2022 Tudor Black Bay Pro GMT 79470 on Strap
Ref: 79470

Specification

Points of Mention

This watch is sold with its original Tudor Box & Paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original Tudor 20mm  Hybrid rubber and leather strap with a signed deployment safety clasp. The watch is from July 2022 and is sold in worn condition, but as you can see, it is in very good condition. The watch comes with its Manufacturer's Warranty.

The Watch

The Tudor trademark was first registered in 1926 by the Swiss watchmaking company “Veuve de Philippe Hüther” on behalf of Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex watches, Wilsdorf took it over himself in 1936. Just after the second world war, Hans Wilsdorf Founder of Rolex knew that the time had come to expand and give the Tudor brand a proper identity of its own. The Tudor Rose started to appear on their dials from this time, thus, on 6 March 1946, he created the “Montres TUDOR S.A.” company, specialising in models for both men and women. Rolex guaranteed the technical, aesthetic and functional characteristics, along with the distribution and after-sales service. In 1948 we saw the first Tudor-specific advertising, a few years later they introduced the TUDOR Oyster Prince in 1952, Hans Wilsdorf allowed Tudor to use their waterproof Oyster case and the original self-winding Perpetual ’rotor’ movement. This was an exclusive arrangement that benefitted both brands, development soon commenced with the introduction of the TUDOR Oyster Prince Submariner, reference 7922 in 1954, this watch was quickly adopted by the French Navy in 1956. Building on their reputation of robustness in 1961 the Rose was replaced by the shield. Later in 1969, we saw the design changes in Ref. 7016 where for the first time square indexes and angular hands nicknamed “snowflake” allowed for a more significant amount of lume to be applied; this was appreciated by the divers of the French Navy. Today these innovations can be seen in the Black Bay and Pelagos collections. In 1971 Tudor introduced the Oysterdate chronographs nicknamed “Monte-Carlo” due to their resembling a roulette wheel. Celebrating their 50th anniversary in 1996. In that same year, Tudor decided to shed Rolex signed components such as the cases, crowns and bracelets in favour of Tudor branded ones. Today Tudor uses their in-house movements developed initially in 2015 in collaboration with Breitling.

Here we have a 2022 Tudor Black Bay Pro GMT 79470 that has all the styling and finesse of the Rolex Explorer II Ref: 1655 with a polished and satin-brushed 39mm stainless steel case, a polished bevel edge that leads the eye toward tapered lugs with a lug-to-lug length of 47.5mm and a case thickness of 14.5mm giving the watch an impressive wrist presence. On the right side, is a signed screw-down crown with the Tudor rose in relief. A fixed stainless steel bezel has a 24-hour scale engraved into it and infilled in black making it highly legible. A domed sapphire crystal sits above a slightly domed matte black dial. An outer minute track is precisely executed with lume pips at the hour mark, and applied discs and baton indexes are made of monobloc luminous ceramic to mark the hours, at 3 o’clock a date window. The snowflake hands coated in luminance are complemented by a counterweighted sweeping second hand and a yellow GMT hand. At 12 o’clock we have the Tudor motif and at 6 o’clock the water resistance in yellow and “Chronometer Officially Certified” are printed underneath completing this practical sports tool watch, a watch that is suitable for the avid adventurer and traveller. On the reverse, is a screw-down coin-edged case back, inside an automatic Tudor Cal. MT5652 26 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour COSC Certified movement. First introduced at BaselWorld in 2018 it is their first in-house GMT movement, with a bi-directional rotor for efficiency and hacking and hand-winding for your convenience. The watch comes fitted on its original Tudor 20mm Hybrid rubber and leather strap with a signed deployment safety clasp and comes with its Tudor presentation box and paperwork.

Personal Note

The more I have handled the Pro the more I am impressed, yes, it isn't exactly a thin watch and you can see the thickness when on the wrist, however, I would argue it is too thick and uncomfortable! Would I prefer this in a BB58 case? Absolutely, but I'd 100% wear and enjoy this reference and the thickness wouldn't be an issue for me, if you aren't sure book an appointment and come try it on for yourself.