When the first Tudor Heritage Black Bay was launched, the brand took a gamble with their deep history and it paid off it spades. Today, the Baselworld 2017 Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel And Gold returns carrying not just the history of the brand but also a technique older than the company – Gold capping.
For those of you unfamiliar, gold capping is colloquially known around auction sites as “Gold fill” – a technique which layers gold to a much thicker and more enduring standard than your typical plating. No word yet on whether the “gold capped” Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel And Gold follows the same construction process but given that Tudor has always been at the frontier of new and better technologies, probably not.
Baselworld 2017 Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel And Gold: Seriously Old School
Gold capping is seriously old school and now that Tudor has gotten into the steel and gold or in Tudor parlance S&G business, gold capped watches tend to keep costs manageable for the new Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel And Gold as opposed to solid gold like on it’s first cousins. That said, the bezel and the end-links, high wear areas are intelligently produced in solid gold, a step which we must applaud Tudor for considering because these are typical areas of your watch tends to encounter hard surfaces and abrasions due to user carelessness and daily wear.
Overall, the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel And Gold returns in 41mm proportions, the gold-capped components are limited to the case links and crown, the crown enjoying a thicker layer of .6mm gold (again, better durability but you tend to knock your crown way less than your bezel) and the former is a layer of .25mm gold.
In addition to the gold capping or gold fill, the new Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel And Gold also enjoys the old school riveted bracelet much like the Black Bay Steel, a throwback to the 50s and 60s when the tapered riveted bracelet was the next best thing in watchmaking. Like the Black Bay Steel, the Baselworld 2017 Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel and Gold is also powered by the same COSC-certified manufacture MT5612 calibre with silicon balance spring.
The Tudor Black Bay Steel And Gold will come default with additional fabric strap but bracelet model is priced CHF 4,700 on a bracelet while leather strap model is priced CHF3,600. Availability is expected in May.
