A positive case for the new Tudor BBGMT

The Father

Let see now, 3950 Euros will be $4600 USD. What is the VAT tax rate? Bless the sales tax free internet sales in most cases. Still have one on order at $3800. Will see if it materializes. 1-3 month wait. Hell, I don’t care if the date runs backwards as long as time is correct.

blubarb

I had my eye on this from its first reveal at Basel 2018. To say the least, I was very excited to have it finally arrive. There was a small hiccup in the shipping, but all was good after a few days.


What drew my attention to this watch were three details that jumped out at me:

1. the hefty BB case
2. The GMT complication
3. the lovely subdued, desaturated pepsi matte bezel.

Dial - Basically the indices are a slimmer version of the Black Bay indices - except for the triangle 12 o’ clock and stick indices at 6 and 9 o’clock. Overall the watch has a more modern feel as opposed the Arabic indicators on other iterations of the Black Bay releases. The Matte black dial with it’s deep texture is intended to absorb the light and in doing so creates a strong contrast between dial, hands and indices. The bright red “Snowflake” GMT hand against the black matte-dial is visually vibrant and jumps from the dial. In regards to the dial writing the 200m has been dropped in favour of GMT. Though it doesn’t state it, the BBGMT is still rated for 200 meters. The script “OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED” is still there to prove it’s still a chronometer. All in all, Legibility is excellent.

Case - The BBGMT has a 41mm x 14.6mm (50mm lug to lug ) case size and with some engineering design have been able to add the GMT complication without making the case thicker. The case has polished sides and a satin-brushed top. It has the iconic BB big Crown, without crown guards which I prefer, throws the BBGMT into the vintage class. Something different is that the crown tube, is now a polished crown tube. The “box” crystal adds to the thickness in measurement but not so visually. Those uncertain about a thick case then consider the new BB58.

Bezel - The bezel is a 48 click aluminium bidirectional bezel and the colour is more burgundy and navy blue as others have stated elsewhere, I might add that the insert is a matte finish. The defused colours give the watch an older feel. Personally, I like the more subdued colours. I feel as I can wear with a suit or with a T-shirt. It takes a little effort to rotate the bezel, but has very but this is a positive in my opinion as it helps to prevent accidental rotation

Lume - The lume is, as you would expect, superb. Luminosity is above average. The lume, being charged by being out in the sun, is still pouring along two hours on. The luminescent to the tip of the diamond shape, which definitely aids in legibility.

Bracelet - The bracelet the BBGMT arrived with is a rivet fitted oyster bracelet that tre,=minds me f the mid 1960s Zodiac dive bracelets. Tudor could have easily added a jubilee bracelet, but I am glad they didn’t. I think the extra bling would detract from this very real tool watch. I get it for vintage watches, but for me the Jubilee is out of place on the newer watches of Tudor or Rolex.

Movement - The use of the Tudor manufactured MT5652 COSC-certified movement with the featured GMT complication is major move and takes Tudor to another level. Another impressive gain is the 70-hour power reserve, despite a GMT complication and a jumping hour hand and date wheel. Like most modern GMT watches, the quickset date has been exchanged for the independent jumping hour hand. This bands you can change the date backwards or forwards. This example I have, the date snaps over at one minute after midnight. I might also point out that on the timegrapher the resultant output is:

Rate: +001

Beat Eror: 0.0 ms

Amp: 272

On the wrist: This wears exactly as I expected it to wear, a nice hefty feel and a case that sits nicely on my 7½ inch wrist - Just as I prefer the heft and thickness of the SD over the sub, I prefer the same with the BBGMT. The watch doesn’t overhang the wrist (like my 45mm Bulova moon watch or old 45.5 PO) and it doesn’t sit too small. It has the look of an aesthetic that is painted from the past but with a thoroughly contemporary at the same time. Tudor have been generous with the number of links in the bracelet and, unusual for me, I had to immediately remove two links to get the fit correct. It feels suitably heavy, and for me, perfectly sized. This one is easy to wear all day and as my superstitious want, I will have to wear it for the next 24 hours, but that will be easy. The only one thing I would have asked for, would have been a holes case - so much easier to strap/bracelet change.

So, all in all, am I happy with this purchase? Absolutely.

👍

Jerseyhammer

Personally I think the GMT is a great looking and priced watch and I’m on the list for one with my AD, but I’m hearing there maybe a problem with date setting ?

rafabond

At the beginning of having my Tudor GMT, the same thing happened with the date, I jumped two days and it did not change at 12 o'clock at night, I did it later. I took him to the official service and in 15 days I had him in my house in perfect conditions. they followed the protocol they were dictated from Switzerland and no problem at the moment.

dwboston

A nontrivial number of watches released to the public with a defect that should have been caught during pre-release testing? It's as good an explanation as any, unless the real explanation is that the quality control for Tudor is lacking/less rigorous due to the more "affordable" pricing.

GBTRIUMPH

Some (all?) of us on this forum and other forums have had an issue where the date advances 1.5 days leaving the window updated half way to the next date.

Andy K

No, not all. I have had mine since July and I have worn it daily and the date changes correctly. So far anyway...

bags1971

picked one up yesterday date changes just fine

GBTRIUMPH

Some (all?) of us on this forum and other forums have had an issue where the date advances 1.5 days leaving the window updated half way to the next date. This is also happening to the ROLEX DD40 and the date complication which was supposedly (I read it in an article) integrated into the MT5602 to become the MT5612 (Pelagos with date) and this MT5652 came from ROLEX. Some people are claiming this flaw only occurred in a "batch" but if that's the case, the batch was distributed worldwide as the problem is reported all over the world. Rolex Warranty HQ sent out "kits" (presumably including parts, see other posts on this issue) to all of its repair facilities worldwide. Weeks prior to that shipment, Tudor stopped all shipments to every dealer. So they knew they had a big problem, not just a "batch" that got tainted.
I have not received word on my repair yet, but I took it in on the date in the picture, August 21, 2018. It has been 22 days. Stevec14 posted on the Rolex forum yesterday (9-11-18) that his came back repaired already and he sent his in after mine. But he doesn't live in my part of the country...so realists should vary.

To quote Stevec14: "Well, mine is back. A week and a half or so. Good service. The service receipt is a bit cryptic. Just says movement correction and additional components.
No explanation as to the issue was forthcoming. Pleased to have it back though."

So the "kit" did include parts.
Has anyone purchased a new one that just arrived at their dealer?

bags1971

picked one up yesterday date changes just fine

Jerseyhammer

That’s great info and ties up with the vagueness of my AD who still says he’s waiting for deliveries etc..hmmmm

The Father

damn that is a good lookin watch

Where did you pick it up at?

amiriqbal

Had mine since mid July and all seems OK so far!
It's a lovely watch and gets a lot of wrist time as part of my rotation 😀