From Lucerne, Switzerland, renowned luxury retailer Bucherer has become a premier collaborator with several of the high-end watch brands it stocks throughout its network of boutiques. This series, known as Bucherer BLUE, has amassed a substantial following since it launched in 2016, and the highlights from these limited edition partnerships are plentiful. This January, longtime CH favorite Tudor‘s highly sought-after special edition model with the retailer, known as the Tudor Black Bay Bronze Bucherer Blue, made its way to the US, through an exclusive partnership with historic fine watch purveyor Tourneau. It granted us the opportunity to strap the 43mm automatic on and observe the details that make it distinct.
As with other entrants in the Bucherer Blue catalog, the Tudor embraces a rich blue dial, bezel and textile strap. This is a nod to Bucherer’s use of royal blue since 1888—but blue is not uncommon for the watch brand, either. The color first appeared in the Tudor portfolio in 1969 and it’s that specific historic blue tone that served as inspiration for this piece. It’s the diver-style watch’s high-performance aluminum-bronze alloy, however, that truly stuns. This case material will adopt a patina with wear, but it will not blotch or discolor because of its specific metallic composition.
Within the substantial, retro-sporty case, which nods to Tudor’s diver watch heritage, their proprietary and COSC-certified MT560 movement keeps the watch powered. It’s a variation of the one Tudor developed in-house for their Heritage Black Bay Bronze model; it’s larger to compensate for the diameter size. As for functionality, the movement brings only hours, minutes and seconds to life, keeping the design uncluttered and Tudor signatures (like the snowflake hour hand) front of mind.
Vintage attributes and subtle heritage nods abound. The “Big Crown” with the Tudor rose insignia harks back to a feature from the brand’s 7924 reference from 1958. Even though the watch comes with a distressed leather strap option, the textile strap offers the better story. The blue and beige woven jacquard accessory alludes to a makeshift Tudor strap cut from a French rescue parachute when the brand was supplying the French National Navy in the ’70s. Every detail bears a story like this—and even with the larger case size, the watch comfortably shares its history when worn.
The special edition Tudor Black Bay Bronze Bucherer Blue retails exclusively through Tourneau for $4,150. This co-branded piece features “Bucherer 1888” etched into its caseback, as well.
Images by David Graver