Rolex Submariner 14060 vs. Tudor Black Bay 58

Reviewing two iconic divers, the Rolex 14060 Submariner and the Tudor Black Bay 58.

June 01, 2020

Check out both watches in our vintage watch shop!

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The Submariner and Black Bay lines are incredibly similar, no doubt, and this similarity is only enhanced by their linked history. Since it’s original launch in 1954, the Submariner has become a cultural icon, and it’s seen many a variation over the years. The 14060 started to be produced in 1990 and is, by and large, the perfect hybrid of vintage Submariners and their modern counterparts. Its date-free design is pure vintage, and it also means it lacks the iconic Rolex Cyclops date magnifier at 3 o’clock (since, y’know, there’s no date to magnify). Its case is certainly more slender than the modern Super Case Subs, and has a more true 40mm feel on the wrist. Typically these watches can be had starting in the $7k range and up.

Now onto the Black Bay 58 from Tudor, one of the hottest releases of the last decade, no doubt. Released in 2018, it flew slightly under the radar of the Black Bay GMT and the bigger brother Rolex Pepsi in steel. At 39mm in diameter, and 11.9mm in thickness, the watch is much more in line with the standard Rolex wrist presence than the larger, 41mm and much chunkier Black Bay models. It features gilt hands, indices, and printing on the dial, a clever and gorgeous vintage nod if ever there was one, a well as gilt printing on the bezel. It retails for $3,700.

Comparing the two is an interesting exercise. On the one hand, the watches are incredibly similar, offering much of the same functionality and quality, but with some subtle design changes that set them apart. The Tudor is a warmer watch, a more welcoming one, no getting around it. The steel of the Rolex, with a black dial and white printing, is a classic choice but a sterile one at the same time.