Feature: Rolex Submariner LB vs Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue

Two watches. Two incredibly similar watches. They share so much alike that they are almost one and the same, dive watches on bracelets accented with the colour blue. Yet, somehow, they couldn’t be more different. They are chalk and cheese, and each one very much has its place. Let’s find out why.

The Rolex Submariner 126619LB

Long has the classic diver been reigned over by Rolex. Since the genius idea to repurpose the 1950s Turn-O-Graph as a watch for underwater explorers—both amateur and professional—the Rolex Submariner has evolved with the times to keep pace with what people want from it.

The journey of that evolution may seem subtle, but for the purpose and meaning of the Submariner, it’s a marked difference. What used to be an affordable instrument—that was even available in an even cheaper variant for hobbyists—was forced to take on a new persona as the technology that powered it became outdated, had to grow as trends changed, and had to dress up as its new share of market advanced.

The Rolex Submariner, a watch for bashing against rocks and keeping you from dying, is now a piece of jewellery. That may sound like a bad thing, but it’s not, not really. If you pine for the Rolex of yesteryear, well—there wouldn’t be a Rolex of today if the Submariner didn’t look like this $40,000 126619LB.

So, what does it look like, and how does it compare to where it began? For starters, with a 41mm case size for the newest iteration, it’s a bigger watch than it’s ever been. Some subtle reprofiling does a good job of hiding that extra mass, but there’s no doubting this isn’t just a watch for you to see, but for others as well. The amount of surface area polished to a bright shine—the dial, the bezel, the crown guards, case sides and bracelet centre links—turn what was once a functional finish into a decorative one.

Also new for this iteration is the black dial. Previous blue-bezelled versions—an indication of the use of precious metal, in this case white gold—had a matching blue dial, a decision Rolex has chosen to reverse. A small difference on paper, but one that seems to do the watch a world of good. We’re venturing into the realms of opinion here, but the reinstatement of the black dial on coloured bezel versions of the Submariner does a lot to keep it on the right side of costume jewellery.

Add all this together and what you have is a watch that, when you wear it, makes you feel special. The heft of that white gold and the exclusivity of the blue combine with the light-catching shine to make wearing the LB a privileged experience. If the Submariner used to be something else, the fact that it’s like this now isn’t wrong, it’s just … different. In fact, I’m glad of it, in the same way I’m glad Porsche makes the 911 instead of tractors.

Ultimately, the Submariner has grown as we as a culture have grown. Perhaps it might seem that the golden age of discovery that willed the Submariner into existence has gone, but it hasn’t. As technology develops, the discoveries have simply become more precise, more focussed, and the Submariner reflects that changing tide. It is itself more precise, more focussed, more polished. Literally and figuratively.

As well as the use of luxurious materials like white gold and platinum, the LB also adds a roster of very modern technologies to its core specification. Sealed to 300m underwater, the spanking new calibre 3235 boasts -2/+2 second accuracy per day over 70 hours of run-time, well above chronometer rating. Fourteen new patents, including the skeletonised nickel-phosphorus Chronergy escapement that increases efficiency by 15 percent, demonstrate that this Rolex is very much a watch suited to its time.

But that doesn’t stop some of us wistfully reminiscing for those days gone by, wishing Rolex hadn’t moved on at all. Don’t worry—you haven’t been forgotten.

The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Blue

There’s something fundamental in the human psyche that seeks to simplify. In an era where information, interconnectivity and technology overwhelm us with more data than we can ever hope to understand, it’s to the simplest pleasures we often turn. With millions of songs available at the touch of a screen, some people still prefer to take a vinyl record from its sleeve and listen to it end-to-end. The pages of a book might not hold a library’s worth of literature, but it does offer something else even more valuable: tangible escapism.

Being disconnected matters more and more as we become overwhelmed by the pace and intensity of the modern world, and finding time to do so is becoming increasingly rare. It is hard to voluntarily disconnect yourself, but when you do, when you put down your phone and embrace what you can see and hear in your own world, a sense of ease prevails. There may be nearly 8 billion people on this planet, but when you do disconnect, it all disappears.

When the Rolex Submariner came out in 1953, people didn’t have this problem. People who wore a Submariner could enjoy the peace and isolation of a diving expedition free of the temptation to document it for Instagram. It was a moment just for that moment, to be recounted with friends you could see and share a drink with, not followers whose names you only know in code.

The Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue is a watch for people who want to find that sense again, who read paperbacks and listen to records. It is plain and simple, raw and unadorned. It’s a reminder that, once-upon-a-time, telling the time came without the burden of notifications. The aluminium bezel fades and scratches. The bracelet is visibly pinned together. It’s small and slim, a watch to be seen by you and you alone. It is ostensibly outdated—and that’s why we love it.

I could tell you the specifications of the in-house calibre MT5402, that it is chronometer certified and runs for 70 hours, but I’m willing to bet that the people who are drawn to this watch don’t really care. They’re not into nickel-phosphorus doo-dads and percentages of efficiency. If anything, they probably like to reset their watch every now and then as a chance to escape from the world and focus on something simple.

And talking of simple, the Black Bay 58 does away with another part of modern living: expense. This watch offers everything and more found in a Rolex Submariner of yesteryear—including the price. At ten percent the cost of the white gold LB, it can be appreciated as a watch and not an asset. Remember when you could just buy a watch and enjoy it, not having to keep track of residuals?

When it comes to the watch industry—and indeed the modern world at large—we keep hearing the same word over and over: revolution. In fact, that word itself has evolved into a new one: disruption. But tell me this: who actually likes being disrupted? Since when was disruption a pleasant thing? What we see here with the Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue is the complete opposite. Devolution. A return to calm. A moment of peace.

I’d love to know what you think about these two watches. I see them in such different lights these days that I find it hard to categorise them as the same thing. Yes, they are both dive watches, on bracelets, accented with the colour blue, but what they say and do and who they’re for seem, to me at least, to be so incredibly different.

So tell me who you are and how you see these luxury watches, whether you agree with me or think I couldn’t be further from the truth. And then, once you’ve done that, turn off your devices for a bit and take some time to be in the moment. You’ll thank me for it.

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