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Design Deepdive: Tudor “Transglobe” Black Bay Pro and the missing link in the Explorer II lineup
Tudor has been releasing watches that borrow heavily from Rolex's iconic designs. This trend gained momentum with the Black Bay 58, reminiscent of the early Submariner models worn by Sean Connery in James Bond films, and continued with the Black Bay Pro.
The modern Explorer II and the Black Bay Pro derive their design from two of Rolex's most adventurous tool watches: the GMT Master and the original Explorer II Ref. 1655. Both watches combine the GMT Master’s legible dial with the Explorer II's fixed steel bezel featuring 24-hour markings.
Initially, Tudor’s design choice seemed like a mismatch to me. Some might even call it a "franken-watch," but it actually has roots in a one-off custom Rolex Explorer II. In 1979, explorer Oliver Shepard requested a customized Explorer II for the Transglobe Expedition, the first surface-only circumnavigation of the Earth. Shepard preferred the GMT Master's dial and hands for their superior legibility during scientific observations but favored the Explorer's fixed bezel for its durability. Rolex obliged, creating a one-of-a-kind watch for Shepard and his team.
The current Explorer II model incorporates this same dial and bezel combination in a modern iteration, but Tudor recreates the watch almost exactly as Shepard ordered, down to the bezel design and overall measurements. I think it’s special that Tudor pulls an obscure one-off design and recreates it almost exactly in the form of the Black Bay Pro. This might be why Tudor named it the "Pro," since it was originally ordered by a professional explorer.
What do you think? Should Tudor continue on this path and recreate rare watches in Rolex's collections, or should they start creating original designs?
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Firebolt
New watch collector
Bay Area, CA, USA
Member since
Last active: 12 min ago
3
watches
in collection
6.50”
/
16.51 cm
So this is the dude we have to thank for the Explorer 2 in its current form. He was right, the 1655 dial was horrible as far as legibility us concerned...