Sometimes you get what you ask for, and then sometimes you get a slightly different version that appeases your original desire but leaves excitement for the possibility of what’s to come. I asked for a gold BB54, got a gold BB58 with a green dial and will now patiently wait for Tudor to surprise me with a small(er) gold dive watch.
I am admittedly a new member of the 18k Gold Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight watch fandom. In fact, if you had asked me what I thought of the brand before my much deeper foray into the watch world I probably would have scoffed, “Tudor, I don’t think so, pass me the Rolex.” Then came BB54 mania. Here was a brand, traditionally far more successful amongst a male demographic, making a tool watch in a smaller size with no stylistic compromises. Its democratic size combined with sporty profile undid my stubborn refusal to pay attention to what 18k Gold Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight watch were presenting in their modern catalog. In fact it caused me to sit up and pay serious attention. If Tudor can make a Black Bay with true historical proportions then surely they are game to make other watches that myself and other 0n-the-fence Tudor spectators would genuinely be interested in.
Yesterday the watch gods (who I so often cite, and are yet to deliver me a yellow gold 37mm Sub!!) delivered me a yellow gold dive watch in a size that wasn’t perfect but was pretty damn close. I hesitated at first. A green dial and bezel? That won’t work. To be clear, the green doesn’t work for me when the watch is on a strap. But if you put her on an all gold 3-link bracelet (with a T-fit clasp) then you’re making real moves in the precious metal sports watch category.
Without circumventing the very obvious questions about Tudor making gold dive watches for $32,100, let’s set aside logic and just admire the watch in all of its yellow gold glory. The metal is brushed all over, because this is gold done in the Tudor way. Yellow gold watches are usually polished and shiny. All gold anything wants to be the loudest in the room, screaming unabashedly for attention. The BB58 18k is a subdued yellow, the kind of gold that makes sense aesthetically for the Tudor customer. The kind of gold that says, “I’m here, admire me but don’t think too much of me, I’m a subtle flex.”
Despite being recently led astray by a rose gold Royal Oak, my predilection for yellow gold remains unwavering. I was genuinely excited when I tried on this gold BB. I so badly wanted this to work for me because 18k Gold Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight watch, on paper, the specs all checked out in my favor. Yes, it was a smidge larger than I would have preferred, but it was a yellow gold dive watch and it looked at home on my wrist. It worked in that way that felt easy and self-assured. Like when you try on a sweater in the store that looks so perfect it’s as if you had picked it from your own wardrobe earlier that morning.
This gold BB58 is the sweet spot between robust tool-watch and aesthetic integrity that I am constantly searching for. No, it’s not perfect. And no, I wouldn’t pick a green dial and bezel for my personal yellow gold dive watch fantasy. But it works. The green melts into the gold, it’s a precious metal take on camo. It’s rich and warm and works perfectly alongside my daily jewelry rotation.
The 18k Gold Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight watch on a strap however, is an entirely different story. I renounce that configuration because a gold watch on a strap is just not for me. Why dilute the glamor? Bracelets change the whole identity of a watch. I am a bracelet girl through and through because I wear my watches like I would wear jewelry. That’s an admission that I am entirely comfortable with.
To be clear, I am not backing down from my original request for an all gold BB54, but I’ll take the BB58 as a symbol for what may be to come from Tudor in the coming years. I’ll be here, patiently waiting for the watch gods to rule in my favor.