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My new 2021 Black Bay Chrono (Panda dial)

  1. R3D9 Apr 9, 2021

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    I got the call from my AD yesterday to buy one of the new Black Bay chronos.

    First impressions are fantastic. The dial is a beautiful eggshell colour and appears nearly flawless under a loupe.

    I was able to choose between either dial config and would have been happy with either. I ultimately went panda because I’ve never owned a panda dial before.

    One thing to note for those debating between the two options... the legibility of the reverse panda is definitely better than the panda. The silver hands / white lume can disappear sometimes on the panda dial... similar to the Mitsukoshi Speedy.

    In terms of case size, this watch wears large and I’d say is at the very edge of what I find comfortable in terms of size. That impression primarily comes from the tall lug-to-lug of 50mm.

    That said, the slab sides are less tall and more in proportion than the original BB chrono and the watch feels nicely balanced on-wrist.

    31A56B7B-BABC-44D0-AD9E-FB0B4D4DE16D.jpeg 1A4DFB96-632E-4C69-AD54-11A02600EBF4.jpeg
     
  2. rafabond Apr 11, 2021

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    Congratulations, I also had the two models in hand and without hesitation I chose white, that look of the classic Daytona and Tudor from the 80s I loved. good choice! here are some pictures of mine

    146C6A88-3548-4BD1-BFDE-07AFD42DD4F0.jpeg 8AF0DDBC-436D-485F-B951-8AB98F532C8B.jpeg 7AF322D5-D3D8-43CF-BAF7-E19109F86411.jpeg 58A235A6-C721-47FA-8170-3B1FD765E632.jpeg 418E5468-B207-4A8E-A1B1-6E2DE07F389D.jpeg BC104921-1599-4F67-828D-0382A9934407.jpeg
     
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  3. Amg786s Apr 11, 2021

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    Great pics so far guys. Hoping to bag a panda soon. What are your wrist sizes? I did own a BB red smiley, and at times found the slab sidedness of the case, especially the lower edge a tad uncomfortable, so i'd be interested in hearing how these feel on wrist. Cheers, Al.
     
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  4. amcclell Apr 11, 2021

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    I love the look of both but the white has the edge with me.
     
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  5. jaegodylan Apr 11, 2021

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    The looks amazing guys.. congrats.
     
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  6. CPRwatch Apr 11, 2021

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    Congratulations , its a great looking watch & looking forward to seeing both the Black & White at my Local AD next weekend .
     
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  7. w@tcher Apr 11, 2021

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    Great choice!
    I would like to know how this model wears on a 16-17cm wrist...

    :unsure:
     
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  8. R3D9 Apr 11, 2021

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    Thanks Al,

    My wrist is 7.25” and below is a pic of the watch on my wrist. The majority of my collection is composed of 47mm lug-to-lug and below watches, so the panda at 50mm took a minute to adjust to, but it is very well balanced on-wrist and now I can’t imagine taking it off ;)

    It’s been a while since I wore one of the ETA BB’s, but this one feels less slab-sided than the BB’s, from what I remember. It also feels a bit more in proportion, I think.

    0C014CB3-480E-44FA-83EB-EA307E4CC05B.jpeg
     
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  9. R3D9 Apr 11, 2021

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    So far it hasn’t been an issue, but I’m sure there will be a few small windows during the day where it could be an issue (specifically where one of the subdial’s hand and indices are covered completely by the snowflake hand).

    I don’t believe it will be an issue for me, but I’m admittedly biased as I absolutely love a snowflake hand, so I’m willing to put up with an occasional minor inconvenience :)

    Plus, the watch is so darned good looking ;)
     
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  10. R3D9 Apr 11, 2021

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    I’m told the case is essentially the same dimensions as the steel & gold model that came out last year (which was said at the time to have been slimmed down). If you have a look at one of the reviews by Tim Mosso at WatchBox, I believe his wrist is in that range.

    The biggest issue for you might be the 50mm lug-to-lug, but it really depends upon the shape of your wrist... is it flatter or more oval shaped...

    I’d imagine most AD’s will have the S&G model in stock, so visiting your local AD and trying on that model might be a good idea.
     
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  11. w@tcher Apr 11, 2021

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    Really thanks for your feedback!
    It looks fantastic and wish you to join it in good health!
     
  12. abrod520 Apr 11, 2021

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    How about operation of the pushers on-wrist - are the screw-downs easy to use, or would you have to take the watch off in order to unscrew them / screw them back in?

    I'm not a fan at all of screw-down pushers - I recently bought one of the Unimatic Apollo-Soyuz chronos, and as much as I like it overall those pushers are so impossible to use I'm going to have to move it on.
     
  13. Speede Apr 15, 2021

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    I like these in both versions but the panda wins for me. I would like to see them in person at some point.
     
  14. Jfumia Apr 16, 2021

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    Love mine as well. Comfortable on my 6.5" wrist
     
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  15. chanbar Apr 16, 2021

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    Love to see another wrist shot. I’m just worried the 50mm is too tall for my 6.25” wrist
     
  16. R3D9 Apr 17, 2021

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    Here’s another pic of the watch on my 7.25” wrist plus a bonus shot of it on a B&S strap.

    E8DDCB57-E069-47E1-9C17-D1BBF14EB01A.jpeg 84F899AF-46C4-4FB5-A10B-76CA49003BA8.jpeg
     
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  17. Linesiders Stripers, not snook. Apr 26, 2021

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    Great pickup! I checked these out last week and was very impressed by the Panda.
     
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  18. watchdanny Apr 26, 2021

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    congrats, this is an awesome piece
     
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  19. Bran8 Apr 26, 2021

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    White dial with brown leather straps looks fantastic.
    These are incredibly popular here in Singapore. I visited the AD this past weekend to see if I could try one on but they had no display models and a waiting list already.
     
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  20. Fabrice M May 26, 2021

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    Great choice. I actually prefer it over the Daytona.