Tudor Black Bay Pro: A Modern Take on a Vintage Explorer

A 39mm watch with a thickness of 15mm makes me think of the #Omega #PlanetOcean 39.5mm… Nah… this is not the watch I need – that was my thought when I read the first reviews about Tudor Black Bay Pro M79470.

Let’s quickly go over the specs of the Black Bay Pro, as mentioned above, this is a sports GMT watch with a case size of 39mm, thickness of 15mm, lug to lug of 47mm. It uses an in-house True GMT movement #MT5652 with 26 jewels, 70 hours power reserve, 28800bph frequency, and meets COSC Chronometer standards. (This is also the movement used on the Tudor Black Bay GMT PEPSI M79830 that I reviewed before).

Although it is a sports #GMT watch and uses the same movement, but with a completely different design, the Black Bay Pro can be placed in a separate product line. With a smaller size than the #Pepsi by 2mm, a steel bezel with brushed finish and non-rotating, Tudor does not hide the fact that the Tudor Black Bay Pro is inspired by its brother #Rolex #Explorer II 1655. Personally, I think the Black Bay Pro is much more beautiful than #EX2 1655 in two points:
• The hour markers on the 1655 include both markers for 24 hours, which looks quite messy.

• I don’t like having a loupe on the glass because it will be the place where dust sticks and is hard to clean.

Tudor Black Bay Pro has 3 strap options when launched: Rivet steel type commonly seen on Tudor, Hybrid (with rubber core covered with leather on top), and Nato. My Black Bay Pro is Rivet version with new T-Fit clasp.
For me, experience with T-Fit clasp is very wonderful when quick adjustment feature allows adjusting length of strap up to 8mm, divided into 5 levels, helping me to adjust quickly and comfortably all day long, especially in this changing weather season. Your hand will shrink in cold morning and expand when weather warms up at noon.
In addition, with elegant style, combining Black Bay Pro with rubber or leather strap is also quite easy, depending on needs and personal style.

Going back to original opinion, why did I buy Black Bay Pro when I thought I would pass this one from beginning. Previously I had opportunity to hold Omega Planet Ocean 39, and feeling on hand that one was quite… funny… a 39mm watch, lug to lug 45mm when on hand gave me feeling quite small but with thickness of 15mm protruding high on wrist plus round design of Omega case. I felt watch like a round block lying snugly but quite unstable on my 18.5cm wrist. For me, PO 43mm would be more reasonable choice.
So what’s difference with Tudor Black Bay Pro with similar specs? That is lug to lug distance of 47mm, longer lug design makes watch feel flatter and more suitable for wrists from 16.5cm up. I was quite surprised when wearing Black Bay Pro very comfortable and it seemed I forgot its thickness. Looking from any angle this is also a watch that fits sporty style well, slightly different from BlackBay58 which is dressy.