Tudor BB58 bronze metal composition

[Mackoveli]

Hi. Looking into the black bay bronze..

Not a super popular rep so I am not seeing a lot posted about it. And looking to get these 3 questions answered


Does ZF produce the most accurate rep?

Is the composition of the bronze metal the same as Tudor?

Does ZF produce the bronze bracelet model or just strap models?

 

[dangerdan3]

Hi there. There is no rep of the BB58 bronze.

 

[Mackoveli]

Hi there. There is no rep of the BB58 bronze.

Did they stop making them? I’m seeing a lot of people with bronze BB reps

 

[dangerdan3]

Did they stop making them? I’m seeing a lot of people with bronze BB reps

There are some bronze Black Bay (41mm) reps, but no bronze Black Bay 58 (39mm) reps. If you’re after the 41mm, best bet would be to ask a TD if they can get them still.
If your 3 questions are about the 41mm, then I would say:
1)Yes
2) I doubt anyone has metallurgically compared the 2. Maybe check through the forum and see if there any any long term owners who talk about the aging of the case.
3) AFAIK The 41mm bronze never came with a bracelet in gen or rep.

 

[dangerdan3]

Did they stop making them? I’m seeing a lot of people with bronze BB reps

There are some bronze Black Bay (41mm) reps, but no bronze Black Bay 58 (39mm) reps. If you’re after the 41mm, best bet would be to ask a TD if they can get them still.
If your 3 questions are about the 41mm, then I would say:
1)Yes
2) I doubt anyone has metallurgically compared the 2. Maybe check through the forum and see if there any any long term owners who talk about the aging of the case.
3) AFAIK The 41mm bronze never came with a bracelet in gen or rep.

 

[MattSP]

I suspect you mean Black bay heritage bronzes. 43mm.
I have a ZF & XF both are very good reps.
CUSN8 bronze is used by tudor, this bronze type is fairly typical of most, even half decent, watch makers & is alloyed with aluminium.
I cannot say for certain which bronze types are used in my reps but they both look pretty good/ accurate & patina rate is consistent with cusn8 bronze. I would say that against a gen, the brushing on the sides is slightly finer on the gen but perfectly acceptable.

 

[Woundup]

From what I have noticed when looking through various pictures of the BB heritage bronze variants, there can be inconsistencies in the bronze finish. This is likely caused by a combination of issues during the manufacturing process / pitting / residues / oils etc that can contaminate the bronze. Obviously the rep QC process doesn't catch this so it's up to the buyer to review QC pictures closely.

I was lucky to find mine via M2M from a gent who definitely knew what to look for. My ZF has a lovely even finish and is developing a very classy patina - NWBIG for me.