The New Tudor Black Bay Pro Opaline Gets The Small Details Right. Is That Enough?

Tudor had a relatively low-key year at Watches & Wonders, expanding its existing catalog to address some fan requests as well as to reset some long neglected collections. One release that does both is the new Black Bay Pro with a silver opaline dial. This is a configuration long requested from enthusiasts, and Tudor did the idea justice by getting the small details right. This is more than a mere dial swap, even if the underlying platform remains largely the same. This is the kind of methodical evolution we’ve come to expect from Tudor, though in some ways, the new Black Bay Pro plays things a little too safe. 

Let’s take a quick look back at Tudor’s recent history with the GMT complication to set some context for the newest Black Bay Pro, because — while this configuration has been highly requested — as far as fan requests go, this watch has one glaring omission. Tudor released the Black Bay GMT back in 2018 with a black dial and a throwback red-and-blue aluminum bezel. As popular as the watch was right off the bat, the size made it a tough pill to swallow for some, particularly the thickness of the case paired with the relatively flat sidewall. 

Tudor partially addressed this with the release of the first Black Bay Pro in 2022 in a 39mm steel case. The watch also played up ties to the Rolex Explorer II with a fixed steel bezel. It was an unexpected release but it hit many of the right notes, and it made the substantial thickness a bit easier to stomach. It wore a bit tanky, but in total managed to be perfectly reasonable as a whole. Still, the 14.6mm thickness measurement made the watch a non-starter for many. 

A quick note about overall case thickness when it comes to Tudor. The brand catches a lot of flack for some of these watches, where other brands may escape it, purely due to the shape of the midcase, which doesn’t really make any attempts at hiding that thickness, or tucking it into a deep caseback. It’s just all right there in the case wall. So while some criticism is justified, it’s really the shape of the case paired with the thickness that exacerbates the issue. 

Clearly, this is just an issue with the MT5652 movement inside. Surely, it’s just too thick to jam into a sensibly sized case. That was certainly my assumption heading into last year, but Tudor upended the conversation with the release of a Black Bay 58 GMT, and the Pelagos FXD GMT, watches that measure 12.8mm and 12.7mm in thickness respectively. The movement in the FXD GMT? The very same MT5652 (though now in “U" form, making it a Master Chronometer). The Black Bay 58 GMT uses the caliber MT5450-U (also Master Chronometer-certified), so clearly Tudor has been holding back with just how versatile its GMT movements are. 

With the release of the Black Bay 58 GMT and the FXD GMT, there was hope that we might see a re-worked Black Bay Pro with the same case as the 58 GMT, while retaining the steel bezel and orange (yellow?) 24-hour hand. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this time, and the newest Black Bay Pro shares the same 39 x 14.6mm dimensions as the original. Yes, it’s thick and a little tanky on the wrist, though I still contend that it wears just fine if you can level your set of expectations. 

So this isn’t the 12mm-thick Black Bay Pro we were hoping for, but the Black Bay Pro is still an excellent platform, and the new opaline dial brings a welcome new dimension to the formula. You may remember the original Black Bay Pro used applied blocks of lume that had an off-white color to them, a look that clearly wouldn’t have worked here. This is an opaline dial, but at a glance, it reads as while. This dial forced a re-think of the approach to the hour markers and the hands. 

Instead of blocks of lume, here we find a more traditional set-up, with lume that’s been set into a surround, and in this case, that surround is black to provide some very welcome contrast. As a whole, it’s a very different personality compared to the original, and one that feels a bit more modern as a result. The black on white is a great look here, and the finish of the dial doesn’t call too much attention to itself. It still feels like a straightforward tool watch, which is a very good thing. 

As mentioned, this Black Bay Pro continues to use Tudor’s manufacture caliber MT5652, and Tudor has not subjected this watch to Master Chronometer certification, though the watch runs within the same spec in my experience. There are 70 hours of power reserve on tap, which is about par for the course these days. This is a traveller’s GMT, meaning the hour hand can be adjusted to local time independently on the fly while the GMT hand remains on home time. It all works exactly as you’d expect, with a confident feedback when winding and setting. 

The Black Bay Pro comes on a steel three-link bracelet, and yes, the rivets remain. The clasp is fitted with the T-fit quick adjustment system, which has quickly become the default for all Tudor’s new releases. In addition to the bracelet, the Pro can also be had on a leather strap with contrasting stitching, or a nylon fabric strap that can be quickly swapped out for third-party units, which work very well here. 

Overall, the Tudor Black Bay Pro provides an attractive new look, and the dial has been executed with great care. It's as handsome as ever, and if you’re a fan of the original platform you’ll likely find a lot to love in the opaline dial. On the other hand, using the new Black Bay 58 GMT case would have been a very welcome step for this collection. In time, my hope is that we see more options in general with this series, and Tudor isn’t one to rush these things. Heck, I’d settle for more colorways of the Black Bay 58 GMT. Short of that, the Black Bay Pro still has some legs, and while it is thick, don’t let that scare you away. The Black Bay Pro is available now from Tudor and is priced from $4,050 on a leather or fabric strap, and $4,375 on a steel bracelet. You can learn more at tudorwatch.com