Tudor 79220R Black Bay - Unboxing Not 1 but 2 timepieces...Comparative Review Inside

[justlounging]

Tudor 79220R Black Bay - Unboxing Not 1 but 2 timepieces...Comparative Review Inside.

*Updated 8 Feb 2014: See #14 onwards for comprehensive comparison review*

Having not done any reviews recently, I was itching to find out the hype behind the Tudor Black Bay..sure it came out a while back and has been flooding the money but people were still paying silly premiums for it and I wanted no part of it..so the hunt began..and at long last, I managed to score 2 of these beauties and thought "Let's put together another comparative review of one of the latest Tudor models"..

With that thought in mind, I paid and waited patiently. With Lady Luck shining on me, I received the long-awaited parcel & lo and behold, I am honored to share these pictures with you.


Now what do we have here?

Let's start peeling off the top cardboard layer

Yet another protective layer

At last I reach the main box holding the Tudor timepiece

Moment of truth...What's that I see peeking out? This is so exciting!

Hey wait a minute! How come there's 2 Tudors? Did the seller mess up my order and include an additional BB in the box?

Woohoo! :nana:

I double checked and but sadly no, there's only 1 gen and 1 rep in the box, not the 2 gens that I thought i scored.

Here's a parting shot of the Black Bays on the Tudor box

Please bear in mind that the above are just quick and dirty shots.

I plan to do a full detailed review on these timepieces over this weekend, somewhere along the lines of my earlier review on the Explorer II 16570 Gen vs Rep (http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=92267), however this will be a whole lot more informative.

I will do my best to measure, weigh and take macro pics of both timepieces, for the benefit of the members here.

Stay tuned and subscribe to this thread.

 

[madcatlancelot]

Wow I'm excited to see the side-by-side review, thanks for the teaser photos, M!

 

[PeteTO]

yum. looking forward to the comparo. Thanks in advance. Love the red... and big crown.

Pete

 

[Frazzle]

This should be interesting!

 

[TheTokyoKid]

Dayum! Looks gooooood! Want to see the side by side!

 

[beefjerky456]

Looks great.

Corrected link to Explorer II comparison: http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=92267 :thumbsup:

 

[Mendota]

Awesome. Can't wait to see the side by side.

 

[justlounging]

Looks great.

Corrected link to Explorer II comparison: http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=92267 :thumbsup:

Thanks!

Link updated on main post.

 

[Asheron82]

wow! can't wait for this review to be done! there aren't many if not none Gen vs Rep Tudor BB's reviews so far, so this would be the first!

 

[surf]

I was not impressed with rep so I am very curios to see this thanks in advance!

 

[Minkman]

That's all I needed to see ....

Time to find one !!

 

[rols16610]

Very nice Justlounging, looking forward to seeing the comparison on this

 

[Surfnc]

I have been eager to see how this stacks up to a Gen side-by-side. It has been getting such doting reviews, the side by side is the real test.

 

[justlounging]

This will be my first comparative review for 2014 and what better way to start off during the 15days of the Lunar New Year..

Both the colors Red and Gold are known as auspicious colors and I am thrilled to be able to have both the gen and rep of this watch.

I hope that through sharing this comparison with you, that you will be able to come to a conclusion of whether the gen or rep would suit you better.

Before I start on the comparison proper, here are some information on this timepiece:

Model: 79220R
Name: Tudor Heritage Black Bay

41*mm steel case with polished and satin finish?
Uni-directional rotating bezel in steel with burgundy red disc?
Self-winding mechanical movement?
Screw-down steel winding crown engraved with the TUDOR rose?
Domed sapphire crystal?
Waterproof to depth of 200 m (660 ft)?
Steel bracelet (95740) or leather strap with folding clasp and safety*catch, additional fabric strap with pronged buckle

Movement:Tudor Decorated ETA 2824

Total diameter
26 mm
Height
4.60 mm
Jewels
25
Frequency
28,800 vibrations/hour
Power reserve
~38 hours


Official Adverts from Tudor:

Some background info:

The Black Bay is a modern dive watch that draws its inspiration from the most iconic Submariners in Tudor's history. By taking unique details from Submariners of different eras, Tudor created a dive watch that displays what has made these watches so appealing to collectors for decades. The 41mm steel case and multiple strap and bracelet options result in a watch you can really make your own. Overall, the Black Bay is a well-designed watch that offers a connection to Tudor history at an affordable price point, encouraging new enthusiasts to dig deeper into Tudor's past.

The first Tudor Submariner was introduced in 1954, and it is from here that the Black Bay begins.

Taking the big crown and lack of crown guards for which these early Submariners are best known, the Black Bay adds a touch of color with the burgundy red stem and Tudor rose logo. Moving forward to the 1960s, we get the curved "Rotor Self-Winding" down at 6 o'clock on the Black Bay's dial. In the 1970s Tudor introduced the Snowflake hands for improved readability and it is these hands that you find on the coveted military issue Submariners of the era. The attention to detail in these historical references continues all the way down to the little "Swiss Made" at the very bottom of the dial, which is something collectors can get excited about.

But the Black Bay represents modern Tudor as well. The 41mm steel case is both a little wider and thicker than the vintage Submariners, with a mix of polished and brushed surfaces. The pink gold hands and surrounds combine with the creamy lume to offer a nice middle ground between the matte dials of vintage watches and the shinier dials more common today. There is also the burgundy red bezel, a new color for Tudor. You're not going to confuse the Black Bay for a vintage Submariner, though you will definitely notice the connections.

This was my first modern Tudor that I have purchased and definitely a timepiece on regular rotation on my wrist rather than a safe queen keeper in my watchbox. The big crown is truly something else and I have to thank the opportunity given to me to own and build the Tudor Snowflake 94010 that got me more interested than just the very recognizable Rolex Submariner.

