One of the continuing small surprises of the watch landscape over the last few years is Tudor’s building of new relationships with professional athletes and sports teams. David Beckham, of course, has been an ambassador for years, but in a relatively short period of time Tudor has established relationships in pro sailing (Alinghi Red Bull), rugby (the All Blacks), cycling (the Tudor team was actually founded back in 2018), and F1 racing. Over time, these partnerships have produced watches, and today we get the latest example, a Black Bay Ceramic with a blue dial made for the Visa Cash App RB Formula One team.

The Black Bay Ceramic is one of the most under the radar Black Bays in the collection. It’s the only modern Tudor sports watch in ceramic, and up until today was available only with a black dial that complements its black ceramic case. It’s perhaps most notable though as the answer to a trivia question: what is the first Tudor to have a movement with METAS certification? When this watch was released and it was the only one in the collection with this designation, it was a truly odd thing. Tudor has since filled out their METAS line a bit, so it’s no surprise that the new Black Bay Ceramic Blue is also METAS certified. 

To match the Visa Cash App team’s livery, the watch has been produced with a bright blue dial. Eagle eyed F1 fans have already spotted the watch on the wrists of team members, so it’s not a complete surprise to see it here. It obviously gives a very different impression than the previous black version and offers a lot more contrast, both between the dial and the case and on the dial itself, which is accented with crisp white accents at the outer minute track, hands, and hour markers. 

In terms of specs, this is still a Black Bay through and through. It’s the classic 41mm size, has 200 meters of water resistance, and of course the METAS certified Calibre MT5602-1U movement keeps time to chronometer grade and is also resistant to magnetism. It’s worth pondering, though, why a dive watch has been selected for an F1 team. Tudor’s reasoning is that the ceramic material used for the case is technologically advanced in a way that is comparable to the tech advancements necessary to compete in F1. Ceramic watches are inherently, I think, imbued with a contemporary sensibility simply because of the nature of the material, so there’s some logic to this. 

The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic Blue is available now. The retail price is $5,150. Tudor