Style Edit: Iconic Tudor watches don Lunar New Year colours – the classic Black Bay and Royal timepieces are reimagined as luxury gifts for the Year of the Dragon
As Lunar New Year approaches, Hong Kong is festooned with the characteristic colours of the season: red and gold, visual representations of good luck and prosperity in Chinese culture. Two watches from coveted Swiss luxury watchmaker Tudor constitute the ideal way to complete the festive mood, showcasing those auspicious colours at their finest, and making ideal gifts to mark the occasion.
When it was first introduced in 2012, the Black Bay instantly became Tudor’s emblematic collection, and it remains one of the most iconic and most sought after watches anywhere. With an appealing vintage aesthetic that takes its cues from classic dive watches from the Tudor archives – in particular the Submariner – it’s widely loved for its smart, retro-modern appearance, as well as characteristic features such as the domed crystal, outsize crown and snowflake hands.
The watch’s stainless steel case comes in the classic Black Bay size of 41mm, while the watch is secured with a choice of either a three- or five-link stainless steel bracelet or rubber strap with the brand’s “T-fit” rapid adjustment clasp. Tudor has been powering Black Bay timepieces with its own in-house movements since 2016, and this latest burgundy bezel version has the in-house Calibre MT5602-U at its heart, which comes with a weekend-proof, 70-hour power reserve.
Another classic from Tudor’s illustrious history, the Tudor Royal represents the ultimate in chic, sporty timepieces. With a name that is a nod to a collection first introduced by Tudor back in the 1950s, the self-winding timepiece gets its trademark clean lines from its immediately recognisable integrated bracelet.
For 2023, the Tudor Royal was reinvented in a style that also showcases the colours of Lunar New Year. The star of the sophisticated colour scheme is a chocolate brown dial, which provides a beautiful contrast that highlights the festive yellow gold of the notched bezel. The sunray dial is accented with applied Roman numeral hour markers and baton hands covered with Super-LumiNova.
The Tudor Royal comes in cases in a range of sizes: 28mm, 34mm, 38mm and 41mm, the last of those equipped with a movement that displays both day and date. Each comes in stainless steel, optionally combined with yellow gold. So does the characteristic integrated bracelet, which combines two lines of polished metal with three wider strips of satin-brushed links. They help to ensure that the Tudor Royal with burgundy bezel continues to represents the finest in classic watch design, with a contemporary flourish.
- The retro/modern Black Bay takes its design cues from the Submariner dive watch domed crystal, outsize crown and snowflake hands
- Super-LumiNova makes the hands of both models legible underwater while the Black Bay’s burgundy model uses the in-house Calibre MT5602-U movement