Beautiful Designer Straps for the Tudor Black Bay GMT Reference M79830RB

Rubber B Presents a Brief History of Tudor black bay GMT Straps & Watches – Then and Now

Tudor watches are among some of the most popular luxury timepieces in the world, and among experienced collectors and beginning aficionados alike, the name is synonymous with producing timepieces that are both luxurious and durable. This makes a little more sense when you learn a small fact that is not very well known, even among people in the watch community – Tudor and Rolex are actually sister companies. Wait, what? Yes, that’s correct – the two are related, as we’ll explain here in just a moment.

We’re going to present a brief history of Tudor watches and then expand a little more on one of their most popular offerings, the Tudor Black Bay GMT, and show you some of the great custom Tudor Black Bay GMT Straps that Rubber B proudly manufactures. But first, let’s go into a little history lesson and explain the often unsung connection between two of the most well-known watch brands in the world.

A Brief History of Tudor Watches

The Tudor watch trademark was registered in 1926 by Hans Wilsdorf in Switzlerand – if that name sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because you read our deep dive piece on James Cameron and Rolex and remembered that he was one of the original founders of Rolex. Hans was a smart guy – he realized that he couldn’t put all of his eggs in just one basket, and he decided to start another watch company in order to diversify his financial portfolio, as the kids say.

Tudor’s mission statement from the outset was to be a more affordable alternative to Rolex while still providing consumers with a luxury timepiece. They managed to accomplish this by using Rolex cases and bracelets with off-the-shelf movements, thus providing a middle ground and making the watches more affordable than their more well-known sister brand. The move paid off, as Tudor is still one of the most respected watch brands in the world, decades after it was initially founded.

What Do You Need to Know About the Tudor Black Bay GMT

One of Tudor’s most consistently popular offerings, the Tudor Black Bay GMT is, first and foremost, a diver’s watch. It is waterproof for up to 660 feet. The 41 mm steel case has a satin finish and is protected by a domed sapphire crystal. The difference between a standard diver’s watch and this timepiece is the bezel, which is sleek, svelte, and luxurious while still being durable. 

Instead of having diver’s markings, this timepiece has 24-hour markings throughout and 2-tone coloring, which represents day and night. Although the Pepsi colors on the Rolex GMT Master II are called red and blue, the Tudor group dubs them a matte burgundy and blue. The bezel is a bidirectional rotatable disc made from anodized aluminum.

The Tudor Black Bay GMT has all of the standard features found on the exceptional Black Bay lineup, including the “snowflake” shaped hands with exceptional luminescence and a large winding crown. The hour markers are large and highly legible luminescent markers, and they are useful for both daytime wear and visibility in the dark while diving. The GMT function has a red hand with a luminescent snowflake tip. Combined with the rotational 24-hour dial, this timepiece can be easily calibrated for a second-time zone, while also providing separation for daytime and nighttime hours.

Presented at Baselworld 2018, the Tudor Black Bay GMT Reference m79830rb-0001 is powered by the Manufacture Calibre MT5652. This is an in-house movement, and the first GMT movement produced by Tudor. Tudor started developing their own movements in 2015 to further provide a difference and separation from big brother Rolex. It provides the Black Bay GMT with a significant power reserve of approximately 70 hours. It beats at a rate of 28,800 A/h. It is a self-winding movement in both directions. It is built with 26 jewels and has a variable-inertial balance with micro-adjustment and a silicon balance spring.

The MT5652 is a certified chronometer by the nonprofit Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, also known as the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, to be accurate to -4 to +6 seconds deviation per day. Only Swiss-made watches can be certified in this manner. The COSC has strict rules surrounding the requirements proving the accuracy and reliability of the timepiece. Although Swiss watchmakers have certified their timepieces since the 1800s, the COSC has been providing this service since 1973.

The GMT is protected by a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and screw-down winding crown. In position 1 of the crown adjustment, the traveler can adjust the hours quickly. In position 2, the crown can adjust all the hands. The Tudor Black Bay GMT has some differences from the Rolex GMT Master II, most notably in the lack of a cyclops lens over the date. However, the Tudor is a stunning timepiece that will easily help any traveler keep track of 2 time zones with ease at a fraction of the cost of a Rolex GMT Master II.

Rubber B has designed several different custom Tudor Black Bay GMT straps for you to choose from. The Black Bay GMT is a diver’s watch and requires a band that can keep up with the needs of divers today. We will now take a few moments to go into more of our product line in detail below.

Tudor Heritage Black Bay – VulChromatic® Dual-Color Straps

Pictured above are 5 watch bands for the Tudor Black Bay GMT. The 4 VulChromatic® Dual-Color Vulcanized Rubber straps and 1 solid black strap are engineered to fit the Tudor Heritage Black Bay 41mm and the original Tudor deployant buckle. These straps utilize “Blocked Integration” engineering, incorporating solid inserts for a flawless, motionless flush mount to the watch case.

Additionally, The Rubber B watch bands can be used with either the Tudor buckle or any 18mm tang buckle.

Tudor Heritage Black Bay 41mm – SwimSkin® Rubber Cuff Series Straps

The Navy Blue Twill and Jet Black Twill of the Swimskin Rubber Cuff Series straps give the owner the ability to wear a NATO-style band without any fear of getting the band wet. This Vulcanized Rubber watch band has been Tortion-tested for extreme strength and security and hand-sewn with HYDROTURF® Marine Thread. It comes with a 20 mm stainless steel tang buckle, or it could be replaced with the Tudor tang buckle.

Need Custom Tudor Black Bay GMT Straps For Your Tudor Watch? Contact Rubber B Today!

One of the best parts about owning a Tudor Black Bay GMT is the way that it expresses your personal style, but what’s the point of that if you’re not going to take the opportunity to customize your watch with some fantastic custom rubber watch straps?

All of Rubber B’s custom rubber watch straps are made in Switzerland from only 100% vulcanized rubber, so you can have that great Kevlar or animal skin look without harming the environment in any way. All of our custom rubber watch straps are waterproof, hypoallergenic, and FDA and BGVV certified, so they won’t cause any kinds of allergic reactions on your skin either.

For more information on our complete line of Tudor Black Bay GMT straps, click here. We are proud to ship both internationally and domestically, and after a flat rate of $30, Rubber B covers the rest of the shipping costs for our international customers as a courtesy. For more information, please don’t hesitate to visit our website today.

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