Originally introduced with a red bezel (then variants including bronze and black), the Tudor Black Bay is now cleaner and sleeker with a new stainless steel bezel. While not a significant change to an existing model, the Black Bay Steel offers a new look and function for practically the same affordable price tag.

The basics of the Black Bay Steel are identical to most of the other Black Bay watches: a steel 41mm case rate to 200m, snowflake hands, matte black dial with the depth rating in red, and an in-house movement.

Two elements set it apart, the more obvious being the bezel. The insert on the elapsed time diver’s bezel is stainless steel finished with circular brushing. The markings on the bezel are engraved and then filled with black lacquer, or red in the case of the triangle at 12.

Most bezel inserts on dive watches are aluminium (or increasingly ceramic), just like the coloured bezels on the other Black Bay models. But anodised aluminium is prone to fade with time, resulting in washed out colours that collectors of vintage watches adore (hence the “ghost” bezels). Steel, on the other hand, is fade-resistant and essentially eternal, apart from general wear.

But more important than its metallurgical qualities is the clean, functional appearance of the steel bezel, which makes the Black Bay Steel its own watch.

Many of the other Black Bay models are obviously retro inspired, modern watches that carry the style of something historical. In contrast, the Black Bay Steel has a modern look and feel, making it more original, largely thanks to the steel bezel.

And importantly, the Black Bay Steel has a date window at three o’clock. It’s a practical feature that often looks out of place in vintage remake watches, as on the Longines 1918 for instance. But because the Black Bay Steel feels contemporary, the date window looks at home.

Inside the Black Bay Steel is the MT5612, a COSC-certified automatic calibre that’s part of the in-house MT56 family of movements, which power most of the Black Bay range.

Built to be a reliable workhorse that’s functional and affordable, the MT5612 has a silicon hairspring and free-sprung balance. More evidently convenient to the wearer are its three-day power reserve, and date mechanism that allows setting at any time, even midnight.

Price and availability

The Black Bay Steel (ref. 79730) will reach stores June 2017. Prices will be SFr3300 for the model on a leather strap and SFr3600 for the same on a steel bracelet – that’s just SFr100 over that of the model sans date.

Both versions are accompanied by an additional fabric NATO-style strap in olive green.

Update March 27, 2017: Additional photos included.

At Baselworld 2017 Grand Seiko became an independent brand, rather than a range of watches offered by Seiko. One of the crucial watches for the decoration of independence is the Grand Seiko SBGR305, a wristwatch inspired by the Grand Seiko ref. 3180.

Released in 1960, the ref. 3180 was the first ever Grand Seiko.  The new SBGR305 takes its cues from the original, but is a distinctly modern watch.

To start with it is 40.5mm in diameter and 13.7mm high, moderately sized by modern standards but large for a Grand Seiko, which tend to be smaller than 40mm. The white dial and narrow bezel further enhance its size.

But because it’s made of “Brilliant Hard Titanium” – an alloy proprietary to Seiko – the watch is lightweight; lighter in the hand than it looks.

An evolution of “Bright Titanium”, the alloy previously used for all titanium Grand Seiko watches, Brilliant Hard Titanium is a new alloy that’s as light as the usual titanium found in watchmaking (typically grade 5), but much harder. It’s surface hardness is twice as hard as stainless steel, in fact, making it quite scratch resistant.

The hardness of the metal means it can be polished to the same definition as steel, resulting in brilliantly finished lugs with brushed top surfaces, polishes bevels running along their length, and a sharp border between the two.

While the case material and finishing is beyond reproach, the proportions take some getting used to. The watch looks visibly different from the usual Grand Seiko and it takes a moment to figure out why.

The aesthetic difference lies in two elements. First is the narrowness of the lugs relative to the diameter of the bezel, which makes the face of the watch seem larger than it is. And the second is the relatively high, sloping chapter ring with the minute track. The angle gives the face depth, but it also makes the watch seem thicker.

Those factors, however, are not drawbacks, since they make the watch seem larger and less old fashioned, historically two widely cited shortcomings in earlier generations of Grand Seiko watches.

While the design is a departure from past practice, the dial remains a sterling example of dial manufacturing. The dial has a grained, pearly surface that’s similar to that found on last year’s Grand Seiko Spring Drive 8 Day. Both are created with a similar technique, though not identical.

The hands and indices are vintage Grand Seiko, precisely cut with a diamond-tipped tool to create razor sharp edges. They catch the light to increase visibility, but also give the dial a sensation of tremendous quality.

Because this is a Grand Seiko produced by an independent brand, only its logo sits at 12 o’clock. In contrast, earlier generations had both the Grand Seiko and Seiko logos on the dial. While complaints of cluttered dials in the past were justified, the dial feels slightly empty now.

A sapphire back shows off the calibre 9S68, an automatic with a three day power reserve. Rated to -3 to +5 seconds a day, the 9S68 is robustly built and well engineered, but its decoration is typical of Grand Seiko, which is to say obviously applied by machine.

While not luminously hand finished like the Seiko Credor Eichi II, the Grand Seiko movement has its own charm, being very, very precisely finished.

And where it matters, and cannot be seen, the movement is hand-finished. The pivots of the escapement for instance are polished by hand.

Price and availability

Limited to 968 pieces, the Grand Seiko SBGR305 will be available starting July 2017, priced at €8800, or about US$9510.

Correction March 26, 2017: The dial finish on the SBGR305 is similar to that on the Grand Seiko Spring Drive 8 Days, not identical as stated earlier.