As we had a rather unpredictable summer here in the UK in 2024, my wife decided to book an AirBNB in the French Riviera – or the Côte d’Azur if you will, which is somewhere I’ve not been back to since my teenage years when travelling with my parents. This then presented the more obvious question to me of “which watch do I take to spend some time getting to know?”
Although I have owned and loved the traditional Tudor Black Bay Red for many years now and I deeply enjoy its more unusual colours, when I had the chance to spend some more considerable time with Tudor’s Bronze Bucherer Edition I snapped up the chance.
While so much of the watch community have been pursuing watches that have been shaving millimetres off their proportions from 41mm down to 39mm in pursuit of a more generalist sweet spot – causing and sustaining so much hype towards the BlackBay ‘58 and its cousins – let alone the more diminutive proportions of the Black Bay 54, I tend to prefer watches of a slightly larger disposition. In fact the smallest watch I own is the Black Bay at 41mm rising through a variety of others at 42, 43 and 44 with the largest being a Panerai Radiomir 45mm.
With this in mind I do appreciate that the bronze variants of Tudors black bay range have not enjoyed the popularity of their more ‘core range’ as well as the fact that certain models are only available as ‘boutique editions’ like the Black Bay 58 Bronze Edition – which means that only those in the know will be going out of their way to get one rather than allowing more the of the general public to see what’s on offer through the variety of worldwide retailers. Then there are slightly more exclusive editions that are only available from specific retailers – like the Harrods Green Edition and this Bucherer Blue Edition.
Bronze as a material offers an interesting alternative to steel. With much of the watch world currently pursuing Titanium in a variety of its forms (trade 2 or grade 5) this does bring with it an interesting observation – that its so light it would be easy to forget you’re wearing it. While to some this is a good thing, to others it becomes a negative as there’s a comforting sensation of the feel of a watch on your wrist. To this demographic, the weight of bronze brings with it a healthy reassurance that it’s still there. Tudor are of course mindful of the potential downsides to have such a heft on your wrist and have so far only offered the bronze variants with fabric straps rather than bronze bracelets (with the exception of the black Bay 58 Bronze launched in 2021) – even though Rolex have offered the submariner on a full bracelet in either yellow gold or white gold as well as many other models including the GMT master, Day-Date and others.
However bronze does offer another rather appealing quality over steel – it brings a beautiful warmth without appearing ostentatious – which is often the opinion viewed towards those wearing gold watches – an immediate assumption of extreme wealth.
This warmth is further reinforced over time as the bronze dulls with patina – taking on a more subdued and subtle colouration while still maintaining the warmth of the bronze hues.
In addition, there are one or two unique features to Tudors’ bronze editions not found in the rest of the collection. Firstly, the explorer dials with their 3, 6 & 9 indices and, unlike the traditional 41mm variants there is no crown tube mirroring the colour of the bezel. Lastly and arguably more importantly, the side of the case has drilled lugs – a lovely addition and throwback to historical dive watches and something that makes changing straps a breeze – which is handy as I plan to spend a little time in the ocean exploring with the watch and I just so happen to also have a blue fitted rubber strap from RubberB – specifically for this watch.
I always enjoy travelling with a watch as it gives me time to experience the watch in an environment with less distractions and most often a variety of scenarios – from relaxing and unwinding at the beach to dinner out and everything in between.
As I sit here, after having enjoyed a magnificent lunch on the shores of the Mediterranean sipping a Jamaican mule, I’m reflecting on my time with the Black Bay Bronze Bucherer Blue Edition. There’s so much already been said and written on the already more than capable watch that Tudor has made – however little on how well it naturally fits in without standing out – which is in essence what makes it stand out so well! – It’s not garish, loud or vulgar, its not “look at me” – and no one gave it a second look (which I can’t imagine would have been the case if I were to wear a Rolex submariner) and as chance would have it, I spent a considerable time in a blue t-shirt and khaki shorts – the two colour-ways of the watch.
All in all we enjoyed 10 days exploring the south of France and the French riviera as well as a stop off in Dijon on the way there and the way back. During that time the Black Bay Bronze Bucherer Blue became an inseparable companion. Equally at home both at the beach as well as going out for dinner in some of the most beautiful surroundings. I spent considerable time in the sea as well as on the shores enjoying food and cocktails in a variety of settings from causal bars to the Cannes yacht club. This singular watch managed to fit in perfectly at home in every opportunity and scenario. All in all I could almost say that it has been the perfect travelling companion adapting perfectly to every scenario and occasion of note here in the French riviera.
I suppose what’s also rather remarkable is that when I bumped into another British couple at the Cannes Yacht club – he just happened to be wearing the exact same watch – and in my brief conversation with him, he echoed my sentiments having bought it recently in Bucherer Covent Garden earlier this year.
Spending time with this watch has been an eye-opening pleasure. Bronze is not a material that I would have thought that I would have enjoyed – I have a platinum wedding ring for the simple reason that it goes with everything and gold is really not my colour of choice. However after spending time with this Tudor I having to take a more challenging look at my own choices. Maybe my tastes are changing – or maybe until now, I’ve just not had the opportunity to spend the time with something as divisive and challenging as this. Either way it goes to show that opinions can change, first impressions aren’t everything and until you actually get hands on with something, be careful to form your opinions.
The Tudor Black Bay Bronze Bucherer Blue edition is available exclusively from Bucherer stores
or their website www.bucherer.com for £3870
The RubberB strap featured above is available from www.rubberb.com for $240
