2018 Tudor Black Bay Black 41mm ETA 'Smiley' 79220N

Here we have a now-discontinued and collectable 2018 Tudor Heritage Black Bay ETA ‘Smiley’ 79220N inspired by their 7900 Submariner series, which was released in 1978. The 41mm stainless steel case curves over your wrist for a comfortable fit, and a lug-to-lug length of 50mm and a thickness of 12mm give the watch an impressive wrist presence. Brushed and polished edges are expertly executed around the case, and on the right side is a signed big crown. The unidirectional stainless steel bezel has a black 60-minute scale insert with silver numerals and markings. At 12 o’clock, you find an inverted red triangle with a lume pip in its centre. The domed sapphire crystal sits above a matte black dial, Gilt minute track with applied gilt-edged discs and batons mark the hours, and the characteristic snowflake hands are gilt-edged and coated in luminance, complemented by a gilt-sweeping second hand. Text is precisely applied to the dial in Gilt, with the “Smiley Self-Winding” at 6 o’clock, indicating an ETA movement inside. On the reverse, a coin-edged screw-down case back, inside an automatic ETA 2824, 25 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, which has been modified by Tudor, removing the date function, changes to the antishock system, and finally updating the mainspring mechanism. It comes paired with its original 22mm Tudor leather strap and signed folding clasp, as well as a 22mm Tudor NATO strap and a 22mm Generic NATO strap and comes with its Tudor presentation box and papers.

This watch is sold with its original Tudor box and paperwork. It comes paired with its original 22mm Tudor leather strap and signed folding clasp, as well as a 22mm Tudor NATO strap and a 22mm Generic NATO strap. The watch is from February 2018 and is sold in worn condition, but fair, as you can see, a full case refurb can be provided on request at an additional cost. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.

The Tudor Black Bay 41mm 'ETA', affectionately known as the 'Smiley' due to the 'Self-Winding' text arching like a smiley face on the dial, which is also the way to quickly distinguish between an ETA model and the later in-house reference, which has straight text in that same area. These references have continued to grow in popularity among collectors, and good examples still demand a healthy price in the market. I would not hesitate to add this 2018 example to your collection today, whilst you still have the chance!

Reference : 79220N
Movement : Automatic ETA Cal. 2824
Age : February 2018
Year : 2018
Case Size : 41mm
Case Thickness : 12mm
Lug to Lug : 50mm
Lugs : 22mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box and Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12 Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
The wrist model's wrist size is 7inch

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 guarantees technical, aesthetic, and functional characteristics, distribution, and after-sales service. In 1948, we saw the first Tudor-specific advertisement. 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 benefited 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 its reputation of robustness in 1961, the shield replaced the Rose. 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 greater amount of lume to be applied, and the French Navy's divers appreciated this. These innovations can be seen in the Black Bay and Pelagos collections. In 1971, Tudor introduced the Oysterdate chronographs, nicknamed “Monte-Carlo” because they resemble a roulette wheel. Celebrating their 50th anniversary in 1996. 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, which were developed initially in 2015 in collaboration with Breitling.