At the time of starting our main YouTube channel in 2017 discussing watches, Tudor was already well on its way with hit releases like the Black Bay and Pelagos, with MT manufacture calibers furthering the excitement around the brand. However, if we had to identify the start of the second wave for Tudor in the 21st century, it would be 2018. At Baselworld, Tudor unveiled two genre defining watches that helped form several trends in the industry to follow in coming decade. First, was the rapid growth of the mechanical GMT segment, especially those with isolated local hour function with the MT5652 resting inside the Black Bay GMT, during a time when there was very little GMT calibers on the market.
The second of the two strokes of brilliance came by way of the mid size dive watch known as the Black Bay 58. If you have spent any time on YouTube, you know how important this watch was for the community, it by accident ushered in a move back to mid 20th century sizing, and developed a best-selling platform that Tudor has bolstered substantially in recent years with a variety of options in different dials, case materials, and even complications with the 58 GMT. A lot can happen in a few short years, but likely none of it would have been possible without the original Black Bay 58 in its retro-leaning form.
