Tudor Black Bay 36 Blue Dial Swiss Automatic M79500 Stainless Steel 150m Diver

Smaller details on the dial are executed really well, too. Standing ~0.5mm tall, the applied indices rise above the dial. They’re tall enough so you can appreciate the polished sides catching the light. I admire Tudor’s use of applied indices, as the effect gives the otherwise  straightforward dial some welcomed depth and interesting visual appeal. At 12:00, there’s an elongated triangle that points to the subtle Tudor shield logo. At 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 there are rectangular batons, and every hour in-between is marked with a circle. Each index is filled with white lume that glows green in low-light conditions.

Tudor’s designers nailed the text on the dial as well. Some of their other offerings have what can only be described as a small paragraph on the dial — the current iteration of the Pelagos, for example, has five lines of text. At the 12:00 position, you’ll see a small shield logo, “TUDOR” below it, and finally in even smaller lettering “GENEVE” under that. Just above the 6:00 marker is my favorite detail. The text “ROTOR” goes straight across with “SELF-WINDING” following the curve of the dial underneath. At this time, it’s the only watch in the Black Bay lineup with the curved text, and I love the way it looks. Finally, there’s “SWISS MADE” in small text residing on the outside edge of the dial.

To tell the time, you’ll have to read a set of Tudor’s iconic “snowflake” hands. The easiest way to describe the hour hand is that it looks like a standard stick hand swallowed a diamond. The minutes hand is straight the entire way through, terminating at an angled point. Sweeping around the dial is the seconds hand with its diamond-shaped lume plot located towards the tip. At first, I was impartial to the snowflake hands. After living with them for a little while, however, they’ve grown on me quite a bit because of their unique look and high legibility. Plus, there’s no confusing the hour hand with the minutes hand since they’re so different from each other. The small diamond on the seconds hand also makes it easy to time short tasks if need be. Protecting everything is a flat sapphire crystal that sits nearly flush with the case.

The watch gives off mixed signals, but without the negative connotation. At first glance, it may seem dressy, but what makes the Black Bay 36 so interesting is that it’s kind of a tool watch in disguise. When you check out the specs, you’ll notice a few things that standout. Tudor’s BB36 offers an impressive 150m of water resistance paired with a screw down crown. There’s also a saphhire crystal up top. When considering the smaller sizing, case proportions, dive-inspired dial, and solid oyster-style bracelet, it’s hard to not think of the 36mm Rolex Explorer of years past.

Inside the case is an automatic ETA 2824 movement. It’s a common, versatile workhorse of a movement. While much of the Tudor line has shifted in-house, the Black Bay 36 (and the rest of the bezel-free Black Bay range) still outsources movement duty to ETA. The watch hacks and hand-winds. Tudor uses ETA’s top-grade 2824 movement and makes modifications of their own to keep things super accurate. The movements are regulated to COSC standard, but do not go through the actual certification process. The top-grade 2824 has several improvements over the base model, which help the Black Bay 36 achieve this level of accuracy. A recent 48-hour timing run indicated that mine is running at an impressive -1 sec/day.

The fit and finish on the entire bracelet is excellent. Mirroring the finishing on the case, the bracelet is faced with brushed surfaces and flanked with polished sides. There’s a 3mm taper from the lugs to the clasp, starting at 19mm and finishing at 16mm where it meets the clasp. The clasp itself is a bit wider, measuring 17mm. The taper adds to the vintage-inspired look and makes the watch a pleasure to wear. Keeping everything in place is a rock-solid locking clasp that features the design of the Tudor shield. 

Sometimes it’s easier to come out and say something instead of dancing around it. The Tudor Black Bay 36 is just plain great. The conservative 36mm size, Tudor’s attention to detail, and the watch’s vintage-inspired charm result in another solid entry in the Black Bay line. Overall, it’s the versatility of this watch that makes it so enjoyable to wear. It looks great, the size is particularly comfortable, and the blue dial stands out enough from a sea of black dials without being over the top.