The rep has been a rather long time coming. I remembered speaking to PureTime a good year and 2 months ago on the embarkation of reaping the Black Bay. I couldn't wait that long and have already owned the gen since last March.

Do I still enjoy it? Oh yes, every single time I wear it!

Cost of the Gen: about US$3,200

Cost of the Rep: US$318

Let’s start off the review with the most important aspect of the watch, the dial. Here's a frontal shot of the watches:

Gen:

Rep:

Visually the rep looks fine. Definitely passes the 6inch test (IMO) but on further inspection, i noticed that the dial print still isn't as crisp as what you would find on a KH dial. The matt-ness and finer texture of the gen is also another difference only noticeable when next to the rep.

Dial Font:

Gen:

Rep

Spacing and Font of “Swiss Made”:

Gen:

Rep:

Printing is crisp but font type is different from gen.

Hour Markers:

Gen:

Rep:

Easy here. Gen is much thinner and well defined compared to rep.


Hour / Minute Hand / Seconds Hand:

Gen:

Rep:

Not the best of pics but nothing really much to comment here. Will take a couple more pics soon and add in.

Crown:

Gen:

Rep:

Difference is close unless you do a side by side comparison, it is hard to tell although this would be one of the things I would change if I could get a gen crown.

One thing that stood out like a sore thumb for me was the height of the rep crown when unscrewed. The following pics will show what I mean.

Gen (Time-setting/Unscrewed/Screwed Down)

Rep:

Lumeshot:

In Semi-dark room (Gen is on left, Rep is on right):

Lume is as what we have gotten to expect from the rep factories. It is bright but as you can see, the shade of green is slightly different to the gen lume.
Another thing that I noticed was the brightness of the lume and the lume in the pearl.

Gen

Rep

The rep lume is as good as it is but if you are really particular about this, best would be to have it resumed.


Bezel Insert:

Pearl
Gen:

Rep

For the below pictures, the gen is always on the left/bottom.

'10'

'20'

'30'

'40'

'50'

Shade of maroon is very close and changes from a matt to a vibrant color depending on how light falls on the insert.

 

[justlounging]

Part 2 of review:

On closer inspection, the gen insert has a more refined paint application compared to the rep.

Gen:

Rep:

SEL Fitment:

Gen:

Rep:

Polishing of Case Lugs:

Gen:

Rep:

Side by side (Gen on left, Rep on right)

Bracelet/ Foldover Clasp/ Ceramic Bearing:

Gen:

Rep:

Side by side (Gen on left, Rep on right):

Clasp Inner Stamping :

Gen:

Rep:

One thing I did spot that was different on the bracelet was the serial used..here’s what I mean..

Gen:

Rep:

Caseback / Engraved Fonts:

Gen:

Rep:

‘Teeth’ on the rep are good but somehow doesnt feel as refined as the gen and seems to be slightly thicker than the gen. Caseback engravings are good unless using a loupe..

Lastly, I thought that by now there would be running serial numbers on the reps similar to the latest models of Pams and APs.

However this was not the case for the Black Bay.

Gen:

Rep:

 

[justlounging]

Part 3 and Conclusion:


Having access to a digital caliper, I took some measurements of the gen and rep and I am proud to present the results to you. Please do note that there will always be machine tolerance and the rep/gen that you have might be slightly different from the numbers shown below.

Case (including crown)

Gen:44.56mm
Rep:44.89mm


Crown

Gen:8.00mm
Rep:7.98mm


Bezel

Gen:40.99mm
Rep:40.98mm


Thickness of watch (caseback to crystal)

Gen:12.78mm
Rep:13.28mm


'Large' difference measured here could be the thickness of the crystal or the gasket that is causing this.


Inbetween Lugs

Gen:22.03mm
Rep:22.06mm


Width of Clasp

Gen:19.99mm
Rep:19.98mm


Length of Clasp

Gen:34.26mm
Rep:34.12mm


Another difference spotted here but without any gen comparison, this is negligible.


Thickness of bracelet links

Gen:3.32mm
Rep:3.52mm


Lug to Lug

Gen:49.85mm
Rep:50.16mm

Seems like the length of lugs could be contributing to this difference.


I am also pleased to inform you that the weight of both the gen and the rep are extremely close and differ by 1 gram.

Gen: 172grams
Rep: 173grams


Final Thoughts:
For a tenth of the price of the gen, I would say that the rep is a watch to have if you want to try out the Black Bay Heritage before purchasing the gen equivalent. Some things that I would change if I did not have a gen would be to search for a gen bezel insert and the gen tube/crown. Another thing that I would be keen to mod would be the height of the crystal as it is taller than the gen. The lume mod is dependent on how fussy you are as a wearer. It is fine as it is.

So would I give up my gen for the rep? Absolutely not, I adore the gen and it is staying firm in my watchbox. The rep, on the other hand, will be a Catch and Release. Bad news though, it already has a new owner and I bet he's looking forward to get it on his wrist, even more after reading this review.

I hope that you found this informative and fun. I had an enjoyable time publishing this and if you have any questions, please do post them in this thread.

Thank you once again for taking the time to view and read this.

Here's wishing you all a fantastic Year of the Horse!

 

[tt88]

That's a fantastic comparison jl, reps on the way!

:notworthy:

 

[SUMIKITO]

What a superb comparison ! Great detail ! Quite close to the gen I would say ! Thanks for a great post. Am sure a lot of members would love this great comparo !

 

[chromed.]

:clap: :clap: :clap:

this deserves an award!!

informative&anal-tastic review, bro!

 

[Alex_P1]

Great work, thanks for the information. I'm tempted by both the gen and rep to be honest! I'm thinking about picking up a rep to see how it wears and then upgrade to gen if I like it.

thanks