Tudor expands its Black Bay Chronograph collection with a high-tech, motorsport-inspired limited edition, the Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 25". This model, reference M79377KN-0001, marks a significant intersection of Tudor's watchmaking prowess and its long-standing relationship with the world of competitive racing, specifically celebrating its partnership with the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team for the 2025 season. Limited to just 2,025 pieces, this watch is a nod to a specific year in the brand's evolving motorsport narrative.
Tudor's journey began in 1926, registered by Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex. Wilsdorf envisioned
Tudor as a brand offering the reliability and quality associated with Rolex, but at a more accessible price point. The Montres TUDOR SA company was officially formed in 1946. From the outset, robustness and dependability were core tenets, leading Tudor watches to be favored by adventurers and professionals operating in demanding environments, including military divers and, pertinent to this new release, participants in the high-octane world of motorsport.
Courtesy of Tudor
The connection between Tudor and racing isn't a recent development; it stretches back to the 1950s. The brand has supported competitors across various disciplines, from open road rallies to circuit racing and even desert endurance events. A notable historical example occurred in the late 1960s when Tudor sponsored a cutting-edge Porsche 906 competing in Japan, with the drivers sporting Tudor timepieces. This legacy underscores that Tudor watches were built not just for aesthetics, but for performance and reliability under pressure, qualities essential in motorsport where timing is critical.
The Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 25" directly celebrates Tudor's contemporary involvement in Formula One through its partnership with the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team. The watch's design elements are explicitly linked to the team's 2025 season car livery, creating a tangible connection between the timepiece and the race car. This synergy is further emphasized by the limited production run of 2,025 units, commemorating the year. The team's drivers, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, represent the current generation of performance drivers relying on precision timing, continuing the tradition seen decades ago with the Porsche 906 team.
At the heart of the "Carbon 25" is its advanced material choice: carbon fiber. The case, including the end-links connecting the strap, is crafted entirely from this lightweight yet strong composite material. This choice is deeply rooted in motorsport technology, where reducing weight is paramount for increasing speed and performance. The watch translates this engineering principle to the wrist, offering a comfortable and technologically advanced feel. The use of carbon fiber extends beyond mere practicality; it defines the watch's modern, technical appearance.
Courtesy of Tudor
The 42mm case structure itself has been redesigned, resulting in a profile that is notably thinner than its stainless steel Black Bay Chrono counterparts. This refinement enhances wearability while maintaining a substantial presence. The case features the characteristic bevelled lugs of the Black Bay line. Complementing the carbon case are screw-down pushers located at 2 and 4 o'clock, and a screw-down winding crown, all fashioned from titanium with a durable black PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) finish. The crown proudly displays the Tudor rose emblem in relief. The case back is also made from PVD-finished titanium, ensuring hypoallergenic contact with the skin and providing a surface for the individual limited edition number engraving, marking each piece as unique within the 2,025-unit series.
Water resistance is rated at a robust 200 meters (660 feet). This level of protection, often associated with dedicated dive watches, underscores the Black Bay Chrono's versatile and durable nature, stemming from the Black Bay family's aquatic heritage. It ensures the watch can handle much more than just splashes, suitable for swimming and various water activities, adding a layer of practical resilience beyond its racing inspiration. The screw-down crown and pushers are essential components in achieving this significant water resistance rating.
Integral to the watch's functionality and aesthetic is the fixed bezel. Like the case, it is crafted as a single piece of carbon fiber, seamlessly integrating with the main body. The bezel features a tachymetric scale, a crucial tool for any racing chronograph. This scale allows the wearer to measure average speed over a known distance, reinforcing the watch's motorsport credentials. The matte, patterned finish of the carbon fiber bezel provides a distinct visual contrast to the dial while maintaining the lightweight, high-tech theme.
The dial of the "Carbon 25" is designated "Racing white." It presents a clean, highly legible backdrop for the time and chronograph functions. The dial surface is domed, adding a subtle vintage-inspired dimensionality. Providing striking contrast against the white background are two recessed sub-dials rendered in black carbon fiber: a 45-minute chronograph counter positioned at 3 o'clock and a small seconds indicator at 9 o'clock. The use of carbon fiber for the sub-dials adds a unique textural element and visual depth, tying them directly to the case material. A practical date aperture is neatly integrated at the 6 o'clock position.
Courtesy of Tudor
Readability is further enhanced by the use of Tudor's signature "Snowflake" hands, a design hallmark first introduced in 1969 on the brand's dive watches and now adapted for the Black Bay Chrono. These angular hands are outlined in black to stand out against the white dial and are filled with Grade A Swiss Super-LumiNova®, a high-performance luminous material that ensures visibility in low-light conditions. The hour markers also feature this luminescent material, ensuring time can be easily read at a glance, day or night.
Protecting the intricate dial is a domed sapphire crystal. Sapphire is highly valued in watchmaking for its exceptional scratch resistance, second only to diamond. This ensures the watch face remains clear and unmarked through regular wear. The domed shape contributes to the watch's overall aesthetic, subtly distorting the dial edge for a vintage feel while offering excellent clarity.
The Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 25" is secured to the wrist by a unique hybrid strap. This strap combines black leather on the exterior with a comfortable rubber lining on the interior. The surface features an embossed "tire pattern," another direct nod to motorsport. A distinctive detail is the use of carbon fiber end-links where the strap meets the case, ensuring a seamless visual transition and contributing to the overall weight reduction strategy. Blue stitching along the edges of the strap adds a subtle flash of color, potentially echoing accent colors from the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls livery.
Powering this chronograph is the Manufacture Calibre MT5813. This self-winding mechanical movement is equipped with a bidirectional rotor system for efficient winding. Its functions include central hour, minute, and chronograph seconds hands, the 45-minute counter at 3 o'clock, small seconds at 9 o'clock, and an instantaneous date display at 6 o'clock with rapid adjustment capability. It also features a stop-seconds (hacking) function for precise time setting.
The MT5813 boasts impressive technical specifications that ensure high performance and reliability. It operates at a frequency of 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz) and offers a substantial power reserve of approximately 70 hours, allowing the watch to run for nearly three days without winding. A key feature is the non-magnetic silicon balance spring, which enhances accuracy and resistance to magnetic fields and temperature variations. The movement incorporates a column wheel mechanism and a vertical clutch system for smooth and precise chronograph operation – starting the chronograph hand without the noticeable jump sometimes seen in other designs.
Courtesy of Tudor
Precision is officially certified by the COSC (Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute), guaranteeing its performance within -4 to +6 seconds per day variation in various positions and temperatures. However, Tudor holds its assembled watches to an even stricter internal standard, requiring accuracy between -2 and +4 seconds per day. The movement's finishing includes an openworked tungsten monobloc rotor with satin-brushed and sand-blasted details, while the bridges and mainplate feature alternate sand-blasted, polished, and laser-decorated surfaces, visible should one have the opportunity to view the movement. The movement contains 41 jewels to minimize friction.
The quality of the "Carbon 25" is underpinned by Tudor's state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities. Since 2021, Tudor watches are assembled and rigorously tested at the brand's dedicated Manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland. This facility integrates traditional watchmaking skills with advanced production management and automated testing systems. It operates in close connection with the neighboring Kenissi Manufacture, founded in 2016, which focuses on movement production. This vertical integration allows Tudor to master the production of strategic components, including its high-performance Manufacture Calibres, ensuring consistent quality across its product lines.
The "Born To Dare" signature, adopted by Tudor in 2017, encapsulates the brand's spirit. It honors both its historical roots – providing robust watches for individuals undertaking extraordinary feats – and its present-day identity at the forefront of watchmaking innovation. This philosophy, inherited from Hans Wilsdorf's original vision, drives Tudor to create watches designed for demanding lifestyles and extreme conditions, making the partnership with a high-performance F1 team a natural fit.
Courtesy of Tudor
The limited nature of the Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 25" – only 2,025 examples worldwide – inherently makes it a sought-after piece for collectors and enthusiasts, particularly those with an interest in motorsport or advanced materials. The individual numbering on the case back further personalizes each watch. Its direct link to the 2025 Formula One season and the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team captures a specific moment in Tudor's ongoing racing saga.
Priced at $7,575, the Tudor Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 25" offers a unique combination of advanced carbon fiber construction, a COSC-certified Manufacture chronograph movement with
Breitling lineage, and a distinct design tied to Formula One. As a limited edition, prospective buyers should anticipate potential scarcity through authorized Tudor retailers. Availability will be limited by the production run of 2,025 pieces globally.
Case: 42mm redesigned carbon fibre case, 14.3mm thick with 22mm lug width. Features a fixed carbon fibre bezel with tachymetric scale, domed sapphire crystal, PVD-finished titanium screw-down crown and pushers, and PVD-finished titanium case back. Waterproof to 200m (660 ft).
Movement: Manufacture Calibre MT5813 (COSC certified). Self-winding mechanical chronograph with bidirectional rotor system, column wheel, and vertical clutch. Features approximately 70-hour power reserve, silicon balance spring, 41 jewels, and operates at 28,800 beats/hour (4 Hz).
Dial: Domed "Racing white" dial with contrasting black carbon fibre sub-counters (45-minute counter at 3 o'clock, small seconds at 9 o'clock). Features date window at 6 o'clock and black outlined "Snowflake" hands with Grade A Swiss Super-LumiNova®.
Strap: Hybrid black leather-rubber strap with "tire pattern" texture and carbon fibre end-links. Features blue stitching.
Price: $7,575
Reference Number: m79377kn-0001
Notes: Limited edition of 2,025 pieces paying homage to the 2025 Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team partnership. Notable for its extensive use of carbon fibre (case, bezel, sub-dials, end-links) and redesigned, thinner case profile compared to steel models. Features a 5-year transferable guarantee.