The Tudor Black Bay vs The Tudor Pelagos

Tudor is a brand that has become extremely popular in recent years. Sister company to Rolex, collectors have become more aware of its history or quality and beautiful aesthetics. Two watches that were launched around the same time were the Tudor Black Bay and the Pelagos. Both are dive watches so many try to figure out which they prefer.

The Tudor Black Bay was launched in 2012 and was their modern rendition of their submariner. Tudor utilized the Tudor Submariner reference 7922 as their inspiration for the Black Bay. There are many different version of Black Bays ranging from divers to chronographs. All Black Bays are connected by their iconic snowflake hands but for this we will focus on the diver. The current Black Bay is the reference 79230. IT has a stainless steel case, dive bezel insert that comes in black, midnight blue, burgundy and steel. Earlier version housed an ETA movement but Tudor released versions with what they refer to as the manufactures movement. With 200m water resistance, it seems like the ideal dive watch.

The Tudor Pelagos was launched at Baselworld in 2012 and was launched in a titanium case measuring 42mm in diameter. The case has a matte finish to it giving is a different character than the Black Bay. Unlike the Black Bay it also has crown guards. The case also features a helium escape value and 500m water resistance which is a testament to Tudor involvement with the history of the helium escape value. The watch can come with a blue dial, black dial and a special left hand drive dial version. In 2015, the Pelagos got its own in-house movement.

Both of these watches have incredible movements, both are chronometer certified and have sufficient water resistance for any diver. It really comes down to which design you fall closer to. The Pelagos, with its matte finish and brighter colours seems to have a more modern feel to it. Being that the Black Bay takes its design elements from their vintage diver, it has a very classic feel to it. It’s great that Tudor is able to create two divers that feel so different. It allows their brand to cater to anyone looking for a diver.

Enjoy!