Introducing: The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic One For Only Watch 2019
By James Stacey
Quick Take
With the Only Watch 2019 listings officially unveiled today, the first name I always look for on the list is Tudor. Despite the Only Watch ranks including heavy hitters like Patek Philippe, F.P. Journe, Hermès, and Audemars Piguet, Tudor has earned a notable position in the lineup by creating unique pieces that manage to preserve much of their sporty everyday appeal. To wit, take a look at this year’s stealthy one-of-one, the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic One.
Matte black on matte black, this 41mm ceramic-cased Black Bay has a mix of brushed and bead-blasted finishes. The crown and caseback are steel with a matte black PVD treatment and the bezel is PVD coated titanium with a matte black ceramic insert. All in all, it looks roughly as matte as it is rad.
Initial Thoughts
I’ll leave a more in-depth look at Tudor’s Only Watch history for a future post, but while they certainly don’t have the MSRP clout of many of their Only Watch brethren, they have a track record of punching well above their weight class. Case in point? Only Watch 2015, when the Tudor Black Bay One sold for CHF 375,000 – more than 100 times the retail price of a steel Black Bay.
While I’m not generally one for the low contrast black-on-black look, the Black Bay Ceramic One looks really good and the images would suggest there is a dynamic nature to its finishing that adds some welcome tonality to this stealthy take on the Black Bay aesthetic. Like with past examples from Tudor for Only Watch, the exclusivity means that Tudor’s flex in making the watch will become some lucky collector’s flex for owning it.
While the Black Bay One shares most of its look (at least from a distance) with a standard steel Black Bay, the Ceramic One will be easily identifiable at a glance. While the listed USD estimate of $4,500–$5,500 is somewhat laughable, the amount of money this entirely cool Black Bay will likely earn in support of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is anything but a joke. For this lot and many many other insanely cool unique pieces, be sure to put a reminder for November 9 at 2:00 PM (in Geneva) on your calendar. Now in its eighth year, Only Watch is not …read more
