Tudor Makes It Official With The Black Bay Ceramic “Blue”

More than three years after the launch of the original Tudor Black Bay Ceramic, Tudor has announced a follow-up version that is less of a reveal and more of a release – as we’ve all seen this watch. It’s the new Black Bay Ceramic “Blue” (yes, those are brand quotes), and it’s the first production model born from Tudor’s relationship with the Visa Cash App Red Bull Formula 1 team (aka. VCARB), and it’s the same watch that the driver’s for that team have been wearing since Tudor became one of the team’s sponsor. Now you can wear it too.
From a direct product viewpoint, this is a pretty easy watch to digest. It’s a Tudor Black Bay Ceramic with a matte blue dial. It has the same anti-magnetic METAS Master Chronometer MT5602-U1 movement (specs below) from the standard model, the same 41 x 14.4mm matte black ceramic case, and even the same price ($5,150). What is changed here is the glowing blue domed dial, dark gunmetal-like coloring for the surrounds on the hands and markers, and some blue accents on the hybrid leather and rubber strap (and on the included fabric strap)
With the F1 season about halfway done—this weekend’s race at Silverstone for the British GP will be the 12th of 24 races this year—this seems a sensible time to finally drop the VCARBBB (lol). The VCARB team is currently sitting 6th in the Constructors Championship. Of the two team drivers and the Driver’s Championship, Yuki Tsunoda is currently in 10th, and Daniel Ricciardo is 13th overall.
Tudor originally launched this watch as a VCARB team exclusive back in March of this year, and there has been much speculation as to whether or not the model would be offered as part of the brand’s lineup (Tudor Black Bay Ceramic does not commonly create limited edition watches). Well, now we have our answer, and with no VCARB branding seemingly anywhere on the watch, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this watch will appeal both to fans of the Visa Cash App RB team and to those who have never even watched and Grand Prix (and aren’t going to start this weekend).
While I’d likely opt for a non-black strap option to warm up the tone of the ceramic case, I love the dial of this watch. The combo of the warm matte blue and the dark metal accents on the hands and markers make for a great-looking and rather punchy accent with the case coloring and the more shiny bezel finish. Along similar lines as the lack of team logos and text on the dial, I also like that Tudor preserved the relatively minimal dial text of the black dial BB Ceramic. The two-line look works well in blue, too.

While a bit less wild than the custom Chameleon models Tudor Black Bay Ceramic made for Tsunoda and Ricciardo to wear at the Miami Grand Prix, I think that with or without the VCARB connection, Tudor has a winner with the new Black Bay Ceramic “Blue” and with that bright blue dial, it’s certainly not a watch you’re going to confuse for any other Black Bay we’ve seen before.