watch will be good enough not only for scuba diving, but will also look great with jeans (on a textile NATO strap) and even with a business suit if worn on a bracelet.
Although the aforementioned historic watches had their crowns stamped with the Rolex, um, Crown, the new version has the element decorated with the Tudor Rose (also known as the Union Rose): an emblem that was introduced by Kink Henry VII back in late XV century and combined the Rosa Alba of York (inner part,) and the Red Rose of Lancaster (outer part) heraldic symbols.
The cool fake Tudor Heritage Black Bay watch was presented last week during Baselworld 2012 show and will possibly soon hit the stores around the world.