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Home > Tudor > Baselworld 2014: Introducing the Tudor Heritage Ranger, the Entry-Level, Vintage-Inspired Heritage Timepiece (with specs and pricing)

Baselworld 2014: Introducing the Tudor Heritage Ranger, the Entry-Level, Vintage-Inspired Heritage Timepiece (with specs and pricing)

Since the coming of the ETA-powered Black Bay in 2011, the series was updated and added to every season, most prominently with the accession of the Tudor Manufacture 5602 movement a few years ago. Aside from that milestone, the Black Bay upgrades have been largely in material, like the Black Bay Bronze we covered the Black Bay S&G we covered, or in color scheme, like the Black Bay Dark we covered here. Tudor’s recent Black Bay Steel attempts to further round out the group, which apparently offers something for everyone.The new Black Bay Steel’s dial stays similar to its forebears. Markedly different here’s the aforementioned change in dial real estate at the 3 o’clock marker in the lumed hour mark on previous versions to a date window to the new Black Bay Steel. This was a bit of a death because when Tudor initially released the red-bezeled Black Bay at 2011, watch nerds rejoiced within the clean look of the dial, which was supplied in no small part by the lack of a date work with its obtrusive window.The date window on the Black Bay Steel is rectangular and is not really overly territorial or distracting, which can partially be attributed to the fact that there isn’t a cyclops lens within it. In fact, as you’ll notice in some of the remote photos, the date window’s presence fades when viewed from just a few feet away. Dial text o’clock can be slightly different, with all “200m : 660ft” printed in red above “Chronometer Officially Certified” in white talking to the impressive MT5612 caliber oscillating within.

The latest addition to Tudor’s Heritage line of retro-inspired timepieces is the Heritage Ranger, which takes after the original of the same name. Entry-level and simply styled, the Heritage Ranger is a remake of the classic explorer’s watch.

Tudor had a series of hits in recent years with watches inspired by its vintage timepieces, most notably with the Black Bay and Heritage Chronograph. Where the Black Bay is a diver’s watch and the Heritage Chrono a driver’s timepiece, the new Heritage Ranger is the modern take on the explorer’s watch.

The original Tudor Ranger was inspired by the Rolex Explorer, and the modern Heritage Ranger is in turn inspired by the original. So all three share the same dial with 3, 6, 9 and 12 in Arabic numerals, and the rest in baton markers. But like the other timepieces in the Heritage line, this is not a replica of the original. A particularly modern touch is the red seconds hand.

All the luminous material on the dial and hands is a subtle off-white, while the convex dial and domed sapphire crystal complete the vintage look. Underneath is an ETA 2824, reliable and robust, but with a short 38 hour power reserve.

The 41 mm case has a brushed finish, top and sides, and is water resistant to 150 m. Like the vintage Ranger, the modern version has drilled lug holes, which makes changing straps easier.

And on the topic of straps, the Heritage Ranger has four options available, a demonstration of how far Tudor has embraced contemporary watch collecting culture. The first is a steel bracelet with very quaint straight ends.

Two leather straps are available, the first in a Bund style with a pad underneath the watch. The other option is a darker brown stitched leather strap. Both leather straps come with a folding clasp.

On dark brown leather
On the Bund strap

All three options are supplied with an additional camouflage pattern canvas strap in a NATO style, except it is secured via spring bars instead of looping under them. The Heritage Ranger will retail for 2700 Swiss francs on strap (~US$3050), and 2800 Swiss francs on the bracelet.

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