Tudor
Heritage Black Bay Burgundy
79220R
The burgundy-crowned diver that launched a modern Tudor renaissance.
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Overview
The Tudor Heritage Black Bay Burgundy, reference 79220R, is a 41 mm stainless steel sport watch that drew directly on Tudor's storied diving heritage while introducing a distinctly contemporary character. Its defining feature — a deep burgundy bezel insert — set it apart from the broader Black Bay family and quickly made it the most visually distinctive entry in the inaugural lineup. Paired with a crisp black dial, the combination struck a balance between vintage warmth and legible, purposeful design.
History
The Heritage Black Bay line debuted at Baselworld 2012, representing Tudor's most deliberate effort to reconnect with the dive-watch roots established by its reference 7922 and subsequent models of the 1950s and 1960s. The 79220R was among the first references released, and its burgundy bezel — echoing the colour of early Tudor dive bezels — gave the relaunch an immediate identity. Powered by the ETA Calibre 2824, a robust and widely serviced automatic movement, the watch offered reliable daily performance during its production run through approximately 2016. Collectors regard the 79220R as a historically significant piece: the model that signalled Tudor's return as a serious, independently minded manufacture.
Notable points
- The burgundy aluminium bezel insert directly references the coloured bezels found on vintage Tudor dive watches of the mid-twentieth century.
- At 41 mm in stainless steel, the case size struck a deliberate middle ground — substantial enough for modern wrists yet faithful to the proportions of its historical inspirations.
- The ETA Calibre 2824 movement, while sourced rather than in-house, was chosen for its proven reliability and broad serviceability worldwide.
- The black dial features a distinctive "snowflake" hour hand and applied gilt-edged indices, both hallmarks borrowed from Tudor's vintage tool-watch catalogue.
- Production of the 79220R ran only until around 2016, giving it a relatively short market life and cementing its status as the founding chapter of the Black Bay story.
Specifications
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