When Tudor released a new “Lagoon Blue” take on the Black Bay 54, I knew I had to get my hands on it. You see, Tudor is a brand I keep coming back to. Unlike Rolex, which pursues constant iterative improvement above all else, Tudor seems to get more leeway to experiment and play with a mix of historical throwbacks, fan favorites, and new designs. You could argue that Tudor experiments while Rolex learns the lessons from Tudor’s many wins and, in a few cases, commercial failures.
My connection with Tudor
I decided to buy a Tudor Black Bay 58 in blue as a milestone watch to celebrate my 30th birthday. This was because I was attracted to the notion that Tudor represented a less “blingy” version of Rolex. I was proud to own a watch from the brand seen as the working person’s Rolex. Some argue that Tudor is simply a poor man’s Rolex, but I’ve never fully understood this argument.
Henry’s vintage Tudor Oysterdate
I own a vintage Tudor as well, the Oysterdate, which is a sweet 34mm manual-winding watch. I’ve always liked that with vintage Tudor, you would get the Rolex case, crown, case back, and form factor, usually without the hefty price tag. Times do change, however, and it’s a little harder to find bargains on vintage Tudors these days. They are still out there, though.
The Tudor Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue”
One of Tudor’s more recent releases is the Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue.” This brings in a bright aquamarine color and a high-polished stainless steel bezel, which certainly errs on the blingy side of watch design. This is particularly true when combined with Tudor’s five-row bracelet. There is a lot of material that reflects sunlight, creating a very sparkly object overall.
The Tudor Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue” (which I will dub the Tudor Lagoon Blue for brevity) is a watch that was clearly advertised as a summer watch. The press materials for the watch’s release contained photos of tanned models on sandy beaches wearing linen suits. It seemed like a Bondi Hipsters scene. Was this the perfect beach watch?
A quick note on specifications
Let’s get the specifications quickly out of the way. The 37mm steel case has a 46mm lug-to-lug span and an 11.2mm thickness, including the double-domed sapphire crystal. Inside beats the rugged and reliable Tudor MT5400.
The MT5400 is a 27-jewel automatic caliber with manual winding and hacking seconds, a 4Hz (28,800vph) frequency, and a 70-hour power reserve. It is also a COSC-certified chronometer. The watch comes standard with a stainless steel five-row bracelet (20/16mm) with a micro-adjustable T-fit clasp. The clasp is a big improvement over my older Black Bay 58, allowing for proper micro-adjustment and accommodating fluctuations in the wearer’s wrist size due to temperature changes.
A Goldilocks size
Make no mistake; these are Goldilocks specifications for many enthusiasts out there. The Tudor Black Bay 54 wears very well as a 37mm dive watch. There’s something particularly nice about seeing a smaller tool watch on someone’s wrist. The way it can seem to meld onto the wrist rather than bulge there in an ungainly way simply looks cool.
The watch’s size reminds me of the golden era of cinema, when our hero was probably wearing a sub-38mm watch. What we see are the same specifications as the more toned-down black-dial Black Bay 54. But it’s the adoption of the summery design cues I mentioned earlier that sets this watch apart.
Tudor’s design dichotomy
The Tudor Lagoon Blue is an interesting design dichotomy. On the one hand, we see Tudor sticking to the fundamentally conservative dive-watch aesthetic that is the DNA of the Black Bay line. This means designs rooted in the 1950s and early 1960s.
But on the flip side of that dichotomy is the adoption of a bright color, a sand-textured dial, and a stainless steel bezel insert. These somewhat clashing design cues make for an overall interesting watch. It’s a bit of one thing and a bit of another.
Is it design dissonance?
Well, good design is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. In rare cases, it transcends the individual to become “iconic.” When I think of iconic design, I think of something like the BMW R80 G/S (the precursor to the modern GS motorbikes) or a Porsche 911. These are vehicles that make a statement about the eras from which they hail. They stand apart somehow, as if frozen in time.
I don’t think we can call the Tudor Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue” an iconic iteration, but it certainly is a fun watch to wear. There is a certain dissonance in the adoption of the new colors, and frankly, the bezel is difficult to read in direct sunlight. This means the watch is more about design than function. In terms of visual impact, however, the blue is gorgeous. The dial texture is like the restless ripples on a starkly blue ocean’s surface. It is truly wonderful to see it up close.
Concluding thoughts
Spending a week with the Tudor Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue” (€4,240 / US$4,350 / £3,590) was a great experience. The watch proved to be popular among my friends, men and women alike. There is something a little playful, almost mischievous, about its design. The textured dial invites frequent reappraisals and draws the eye back to the watch time after time.
It’s not something I see myself owning because it doesn’t hit me in the gut the way the blue Black Bay 58 did. Choosing that watch was a purely emotional decision. But I can imagine that same visceral feeling coming over many potential customers when they walk into a boutique and see this watch. In some ways, the Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue” is strange because it straddles two worlds — the relatively conservative design cues of the Black Bay family and the bold (even “garish”) tones and textures of a reckless summer holiday. But shouldn’t this hobby be fun? Tudor’s Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue” most definitely is. And to answer the question posed in the title of this article, yes, I think it qualifies as a perfect summer watch.