I got mine about 3 years ago as a retirement gift to myself. It immediately became, and still is, my favorite watch. I agree with all your criticisms, but nevertheless, it's still my favorite. I have about 40 watches from Vostok to Ball to Meistersinger.. I sold my old Rolex to get a vintage Doxa. This ultimately replaced the old Rolex which wasn't very legible anyway. Size, legibility and simplicity makes this my "Gem" even with the various "shortcomings" you mentioned. Thanks for a great and enthusiastic review. I love this watch too.
I think these post sums up the joy of watch ownership for me. The Tudor BB36 has some shortcomings and may not be great value for money, when compared to say a Sinn 556 for instance, but it has an undefinable quality that clearly speaks to you and, I must admit, to me too. A watch that you fall in love with should be everyone’s ultimate goal.
The older black dial ETA BB36 was my first nice watch. Bought it for myself when I graduated college with some money I managed to stow away working for a hiking outfitter in town. Absolutely love it to death. I will never get rid of it. Classic styling, understated, and just reliable. You can just throw it on and not worry about it. Shocked the 36 doesn't get more love. Great review Nick.
I’d much rather buy this than an Explorer. It’s a fraction of the cost for similar quality, an easier to service movement and a better dial in my opinion. If i was going to spend $7k+ on a watch, it wouldn’t be simple time only watch like an Explorer. I’d much rather buy a BB36 and an Omega Speedmaster Moon watch for about the same as an Explorer.
This is the exact tudor model I've been interested in for quite some time now. To say I was excited when I saw you post "a minute with the tudor 36" is an understatement. I love that blue dial and i have absolutely no problem with this watch using a Sellita sw200. Such a gorgeous watch.
I know you touched on Monta briefly, but curious which Monta you would compare this to. The Triumph? Although only about half the price, I think the Sinn 556 is also a comp.
I actually love the look of this Tudor which is a rare, but beautiful thing. At 66 years now I look at this watch as something that could take me back to being a one watch guy like in my college days. I mean perhaps add a G-Shock and I'd be good to go. I still enjoy looking at watches, but the buying part has changed and that fact is not an ugly or beautiful thing. It is what it is. I really enjoyed the review, Nick. You covered everything I would need to know.Take care, everyone.
Most practical review for the Black bay 36. As some reviewer hate the look of the links with screw, here we can see the benefit of this screw type which can make adjusting wrist size so much easier.
Love wearing my BB36…My sinn 556 has taken a back seat as of late. I’m 6’2 and 7.75ish wrist size and I love this size! It’s easy (very easy) to read in all lighting. Also I read somewhere that 20mm straps fit it very nicely though I haven’t tried. Anybody else tried 20mm strap on the BB36?
The bracelet's shortcomings are the main reason I haven't pulled the trigger on one yet, even though I've been interested in the watch ever since Baselworld 2016. The bracelet on my GS doesn't have any micro-adjustment holes but it comes with half-links that are actually 0.65-links. It's a simple implementation but allows for pretty much perfect sizing thanks to the permutations they allow.
I have the BB36 in silver and I love it so much that I ordered the black one. I have 7.5" wrists so I had to order 2 links from my AD and it fits and looks beautiful on my wrist. This watch should not be compared to an Explorer, maybe an OP though. This is a damn good watch that's extremely well made and I personally like it better than the Aqua Terra. As as far as ranking goes this watch is a solid third place behind the Rolex and Aqua Terra.
Yeah, I have 7 inch wrists. I have one microadjust position left in the bracelet. I do wish the bracelet were a link or two longer, but that aside, it’s a great watch.
It appears to have the exact same white gold hour plots that are on the Submariner dial. Also, your "tell" for the fact that you purchased the watch is the way you handle the watch at the very beginning of your review. There is a noticeable difference between your "this is on loan" to "I own this one". Thanks Nick.
Nick Trying to figure out why you don’t see there’s 3 more links you can remove on the other side of the bracelet. Meaning on the 12 o’clock side. I can see the screw links. I sold my black version of this piece about 2 years ago when I got my Explorer One. Hope this helps you with the fit.
Another great review, I've recently gotten rid of any watches over 39mm and I find not only do the smaller watches wear better and draw less unwanted attention but they also don't seemed to get banged up as much because they aren't sticking out as far from my wrist as the larger ones did. Tudor, Rolex and Omega also need to get rid of the whole 19mm lug width. The older Explorer 36 had a 20mm lug with why on earth does the new one have 19?
Nick, can you do a video on how to buy a watch from an authorized dealer? Discuss approaches and techniques on working on prices and getting a good comfortable deal.✌🏽👍🏽
Hi Nick. What's your opinion on the Tudor Royal day/date? Particularly as a readily available cost effective substitute for the Rolex day/date. Integrated bracelet and non-cosc certified sellita movements are negatives for some i'm sure. However the cost is a bit more palatable than some of the other offerings and the dial is refreshingly clean. Thanks for everything you do!
I just bought a 41mm one, 7 inch wrist. Great, forget rolex explorer 2, I think its better. Ps, use a pin at the clasp to remove the half link on one side
Is there something up with how this video was uploaded? It only shows up on the gems playlist and not on the main uploads page, and 36 views in 5 hours seems quite low for this channel.
Nick, you missed the absolute Rolex comparison. It isn't the explorer I (tho that is good), it's the Oyster Perpetual 36mm. In-house movement with better anti-mag and power reserve, same dimensions, bracelet with 5mm quick adjust, and even comes in a nice sunburst blue. You know. Its that one i post on the patreon discord all the time (become a patreon, join us, get into watches). But yeah. You can't buy one. So who cares.
Yeah, I really wanted this bad boy, but the lack of bracelet adjustment and the accuracy turned me off. Got a blue Rolex OP34 instead ... anyway, I still want this one lol. Nice review.
