BLACK BAY CHRONO "CARBON 26"
For the 2026 season, TUDOR is starting in pole position with the Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 26". Last year, TUDOR released the Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 25" inspired by the distinct livery of the 2025 Visa Cash App Racing Bulls car, VCARB 02. The watch marked a moment in TUDOR’s long history of going wheel-to-wheel with racing teams, starting with the TUDOR Watches Racing Team in the 1960s.
Now, in 2026, TUDOR is back at it again with the Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 26", once again paying homage to the new car from the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team. The car has been tweaked for the new season—and so has the watch. It still retains its lightweight case rendered in carbon fibre and the column wheel Manufacture Chronograph Calibre, but what’s new is the hint of yellow found on the VCARB 03 that’s reflected in the design of the Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 26".
Motorsports are inherently dangerous. High-speed driving requires drivers to operate at the very edge of the performance—and safety—envelope. Time is at the centre of all forms of competitive driving. It’s what separates winners from losers. Champions are made and lost in fractions of a second. TUDOR knows a thing or two about how important time is to the best drivers in the world. Long ago in the late 1960s, when TUDOR was campaigning a cutting-edge Porsche 906 in Japan, the drivers wore TUDOR watches on their wrists. In 2026, TUDOR continues to keep racing drivers on time. Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad wear the Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 26".
The Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 26" continues the long tradition of TUDOR’s presence on the track as well as that of a TUDOR watch for each Formula 1 race season. This chronograph represents TUDOR’s relentless pursuit of mechanical performance. Carbon fibre is the ideal material for a racing chronograph because of its weight-saving advantages. Less weight equals more speed, and that speed can be accurately measured using Manufacture Calibre MT5813’s chronograph function in conjunction with the one-piece tachymetric bezel, which is also fashioned out of lightweight carbon fibre. Even the end-links that affix the hybrid strap to the case are rendered in carbon fibre—every little bit of weight shed counts. For a purely aesthetic touch, even the chronograph sub-counters as well as the date window surround are rendered in carbon fibre thanks to a layered dial construction, alternating brass discs and carbon fibre sheets.
The aesthetic accents of the Black Bay Chrono "Carbon 26" directly pay homage to the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team car, dubbed the VCARB 03. The striking yellow present on the engine cowling adorns the dial on the "Carbon 26", lending it a high-speed look. Only 2,026 examples of the Black Bay Chronograph "Carbon 26" will be made, each individually numbered on the case back, paying homage to yet another important year in TUDOR’s ever-evolving motorsport history.
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THE SPIRIT OF ASPHALT AND SEA
Remaining faithful to the Black Bay aesthetic, the Black Bay Chrono model has made the famous "Snowflake" hands – a brand signature for divers’ watches since the 1960s – its own, in a version honed to ensure optimum readability on its domed "racing white" dial with two hollowed black sub-counters. Inspired by the first generation of TUDOR chronographs, the dial layout includes a 45-minute counter and a date aperture positioned at 6 o'clock. The recognisable characteristics of the Black Bay line – bevelled lugs and TUDOR rose-signed crown – are preserved in a carbon fibre case with a 42mm diameter. Typical of the scrupulous attention to detail that is characteristic of the brand, the design of the titanium pushers has been inspired by the very first generation of TUDOR chronographs. A fixed bezel in carbon fibre with a tachymetric scale completes the look and function of these sporty chronographs.
THE MANUFACTURE CHRONOGRAPH CALIBRE MT5813
The Manufacture Chronograph Calibre MT5813, which powers the Black Bay Chrono model, displays hour, minute, second, chronograph and date functions. It has the finish typical of TUDOR Manufacture Calibres. Its rotor in tungsten monobloc is openwork and satin-brushed with sand-blasted details, and its bridges and mainplate have alternate sand-blasted and polished surfaces with laser decorations.
Boasting a 70-hour power reserve and a silicon balance spring, the Manufacture Chronograph Calibre MT5813 is certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), with its performance exceeding the standards set by this independent institute. In fact, where COSC allows an average variation in the daily rate of an uncased movement of between -4/+6 seconds’ variation per day, TUDOR applies a -2/+4 seconds’ variation standard on the completely assembled watch. A high-performance movement, it was crafted in the purest watchmaking tradition, with a column wheel mechanism and vertical clutch. In keeping with the TUDOR philosophy of quality, it presents extraordinary robustness and reliability, guaranteed by the array of extreme tests applied to all TUDOR products.
