I Found the One: Getting Serious with the Tudor Black Bay 54 "Lagoon Blue”

I have a controversial confession: when it comes to the hottest brothers in watchmaking (Rolex and Tudor, obviously), I don’t often get butterflies. They’re those good on paper, guys, but a little too perfect, if you will. I’m not looking for the girl-next-door or the football-star-prom-king. I like my watches a little rough around the edges – the bad boy or the tortured artist (think Laney Boggs pre-makeover in the ‘90s teen classic She’s All That).

That said, every now and then, a girl needs a little George Clooney or a little Jennifer Aniston in her rotation. Enter: the Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue”; the Tudor you can take home to Mom.

Tudor’s latest Black Bay is no summer fling – she’s a keeper. At a distance, she has enticingly supple stainless steel curves, from the mirror-polished unidirectional bezel to the five-link bracelet that hugs the wrist oh-so perfectly. She’s not too short, not too tall, with goldilocks proportions at 37mm.
 

Get a little closer and you’ll see that the Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue” is marriage material. She ticks all the boxes: iconic snowflake hands filled with Super-LumiNova, water resistance to 200 meters, and a manufacture caliber with a silicon balance spring and COSC certification.

Don’t tell Mom or Dad, but she’s got just enough flavor to keep things interesting. Stare deep into the eyes of the “Lagoon Blue” dial, and you’ll see more than just a pretty color. Under the domed sapphire crystal, you’ll find depth and intrigue in the sand-textured dial that’s reminiscent of blue skies, smooth sailing, and white sand beaches.
 

I think this romance is really going somewhere.

All try-hard metaphors aside (thanks for sticking with me, by the way), Tudor’s Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue” is an exceptional extension of an already-exceptional line. While technically a relatively young collection, first launched in 2012, the Black Bay somehow feels like it has been around forever. It just has that timeless, effortless feel.
 

This air of effortless timelessness is due, in part, to the iconic design features that comprise the diver, which are still present in this latest edition. However, the more traditional vibe of the Black Bay has also come from its historically more traditional color palette: black, bronze, olive green, a splash of burgundy, and, of course, dark blue – never “Lagoon Blue”…until now.
 

Since we’re making confessions here, I’ll just say it: blue can be (wildly) overused in watchmaking. So, when someone does it a bit differently, they’re doing it right, and Tudor nailed it.

This “Lagoon Blue” has me transported straight to The Beach (yes, the movie from the new millennium) and has me lost in the baby-blues of a young Leo DiCaprio and the clear blue waters of Thailand all over again.
 

On top of picking the perfect shade, Tudor doubles down on this new piece’s paradise island vibes with an unusual-for-the-brand dial texture that mimics the sand of said island’s beach.

Run, don’t walk – the Black Bay 54 “Lagoon Blue” is available today. Snatch her up while you can (she’s just $4,350). For more information, head over to Tudor’s website.