Ever since I have received my new Tudor P01, I have started to have a growing interest in Tudor collection. The first Tudor Heritage Black Bay was released in 2012, and since then, the Black Bay has come to become an extremely popular watch. The Black Bay Builds on the iconic dive watches from Tudor and Rolex from the 50s and 60s, and combines that with modern features. Since 2012, many new Black Bay models have been introduced, including the Black Bay Chronograph, Black Bay bronze, Black Bay Dark and many more.
Background to the Tudor Heritage Black Bay
The first Heritage Black Bay
model that was released had the reference 79220, followed by a letter,
representing the color of the bezel. The three colors that were available upon
launch was red, black, and blue, represented by R, N, and B.
The first Black Bay featured a Tudor modified ETA movement, but in 2016, Tudor discontinued the 79220 model range and introduced a new reference, the 79230. The three watches remained in Tudor’s Black Bay lineup, but they did feature some changes from the predecessor. The biggest change was that Tudor had now fitted the watches with Manufacture Tudor in-house movements, replacing the previous ETA movements. The watch is now powered by the caliber MT5602, in-house, COSC certified – automatic winding movement.
As ETA (under the Swatch Group) has started to limit the supply of movements to other brands, many have started to develop their own In House movement. Using an in-house movement also meant positioning the Black Bay differently, as dive watches with in-house movements in that price range are relatively few.
The new reference 79230 also came with a few visual differences. The case remained the same, so did the bezel and the dial, except for the printing on the dial, which was changed in order to show that the watch now featured an in-house movement. Furthermore, Tudor’s rose logo which previously had been used was changed to Tudor’s more modern shield logo.
The watch’s thickness also increased, even though the case remained the same, in order to give room for the new movement. The newer reference is also equipped with a rivet bracelet with faux rivets, which is inspired by the rivet bracelets of the old vintage Tudor dive watches.
The case is 41mm in diameter, made in 316L stainless steel. The case contrasts brushed with polished, and has a big crown, without crown guards (like those of the Tudor 7924, Rolex 5508, 5510, 6536, 6538). The watch is equipped with a domed sapphire crystal.
The huge success of the Black Bay model has given Tudor reason to continue building on this model and developing new variants of that watch. One of these is the special edition Harrods Black Bay reference 79230G which has come to become one of the most sought-after Black Bay models on the market.
Tudor Heritage Black Bay Harrods special edition 79230G
The Tudor Heritage Black Bay
Harrods special edition 79230G is, as the reference suggests, built on the
”standard” Black Bay models. The Harrods special edition is a standard 79230,
and the differences between this and a standard watch are all visual. Bonia and I have visited Harrods in 2017 and she has placed an order for it. I have always regretted for not placing an order and I have finally placed an order last week and I am on the waiting list now.
The regular 79230 Black Bays have different dials. While the red and black have gilt dials, the blue version has white printing, and it also has white luminous material instead of cream-colored. Lastly, the hands and outer rings on the indices are also finished in steel as opposed to 18k gold on the black and red versions.
Since the Harrods edition has a gilt dial, gold markers and hands, and cream-colored luminous material, it is most close to the black and red versions.
Key Differences :
1. The differences on the dial from these are first off that the ”600 ft: 200m” printing on the dial is printed in green instead of gold.
2. The other visual difference that you see when looking at the dial is the second hand. Rather than being completely finished in gold, the tip of the seconds hand is painted in the same green color that you find printed on the dial, continuing on the green Harrods theme.
4. The bezel is the thing that differentiates the watch the most and makes it instantly recognizable. Instead of featuring a black or red bezel, the Black Bay Harrods special edition has a striking green bezel, which is unique to this watch and cannot be found on any other Tudor watch. The watch features the iconic ”snowflake hands” that Tudor’s divers have now become known for.
5. Caseback: The last difference between the 79230G from the standard Black 79230 is that the case back has been engraved with the "H" plus the unique watch number, which represents the production number of that specific watch, as well as the text ”SPECIAL EDITION”.
The Tudor Harrods 79230g also comes with a dark fabric strap. The fabric strap that is included with the Harrods edition has a green hue, matching the green theme of the watch. In the early days of Tudor’s relaunch, up until the introduction of the new reference Black Bay, many of Tudor’s watches came with a complimentary fabric strap. Today, however, Tudor has removed the fabric strap from the set, so the only time you get the strap is when you either buy your watch solely on the strap or, purchase it separately.
Black Bay 79230G specifications
Reference: 79230G-0001
Name: Tudor Heritage Black
Bay Harrods Special Edition
Launched: 2016
Limited: No, but numbered
pieces
Material: Stainless steel
(316L)
Glass: Sapphire crystal
Caseback: Closed. Engraved
Diameter: 41.00 mm
Lug Width: 22.00 mm
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