re: OT Watch Thread: Tudor Black Bay 58 Bronze: New or Used?

DavidSW is in Orlando and has one in stock but it is $4675. The watch is boutique only so the ones with full kit (box, papers etc) and in excellent condition are not going to be a lot off retail.

One thing about bronze watches is if you own them from new you get to be in "control" of the aging. There are various ways to "reset" the process using weak acids but I just feel like bronze is a watch best owned from new unless you can get a great deal on it or if it is out of production.

I flirted with bronze for a while in the wake of the Panerai Bronzo. I really wanted one for a while but the more of them I got to see on wrists in the wild brought me to two conclusions:

1. when the bronze is fresh they looks like some sort of fake gold

2. when it starts to oxidize it starts to look like bad fake gold (Tudor's bronze is slow to oxidize)

There are plenty of very inexpensive bronze watches available. I would actually recommend getting one off Aliexpress (not a fake!) or one of the cheaper microbrands to see if you actually like wearing bronze. Make sure what you get is bronze not brass. The Best of Aliexpress on the affordable watch subforum on WatchUSeek has a lot of information on inexpensive bronze watches.

IMO and from my experience people tend of have bronze watch phases and they don't get married to them as a daily. Back when no bronze watches came with bronze bracelets people wanted them but when they arrived people decided quickly it was too much and they preferred leather or a NATO.


To answer your question get it at the boutique. Giving unsolicited advice get a SS Tudor instead and scratch the bronze itch with a less expensive watch that you won't mind covering in ketchup to clean it.



Regarding the movement it is excellent. The MT5400 is in-house and has a silicon hairspring and they are guaranteed to -2/+4 SPD which is tighter than COSC standards. They are also tested with the movement cased vs just the raw movement. A very solid movement from Tudor.

Why are there so many watch threads on the OT? Are baws really not capable of picking a watch?

You can look at your phone and see what time it is.

If they certify it and it’s in decent shape, take the discount.

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Why are there so many watch threads on the OT? Are baws really not capable of picking a watch?

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What would you say if I told you there were entire forums, some bigger than the entirety of TD) 1/3rd of the posts concern what watch to buy.

There are 100s of car forums where people fret for months over what color to spec and if they want things like power steering plus, front axle lift or what color deviated stitching they want on their build sheet. This is true for most every hobby.

For what ever reason people like to talk about how they are going to spend their money with other like-minded people.

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Do ppl buy watches as investments items?

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Some do but it is a very small percentage of owners and a very small percentage of watches.

People like Mike Woods have made a lot of money on collecting watches, he is a very serious Rolex collector particularly MilSubs, Submariners and Sea Dwellers:







The Milsubs the the picture below alone are worth north of $2 million.










I have made a few dollars over the years but it was just blind luck not a solid collecting strategy.

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I don't get it.

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I bet Nimeria's psychiatrist says that a lot.

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wouldn't buy a bronze watch. I wouldn't buy a chocolate dial. That's just me.

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This.

That color puts what you can wear it with in a box. Tudor is a sweet watch. It’s a Rolex you can actually get without gray market and price gouging. Stainless as was mentioned lets you wear it daily.

That’s my $0.02. Bronze and brown seem trendy while stainless and black is a great combo.

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Giving unsolicited advice get a SS Tudor instead and scratch the bronze itch with a less expensive watch that you won't mind covering in ketchup to clean it.

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I mentioned the WUS thread to look in but I really should give a little more perspective. I normally don't discuss homage watches much because I have mixed feelings about them. A "homage watch" is a bastardization of the term homage and is used on watch forums like WUS in reference to a watch that is a copy of another watch but doesn't use the trademark name on the watch or dial so it is technically not fake.

I thought I should at least show one option for the bronze watch. This is a "brand" I have seen a decent amount in the Affordable Watch forum at WUS: Steeldive. Most people talk about and get the Seiko Tuna "homages" from them. There are others that do dive watches (One with a frog as the logo) that people there also lie but I can't remember the names. You can buy this watch for under $170, it is clearly a copy of a Seiko though Seiko never made it in bronze. This would be a low risk way to decide if you like bronze. Available on Aliexpress. I have never bought anything from Aliexpress but have watched guys on WUS buy them for years. If you want more info check out



If you want more info check out the thread that has been going on for 8 years:

WUS

Don't be afraid to sign up and start a thread in the affordable section about a "toe in the water" bronze watch the folks there are generally very helpful and not at all like tOT, the general forum has more of the tOT bite.

Appreciate all the responses. It’s the OT so I expect wheat and chaff to get answers on any topic. To answer about my interest in bronze, I’m not a fan of NATO straps. I also own a stainless Luminox Bear Grylls model. It’s a stainless/black combo. Had it for two years and it’s almost an everyday wear.

I was being pushed by my long term GF (now ex; no pics but OT 8) to buy a nice gold watch. But when I saw the Bronze with the Bronze bracelet I thought it was a lower key look compared to Gold/Gold Bracelet. Which even though I’m 44 I figured was a little too Retirement/Boomer looking for me.

The Bronze aging on the reviews I’ve seen on YouTube looks amazing in my opinion as I’d like something that provides character.

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Any updates to your current collection?

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It has been static for several years now, it just isn't the primary focus it used to be. My time spent on individual hobbies waxes and wanes. I buy two or three micro-brands each year and either flip them or give them to friends or family who either have or are showing a potential to like watches.