I have the BB 41 with the in house movement and is a great watch, the fit and finish is very good, and like this watch is simple and quite nice. However the only issue with the 41 for me is that is a little bit thick, due to the in house movement. The clasp and bracelet are almost identical than bb36, but as the lug to lug is bigger, the fine adjustment is more easy to obtain. My last watch is a new OP 36, quite similar to this (is the Rolex version of the same minimalist concept) and is the most comfortable watch that I have ever had. I understand the reason why nick finally got the watch.
Anyone know what size of screwdriver I need to use on a Tudor Black Bay 36 bracelet screws? Do I really need to remove the bracelet from the watch before I heat up to soften the loctite? Is it best to use a hollow ground screwdriver head? Many thanks in advance
Absolutely hate the way the crown appears to stick out and the snowflake hour hand on this watch and cannot figure out why Tudor/Rolex chose to fit them. It is very annoying as otherwise it is a great watch and I would have purchased one.
G'day Nick, glad you like it, personally I think you need a "fuggly" category, lol, i.e. dots, dashes, triangles and snowflakes all on the one face. A few good features, but man, a svelte unit with a elongated and virtually non adjustable clasp just doesn't make any sense to me. Cheers Duke. P.S. and 19 mil, wtf !!!!
Nick always says to never get into watches, and yet here I am after nearly 2 years with just one watch while I still learn and keep up with the watch world. What one man can do, another man can do.
The one thing they botched with the black bays is the minute hand, it's too long and goes over the minute markers instead of pointing at them. I can't unsee that now.
Agree. Do we need to send these guys to handset design class? And while we’re indulging our OCD, I’d like the thickness of the hour hand and markers to chill just slightly, without losing the bold in-your-face legibility.
Too blingy and not special enough for me. I went for a Hamilton W10 reissue (whatever the name is). Little 36mm field watch. Classic. Understated. Cool. 80hr power reserve. As watches go though I like this black bay.
Very nice!! I have the Tudor blackbay 41 with blue bezel! Which is pretty much the same but has in house movement with 72hr power reserve and it has the best bezel I’ve ever twisted lol 😂
I have a BB58. I had a BB36. I also have a Seiko baby Alpinist. I love my BB38 but when comparing the BB36 to the baby Alpinist, the Alpi wins hands down.
@@brett2396 it's a better spec'd watch for a 5th of the price. 70 hour power reserve with an in house movement. Domed saphire crystal with real AR coating. 200mm water resistance with screw down crown. The only thing the BB36 has on the baby Alpinist is the bracelet and that's it.
@@flip97gt fair points. The Tudor also has brand and overall quality over the Seiko though. I also prefer the dial and the thickness is a good amount less.
@@brett2396 Don't sell Seiko short. It can compete head to head with Tudor with their Grand Seiko line and can still potentially out innovate Tudor with their spring drive models. Also, they make watches that can adorn the wrists from anyone on a budget to those who own a business. My fourteen year old daughter wears my old Seiko SNK381. I let her borrow it to wear instead of her apple watch for our trip out west to ZION, MOAB and Telluride. I never got it back. She wears it all the time and is looking to sell her Apple watch. She loves her little 100.00 watch and does not get excited about the BB36. I vaguely offered to buy her one. As far as the BB36 goes, I have two Alpinists. One with the compass bezel and the baby Alpinist without the compass bezel. I just feel the the baby Alpinist is a better watch. If Tudor put a COSC certified movement in it like what they have in the BB58, put decent AR coating on the glass and didn't raise the price, I'd reconsider it. I just think it's overpriced for what it is. For 700.00 more, you can get a BB58 with all the bells and whistles. For 2,400.00 less, you can get a baby Aplinist that is a way better tool watch for the money. Plus, the Alpi is a strap monster with it's 20mm lugs. Just my opinion after directly comparing these watches. wornandwound.com/first-look-seiko-expands-their-alpinist-line-with-a-new-smaller-model/
@@flip97gt yeah Grand Seiko and Seiko are two different things. I’m not counting Seiko out, I understand their place in the watch world. Still, the Alpinist is a field watch and the BB36 is a luxury dressy field watch. Two different things. I do feel the BB36 is overpriced in the watch world but for a Rolex/Tudor watch it’s actually pretty cheap.
On the fence for the reasons mentioned. Although I feel like if they added an inhouse movement the cost would go up, but then you're in sub territory. Also they got lazy with the markers and used the same as the larger variants so the minute marker is too long imo.. probably will still buy to scratch my explorer itch 😊
Nick here is right watch makers should manufacture a classic size watch 40/39/3837/36 all watches now are like wall clock wearing a suit and big watch is ugly not classy
Nice watch but a bit on the expensive side for a selita based one, i get it you pay for the brand too but i own a 36mm Mondaine watch with a ETA day date movement in it and i payed less than 400 bucks for it new. Ok it had been sitting in the shop a while but stil.
Agreed. I own 2 cwards and after owning them for some time i dont think i could justify paying something 3-4 times the price for a slight bump in quality
What happened is this: Tudor made a watch that looks better than Rolex. And Rolex said to his minion Tudor: You can’t do this! You can’t make poor man’s Rolex that looks better than an actual Rolex! Make it uglier! So Tudor went back to drawing board and came up with a weird stem at the crown to ruin the watch. And Rolex was happy with that and released the watch.
Not a sub-par movement, however, a watch with this movement shouldn’t be more than $2k new. I really like the BB36, but in my opinion, it really is overpriced for what it is.
@@firesideco my original comments about being another old man watch said it in fewer words! There is absolutely nothing exciting or extraordinary about this watch. Are you an old midget? That's who wears watchs like this!
