BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
In the Only Watch introduction article, I explained that the purpose of the auction was for brands to donate one unique piece that would be sold at auction with the profits going to research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), one of the most common and most damaging types of muscular dystrophy around. Only Watch actually has a second function that’s brought on by the event’s uniqueness: it’s a great way to introduce the market to a new model.
One of the most notable (for me) examples of this was Breguet back in 2015, which made the Type XXI 3813 in platinum. It sold for CHF90,000. One year later, Breguet introduced the Type XXI 3817, the same watch with a different dial and a stainless steel case. Tudor also likes to do things like this with its watches, so the new Black Bay GMT One Master Chronometer could well be a sign of things to come from this wildcard brand.
The watch features an artificially-induced aged look. Whether this is to your taste or not, it’s certainly got your attention. The 41mm diameter stainless steel case, bezel and dial have all been given this treatment, but it’s the dial that’s particularly striking with its deep grey-coloured grain. You can also see on the dial are the words ‘Master Chronometer’.
These used only to be applied to Omegas, as they had the testing laboratory that METAS uses in their Bienne factory. Also, they were the only brand capable of making a movement that’s magnetically resistant to 15,000 Gauss (one of the requirements of the METAS certification, convenient that only Omega could manage that at the time).
This means extreme accuracy from the in-house made calibre MT5652 based on the calibre MT5602-1U that debuted in the Black Bay Ceramic we saw at the end of May. The MT5652 is the same movement but with a GMT hand and an aged appearance to match the rest of the watch.
The estimated auction price for this one is between CHF4000 and CHF8000, but knowing the hype surrounding Tudor watches will sell for a lot more. The estimated price at the last Only Watch for a Tudor was up to CHF5500, and that one sold for CHF350,000.
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