Rather, you’ve got centre links wrapped in a coat of gold, with steel on the inside. This is not plating, just, but a jacket of gold. This accounts for its fair price. In any case, I see these as high quality but a “bad guy’s caked Rolex Submariner. If you enjoy the look of a two-tone classic diving watch and can not afford the10,000-plus Rolex Submariner model, the Tudor Auto Heritage Black Bay S&G is going to be your best option. Two-tone looks like this (particularly against a black dial) are very handsome and manly, in my view, but also offer you a welcome amount of flashiness. No, it isn’t a look that is for everyone, however I happen to like it a lot.The Tudor Black Bay situation is 41mm wide, which can be 1mm bigger than the 40mm wide Rolex Submariner. The case is water-resistant to 200m with a radically tall “box style” sapphire crystal whose design is supposed to hearken to vintage timepieces. The gold elements of the bezel and crown are all apparent but, honestly, a lot less obvious from the edition of this reference 79733N on a ring versus a bracelet.

The second Tudor dive watch launched at Baselworld 2012, in addition to the vintage styled Black Bay, is the Pelagos (Ref. 25500TN). This has pretty impressive specs: a 42 mm, satin-finished case in titanium rated to 500 m (1640 ft), with helium escape valve and black ceramic bezel insert. But it still has cues from the vintage Tudor “snowflake” Submariner with its snowflake hands and square indices.

Interestingly, the titanium bracelet is fitting with a self-adjusting dive extension system that “[contracts] in deep water when the diving suit is compressed and its volume is reduced, and, conversely, [expands] as the pressure eases during the ascent.” This is possible due to a pair of springs inside the clasp that maintain tension, allowing the bracele to fit snugly regardless of depth and pressure.  This is illustrated by the short video below. And the Pelagos is also available on a rubber strap with diver’s extension.

This has the same calibre as the Black Bay, the ETA 2824 automatic with 38 hours power reserve.

The price will be approximately USD4400 – a pretty attractive price. I still prefer the vintage style of the Black Bay though. The Pelagos strikes me as too much and it just doesn’t do it for me visually.

– SJX