Derived from the Manufacture Chronograph Calibre B01 from Breitling, with a high-precision regulating organ developed by TUDOR and exclusive finishes, this movement is the result of a lasting collaboration between the two brands, which have chosen to pool their expertise in the design and production of certain mechanical movements.
THE ESSENCE OF BLACK BAY
Like other models in the Black Bay range, the Black Bay Chrono has adopted TUDOR's characteristic angular hands known as "Snowflake" that first appeared in the brand’s 1969 catalogue. The result of a subtle blend of traditional aesthetics and contemporary watchmaking, the Black Bay line is far from simply being an identical rerelease of a classic. Resolutely anchored in the present, it brings together over 70 years of TUDOR divers' watches. Whilst it is neo-vintage in conception, its manufacturing techniques and its robustness, reliability, durability and precision as well as the quality of its finish are above modern industry standards.
HALF A CENTURY OF TUDOR CHRONOGRAPHS
In 1970, TUDOR introduced its first chronograph, the Oysterdate. A watch that was both robust and functional, its unique design was characterised by its bright colours, its pentagonal hour markers shaped like a baseball home plate, its 45-minute counter and its date function at 6 o'clock. Immediately adopted by the world of motorsport, it paved the way for more than five decades of technical chronographs that TUDOR has never stopped improving.
THE TUDOR MANUFACTURE
Every TUDOR watch is assembled and fully tested to TUDOR’s superior standards at the new TUDOR Manufacture located in Le Locle, Switzerland. This new state-of-the-art facility, bringing together the know-how of watchmakers with the best in production management and automated testing systems, was completed in 2021 after three years of construction. All decked out in TUDOR red, the Manufacture spans over four levels totalling 5,500 square meters and is physically and visually connected to the neighbouring Kenissi Manufacture, the TUDOR movement production facility founded in 2016. With Kenissi and a network of TUDOR-owned affiliates, the brand has been able to integrate the development and production of high-performance mechanical calibres. As a consequence, TUDOR now fully masters the manufacturing of strategic components and can guarantee their quality.
THE TUDOR GUARANTEE
Since its creation by Hans Wilsdorf in 1926, and in line with his vision of an ideal watchmaking product, TUDOR has never stopped producing the most robust, durable, reliable and precise watches in existence today. Bolstered by this experience, and confident in the knowledge of the superior quality of its watches, TUDOR offers a five-year guarantee on all its products. This guarantee does not require the watch to be registered or any periodic maintenance checks to be performed and is transferable should the watch change ownership during coverage. TUDOR also recommends that its watches should be serviced approximately every 10 years depending on the model and the extent of its use on a day-to-day basis.
TUDOR IS "BORN TO DARE"
In 2017, TUDOR launched a new campaign with the "Born To Dare" signature. It reflects both the history of the brand and what it stands for today. It tells the adventures of individuals who have achieved the extraordinary on land, on ice, in the air and underwater, with a TUDOR watch on their wrists. It also refers to the vision of Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of TUDOR, who manufactured TUDOR watches to withstand the most extreme conditions, watches made for the most daring lifestyles. It is testimony to TUDOR’s singular approach to watchmaking, which has made it what it is today. At the cutting edge of the watchmaking industry, its innovations are now essential benchmarks. The TUDOR "Born To Dare" spirit is supported throughout the world by first class ambassadors, whose achievements result directly from a daring approach to life.
ABOUT TUDOR
TUDOR is an award-winning Swiss-made watch brand, offering watches with refined aesthetics, proven reliability and unique value for money. The origins of TUDOR date back to 1926, when "The Tudor" was first registered as a brand on behalf of the founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf. He created the Montres TUDOR SA Company in 1946 to offer watches with the quality and dependability of a Rolex, at a more affordable price point. Because of their robustness and affordability, throughout their history TUDOR watches have been chosen by the boldest adventurers on land, underwater and on ice. Today, the TUDOR collection includes emblematic models such as Black Bay, Pelagos, 1926 and TUDOR Royal. Since 2015, TUDOR has also offered mechanical Manufacture Calibres with multiple functions and superior performance.
