Last year was a good year, quite frankly all around. I had a kid, grew much closer to Mrs. RCS, got into wing shooting and fly fishing, and had a great year at work. The good year at work yielded a good bonus, and the momentus occasion of having my first child warranted commemorating the event.
I reached out to my friends at Crown and Caliber to ask if they had the Black Bay Heritage (similar) with a metal strap. There wasn’t one on the website, but I know they have a ton of watches in stock that simply haven’t hit the website (yet). I was in luck, as they had just gotten one in, and the price what right were I wanted it. Rachel told me that they still needed to inspect it and clean it, but would let me know when it was ready. I asked her if she wouldn’t mind taking pictures so that I could share the process here.
I’m not big on having original documentation (as a lot are), as I plan on wearing it forever, and eventually giving it to my son. I have no plans to sell this watch, but it did include the box and papers with it. Since I am buying this watch second hand, I do care about warranty, even with a ~20% discount off the retail price. Crown and Caliber offers a one year, no questions asked warranty on all of their watches. Ring it up.
About a week later, she called and let me know it was ready:
…but first, the ‘intake’ process.
And the watch:
I literally couldn’t be more happy with the Tudor. The price point is right were I wanted it, and the values of Tudors are on the rise. The watch is a bit heavier that I’m used to, but it is my first divers watch, so the extra heft is expected. I plan on wearing this in a few different fashions, so I bought a couple bands to give it a couple looks:
The Original Bond NATO | Tudor metal bracelet | Everest Rubber Strap
I wanted a NATO strap, as I’ve always been fascinated with the old Connery Bond look. The 22mm black/green/red look should be pretty cool, and the price was just right. It may make the watch more casual, but I don’t think it dresses it down.
I’ve been following Everest for a while, and was excited to pull the trigger on their rubber strap, which is specially fit for the Tudor Heritage line. The quality of this strap is incredible. It’s extremely soft, and keeps the diver watch look. I’m not a big leather strap on a diver watch guy, simply because of the principle. This Everest strap should get lots of wear when we are at the beach or on the water.
I’m really excited to get this into the rotation. What do you think?
Very nice, I have the same with the blue bezel on a bracelet. You’ve made a good choice with the Everest strap, also, very high quality. I will second your opinion of Crown and Caliber. I’ve purchased a Jaeger LeCoultre and Omega from them in the past year and was extremely pleased with my purchases.
That’s a sharp watch! Please post a pic of it with the Bond nato strap on it. Congrats on the great year!
This is great to see! I picked up a Tudor Black Bay with blue bezel Ref. 79220b at an estate sale over the summer. Box, books, paperwork, everything for surprisingly little. I prefer it’s matte dial and white applied markers over the gilt dial, but that is just my taste. Great pick up!
By the way, the second pic of a bracelet being polished is not your bracelet…different clasp and links.
omega band – looks like seamaster
I won the BB Blue in a reddit raffle awhile back. It seemed huge compared to my ’74 Top Time and even my BLNR GMT II but it has definitely grown on me. My only complaint is that the bracelet is damn near impossible to remove with a standard spring bar tool. I have the NATO and deployant strap and have to take it to a jeweler to replace. These are a great buy on the secondary market as I see them increasing in value due to the increased love for vintage Snowflakes.
Burgeon 6825 with the notched pins will get it, but it is a PITA to do. Taping off the lugs will help reduce scratches, but makes for an even tighter space to work. The factory Tudor “NATO” has captive pins and is damn near impossible to get fastened once the bracelet is off. That said, the non-Tudor NATO strap above will feed right through the lugs easily.
RCS,
Congrats on the new to you watch, Crowne & Caliber is an excellent site to buy used from!
I hope you do not ask your local Tudor/Rollie store for after the sales service…..I own a 1st gen Pelagus (1st or 2nd sold in my area) & the store I purchased from is “claiming” Tudor/Rollie won’t release or can’t supply parts to fix a popped of bezel (springs & a thin piece of metal)……
Bad taste in my mouth for something that happenes w/ watches that are worn & used daily…….
I’ve bought several Rolexes from Rolex Authorized Dealers and a very reputable 2nd hand dealer in Atlanta, and in the cases where I later needed service Rolex Service Centers have always been accommodating. However, Rolex does not sell individual parts to anyone other than Rolex Authorized Dealers. Should RCS have a significant issue down the road I suspect shipping it to Rolex/Tudor for a full service and repair (on his dime) will be simple enough.
This post was the tipping point for me. I’ve been eyeing an Omega Speedy “Tin-Tin” and went to check if Crown & Caliber had one. Yep and it’s on the way to DC.
Put that thing on a thick chocolate brown leather strap, son!
Hello colleagues, how is the whole thing,
and what you wish for to say about this post, in my view its truly amazing designed for me.
I wanted to to share my recent experience with you all about C&C. This year I celebrated my 40th birthday and racked my brain about what to do or get to celebrate. With a crazy work schedule for the Mrs. and I travel was off the table. After a lot of thinking I landed on getting a watch. I have been a watch guy for a long time and thought it would be the appropriate way to celebrate. Ass my company has offices in many time zones and I travel a lot to visit employees I wanted a travel timer. I ended up finding a Tudor BB GMT on C&C and started the process to buy that and trade in a watch as I am seriously considering going to a one watch collection. While I doubt that will happen the thought is nice.
The folks at C&C were amazing. The process was simple and my GMT was sent out and is in like new condition. I will recommend them to anyone looking to buy a watch.
JRS. you have some great watches. Enjoy them in good health.