In 2010, Tudor introduced a watch called “The Heritage Chronograph” (inspired by this chronograph from the early 1970s) that, in the eyes of many (including us), unofficially, but dramatically relaunched the brand that few here in the US of A ever saw and those in the remainder of the world thought of as anything more than “the poor man’s Rolex”.
You see, Tudor was designed to be just that – it was created in the 1946 to be a less expensive Rolex, and through most of its history, employed half of its parent company's genius (the Rolex Oyster case, but not the Rolex in-house calibers) and sold for about 2/3 the price. It made perfect sense from a commercial stand point, but it was always an afterthought to most watch guys (with the exception of a few vintage sport models.)
But, with the Heritage Chrono, Tudor began to attract fans of its own, and the coolness to price ratio on this chronograph had even the mightiest of vintage Rolex collectors clamoring to get their hands on one. Two years later, we’re told the Heritage Chrono is now the iconic Tudor model. Last year, Tudor released another tribute to an old ticker, the Heritage Advisor alarm (based on this guy from the 1950s). For an alarm watch, it’s priced well and has a following all its own.
Now just last week Tudor brought back a third heritage piece, one that completes its line-up - they started with a chronograph, then went to an alarm watch, and now they have the Heritage Black Bay, a nod to the Tudor dive watches of yesteryear. But, when the Heritage Black Bay was leaked online a short time before Basel World 2012, the purists lambasted it as a mish-mash of historical reference - a gilt, rose dial and big crown with snowflake hands? That doesn't make sense. Except, it does.
Click through for in-depth analysis, specs, pricing, and lots of live photographs.