The new Tudor Black Bay Pro is a good-looking watch. There, I said it. But as you would expect, my next sentence will bring up a “but”. So, here it is: the Black Bay Pro is a good-looking watch, but it also clearly shows its source of inspiration, the Rolex Explorer II 1655 “Freccione”. In this video, I will tell you why that’s a good thing, but also why it’s less of a good thing.

This year, Tudor celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Black Bay. It was the Heritage Black Bay ref. 79220R — the “R” is for Rouge — that got the ball rolling. The link between Rolex and Tudor is a strong one. And with the introduction of the Black Bay Tudor managed to show its connection with the mother brand in an original and subtle way. But things change.

With the introduction in 2018 of the Black Bay GMT in “Pepsi” colors, the link became far more obvious. And now, with the introduction of the Black Bay Pro that got its inspiration very clearly from the vintage Rolex Explorer II 1655. Looks like Tudor is back to making watches that look just like Rolexes but are actually Tudors. Something to think and talk about, for sure.

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