No, not the 58.
As pretty as the 58 is, it still leaves much to desire when compared to the genuine Tudor Subs of old.
Basically I'm saying, keep the 58 case if you want to, but:
- Fit a Triplock crown (from Pelagos)
- Coin edge bezel (from Pelagos FXD)
- Coin edge crown (from Pelagos FXD)
- Get rid of funky faux rivets and install a simple dive extension (like the black bay but with extension)
- Install mercedes hands (or at least square markers)
- Install a 2.5x cyclops
You will notice, that although you find parts 'scattered' here and there you will seldom find all this goodiness above in one single Tudor watch and the last 2 points, giveaways of a Rolex seem to have been 'banned' from Tudor altogether.
Is it that Rolex will not allow such a heavy hitter from their 'lesser' brand?
I love my Pelagos and have considered the 58 black bay, but cannot see past some of these annoyances.
They’d have to get rid of the the slab sided case too for me.
Despite the current 58 not being overly thick on paper, it doesn’t have the visually beauty of the thinner mid-cases of the past Tudor and Rolex Subs.
If they ever do release a true modern Tudor Submariner I too would be all over it.
Come on Tudor you know it makes sense - give us mere mortals back what the Submariners used to be.
Like this....
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They would, It is Rolex after all.
1) They'd need more Tudor Boutiques
2) They'd wait for an anniversary at some point, that must co-inside with a slow year @ Rolex. I.e no more updating movements and bringing dials (colours)
No, I don’t think they ever would. Certainly it would never carry the Submariner name.
I think Tudor have made too much of a leap away from Rolex to identify as a brand in their own right this last decade to go back to putting out cheaper versions of Rolex models. And Rolex have elevated themselves to such a level of prestige they aren’t gonna let little brother offer their own Sub.
I have a BB58 and think it’s a fantastic watch; it wears slim, has great dimensions and legibility and excellent build quality, highly accurate movement with a 70hr power reserve. To me it’s just what the Sub used to be - a great quality, (relatively) affordable, attainable, mid size diver from a strong brand.
I think Tudor have more than established themselves in their own right in the diver department and the BB58 and Pelagos mean the Tudor Sub is a thing for the archives. Where they need to up their game is their three hander and sports-dress offerings. The old Ranger fell short, and the 1926 and Glamour aren’t great. They have the original Rangers and Prince Dates in their archives to bring back for the 21st century and this is what I’d like to see them do myself.
Rolex should just remake the 5513, plexi and all (probably not tritium though -- law and all that)
It could even come with a pre-stretched bracelet ha ha.
It is a very good question OP to which I don’t think anybody has an answer.
I don’t Rolex will ever come out with reissue of popular older models but with Tudor, it could.
It would make sense at a lot of levels but then do they want a direc competitor to the Sub?
My belief is it would not hurt the Submariner market and would be a sure fire hit.
I agree with Raj
It is a no brainier for saddos like us that like watches but makes no sense for Tudor.
The Blackbay is their Submariner, it might be tweaked over time but it will always have its own DNA.
The watch market has moved on since the days of the 5513/7016, (it could be said watch fans have not)
Isn’t the black bay already their 21st century submariner or do you mean a faithful reissue like Zenith keep doing?
200m wr, diver bezel with lumped pip, same marker set, diver extension bracelet. Apart from swapping Mercedes for lollipop hands and some crown guards it’s pretty much a no date sub to my eyes.
If it’s a reissue I can’t see it, the whole Tudor brand ethos is progressive development.
Originally Posted by pete-r
No diver extension on the Black Bay, which is one thing it could do with - some sort of glide lock system. Drilled lugs wouldn’t go amiss either but that’s just my personal preference.
They have this on the bronze one with the bracelet but have called it T-Fit clasp. Inevitable across the range at some point.
No! Never!
Costume jewellery. Ouch!!!
I prefer the distinctiveness of the Tudors, to be honest.
Rolex means nowt to me as a brand, but I like the look of the Tudors.
There is enough of the design heritage there in the Black Bays to satisfy the desire.
I think they have zero chance of using mercedes hands.
Nor will they use the Rolex bezel grip.
And never a cyclops either.
But I do think they will circle and circle round a true Tudor sub, getting closer and further away.
A smaller Pelagos is possible (Pelagos 58, as it were)
Maybe some more faux patina on a BB (like the Pelagos LHD) - James Hyman has modded a BB58 with vintage lume and it looks great.
And I do not see the BB range getting square indices, they are reserved for the Pelagos.
I hope they do use a Lollipop handset, but I doubt it.
And there is nothing illegal about tritium........
So why can Tudor seemingly produce enough watches to satisfy demand but Rolex "can't"?
Demand
Honestly? You think this?
The demand for Tudor is probably 1% of the demand for Rolex. There are only two factors in the equation.
Tudor will never use Mercedes’ hands, the snowflake is now part of their brand DNA.
Submariner is a Rolex sub brand and won’t ever be seen on a Tudor.
The BB58 is a very close approximation to a 5 digit sub imho.
While I dont disagree with what you are saying, I dont think you are thinking about the reasons why/how this situation has been created.
I am, but it’s still the current reality regardless of what else is at play.
This situation and how/why it has come about has too many variables and even if we understand the variables we’ll never understand or agree on the weighting of each.
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