Tudor Heritage Chronograph - a not so "mini" mini-review!

[andrema]

Ok, I have owned my new Tudor for over a week now and wanted to pass along my impressions of the watch. What better way than a "mini-review"!

First off…the Hunt!

Some of you may know that I have loved this watch ever since it made its debut at Basel in 2010. As any good WIS would do, I did my research on the watch. I read reviews (good and bad) and read anything that I could get my hands on regarding the watch, it’s design and its components.

Given the fact that there are no AD’s in the US, this was sort of a leap of faith since I could not get my hands on one to see it in person. I made the decision a month or so ago to get one, but I could not decide on which version to buy (grey dial or black dial). I finally decided to go with the more contemporary black dial. This was mostly because that I felt that it would have a better chance of standing the test of time as well as be a more versatile watch. So the search for a BNIB Heritage Chronograph with black dial began in earnest…

My next step was finding a reputable seller. I searched all of the usual sites, used the search tools (ebay, watchrecon & elitedealseeker) and followed up with inquiries regarding reputation and references. After 3 weeks I finally decided to go with DavidSW on the Rolex Forum. He had a great reputation, tons of references and most important of all the exact watch that I wanted at a price that I was comfortable with.

I paid on a Saturday night (2/19), it shipped next day on the following Monday (2/21) and arrived on Tuesday morning (2/22). My assistant brought it to my office and I immediately opened the box like a kid at Christmas ….before I knew it, I was off taking crappy pictures with my iPhone...I apologize in advance for the quality, but I am more of a quantity man!


Ok…back to the review…


Tudor Heritage Chronograph


Specifications:

Reference Number: 70330N

Stainless Steel Case
Satin-finished and polished case
Bidirectional Rotating Bezel
Water Resistance 150 meters (500 feet)
Black Dial with grey sub dials and chapter ring with orange numbers
Steel Bracelet and Fabric NATO Strap
Self-Winding ETA 2892-A2 movement with the Dubois-dépraz 2054 chronograph module
Screw-down pushers at 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock
45-minute totalizer at 9 o'clock
Small seconds hand at 3 o'clock
Date at 6 o'clock

Approximate Measurements:

Diameter– 42mm without crown, 45mm with crown
Lug to Lug Length – 50mm
Height – 14mm
Weight – 190g with bracelet, 98g with NATO

The Design:

It was inspired by the TUDOR Oysterdate Chronograph, going back to the early 70’s. There have been updates that make the watch contemporary looking and fresh. The watch has a diver feel, but isn’t technically a dive watch.




The Packaging:

The watch comes in a nice black lacquered wooden case, with nice fasteners and finishing. I have never really cared about the packaging, but I thought that I would throw in a few shots for those who like this kind of stuff.







The Case:

The finishing and fit of the case is very fine. The polished sides have crisp lines and a mirror finish. The brushed finish on the top of the case and lugs as well as the caseback is very refined and has a satin like appearance. The caseback is flat, with simple markings. The shape of the caseback allows the watch to sit fairly flat on the wrist and is very comfortable to wear.

The crown and pushers have a cool knurled design. The crown has the Tudor shield logo inlaid on it and screws down with just a couple of turns. The pushers have black inlay as well as locking collars. The pusher functions are nice and firm when starting, stopping and resetting the chronograph.







The Bezel:

The bezel (60 clicks) is fairly thin, which makes the dial appear larger than the 42mm case size would suggest. It is glossy black on the top, with a silver 12 hour scale and the outer edge of the knurling etched into it to allow a very firm and secure grip while rotating. Most of my watches have a countdown bezel, so it will be pretty handy for travel to set a 2nd time zone with this bezel.

The one thing that I am slightly disappointed in is the action of the bezel. It aligns perfectly and the movement is smooth, but at the hour settings there isn’t a firm “click”. It isn’t a real big issue or problem (actually really minor), but I thought that I would mention it.







The Dial:

What else can I say…its perfect! The black dial has a satin finish, with applied indices. The dial has grey accents in the chronograph subdials as well as the chronograph second chapter ring. In addition, there are orange accents on the dial, with the second hand and the second indicators on the chapter ring.

This version, in my opinion, is the more contemporary of the two versions. It has a very strong wrist presence and has a vintage look…but not too vintage, if you know what I mean.





The Bracelet/NATO:

The three link solid steel bracelet is very nice and the fit/finish is excellent. The bracelet is 22mm at the lugs and it tapers down to 20mm at the clasp. The clasp is AWESOME…the Tudor shield logo design and function is one of the things that I actually like the most about the watch.

The bracelet is super comfortable (more than my Omegas)! I think this has to do with the shape of the links – They are slightly curved (concave) and flow very smoothly around the wrist. This combined with the flat (concave a little too) caseback make the watch a great every day wear!

The watch also comes with a cool black NATO with grey and orange stripes. There are a couple of neat features on this strap: The edges aren’t straight, they have a rippled look that gives it a little more character than your standard NATO and the strap has built-in spring bars to make the attachment to the case more secure.

The one thing that I see as a slight negative is the spacing on the case to the NATO. When it is on the wrist, the look from the side is a bit strange because of the spacing between the lugs is quite high. After wearing it for a while, it didn’t really bother me and was not a big deal.









A few comparison shots versus the Omega Planet Ocean 42mm…









My impressions of the watch…

I have to say that I am in love with this watch. I may have just found "the one"..

Something happened with this watch that NEVER happened to me before…my wife actually noticed it and gave me a compliment. Now that is saying something as she sees my watches and usually rolls her eyes. She actually said “I really like that watch” and didn’t even follow-up with a “is it new or when did you buy it”…that is how I know that she actually likes it. This was not just an occurrence with my wife, I had several people at work (all women) ask about it and say that it was very nice, beautiful and I got one “sexy”…

I summary…the watch is badass and I am SOOOO glad I bought it.

[porschefan]

Nice "mini" review Mark. I hope my next review will be as well written and as thoughtful as this one is. Maybe I should do one on the Oris... nah.
And I'm glad it's not exclusive to WM as you had originally said you were going to do, it needs to be shared with the world. I bet AT's review of your review will be as long or longer than this.

A+

[cali kid]

Simply wonderful and has got to be the best factory nato set up of all time! Not only is the strap just so much more than most nato's out in the wild it matches the watch just perfectly, they didnt build that watch and say we need to throw a nato in the set. That strap was made for the watch!!

[bodypeersur]

Awesome review Mark. I fell in love with that watch the first time I saw it! Your take on the watch only makes me want one even more. Alas......it ain't in the cards! LOL! I'm sure that will be a keeper!

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