Case #695 — Tudor Black Bay 68 Ref. m7943a1a0nu-0002

Case #695 — Tudor Black Bay 68

Ref. M7943A1A0NU-0002

Status: Available

Condition: Good Pre-Owned

Scope: Box, Papers, and Cards

Year: 2025

🔎 Case Notes

Tudor spent several years shrinking the Black Bay. In 2025 it went the other way. The Black Bay 68 is the larger Black Bay, introduced to round out the full array of case sizes — a 43 mm diver aimed squarely at the wrist that has always found the 58 and 41 mm versions a little polite.

This is the silver-dial configuration, and it is the more unusual of the two launch colours. The Black Bay 68 arrived with two dial options — sun-brushed silver and sun-brushed Tudor Blue — with the silver version carrying black-accented hands and markers. Against the matte black aluminium bezel insert, the effect is high-contrast and almost monochrome — closer in spirit to a tool instrument than to the warm, gilt-accented Black Bays that built the collection's reputation.

The name is not decorative. 1968 is the year Tudor designed what became its aesthetic signature, the Snowflake hand, which entered the catalogue in '69; the Black Bay 68 is a nod to that moment.

This example is graded Good Pre-Owned and has been worn as intended. There are visible signs of wear on the case sides and on the bracelet, consistent with regular use. The bezel insert and the sapphire crystal are clean. It arrives as Box, Papers, and Cards, dated 2025, and is currently sized to fit an approximately 7¾-inch wrist.

🕰️ The Evidence

• Reference: M7943A1A0NU-0002
• Model / Collection: Tudor Black Bay 68
• Year: 2025
• Case: Stainless steel, polished and satin finishes
• Case Diameter: 43 mm
• Thickness: 13.6 mm
• Lug Width: 22 mm
• Dial: Sun-brushed silver with applied hour markers; Snowflake hands, Super-LumiNova
• Crystal: Domed sapphire (AR coated)
• Bezel: 60-minute unidirectional bezel in stainless steel with matte black aluminium insert
• Crown: Stainless steel screw-down crown with the Tudor rose in relief
• Caseback: Screwed solid steel back
• Movement: Manufacture Calibre MT5601-U, self-winding with bidirectional rotor system
• Movement Type: Automatic, 28,800 vph, silicon hairspring and variable inertia balance
• Certification: COSC and METAS certified — Master Chronometer
• Power Reserve: 70 hours, certified by METAS
• Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds; timing bezel
• Water Resistance: 200 m
• Bracelet: 3-link stainless steel bracelet with smooth side flanks, polished and satin finishes
• Clasp: Tudor "T-fit" folding clasp
• Bracelet Fit: Approximately 7¾-inch wrist
• Condition: Good Pre-Owned — visible wear to case sides and bracelet; bezel and crystal clean
• Factory Warranty: Tudor's five-year transferable guarantee applies to this reference, with no registration or periodic maintenance checks required; remaining coverage is subject to the exact warranty-card activation date and Tudor's terms
• Included: Box, Papers, and Cards

🌟 Collector Provenance

For most of the past decade, the Black Bay conversation has been a conversation about getting smaller. The 58 defined the modern era of the line, the 54 pushed further still, and 43 mm was territory Tudor had largely ceded. The Black Bay 68 reversed that, entering the catalogue as an entirely new 43 mm model intended to meet demand across the full range of wrist sizes.

What makes it more than a scaled-up Black Bay is where it sits in the case-design lineage. It carries the design vocabulary introduced with the Black Bay Monochrome — the smaller, classically notched crown, a well-fluted bezel and a domed sapphire crystal — and the bracelet drops the faux rivets in favour of clean three-link construction. Collectors who have followed the line closely will recognise this as the more contemporary, less overtly retro Black Bay: heritage in the hands and the rose, not in the imitation of period hardware.

The silver dial is the quieter of the two, and the one that photographs least like the rest of the collection. Black-on-silver reads instrument-like rather than vintage-warm, and it is a configuration less frequently encountered in the wild than the Tudor Blue, which absorbed most of the launch attention.

🌟 Technical Provenance

The specification headline is certification. The significant point about the Black Bay 68 was not only the new case size, but that it is Master Chronometer certified by METAS. METAS certification is comprehensive, covering precision, resistance to magnetic fields, waterproofness and power reserve, and it requires the movement to already hold COSC chronometer certification before the additional testing begins.

In practice that means an accuracy specification of -2/+4 seconds per day and resistance to magnetic fields up to 15,000 gauss, delivered by a Kenissi-built automatic with bidirectional rotor, a 70-hour power reserve, silicon hairspring and variable inertia balance wheel. The balance is held by a sturdy traversing bridge with two-point anchoring — a construction choice that prioritises shock resistance over decorative slimness, which is consistent with a watch whose caseback is solid steel and whose brief is clearly functional.

Please note that BST has not conducted timing tests on this example; the figures above are Tudor's certified specification for the calibre, not a measurement of this individual watch.

🧾 From the Case File

At 43 mm wide and 13.6 mm thick, this is a diver with genuine presence, but the proportions are better judged than the numbers suggest — the domed crystal and the tapering three-link bracelet keep it from wearing like a slab. The 22 mm lug width also opens up the largest and most easily sourced segment of the aftermarket strap world, should you want a rubber or fabric option for summer.

The T-fit clasp is the daily-use detail that matters most. Micro-adjustment without tools is the difference between a dive-style watch that is comfortable in an air-conditioned office and on a hot afternoon, and one that is only comfortable in one of the two. Sized here for an approximately 7¾-inch wrist, with the T-fit range available on top of that.

The 70-hour power reserve is what Tudor calls "weekend-proof" — set it down on Friday evening and it should still be running Monday morning. Combined with 200 m of water resistance and the anti-magnetic rating, this is a watch that asks very little management from its owner.

The honest case for this particular example is straightforward: it is a 2025 watch, complete with Box, Papers, and Cards, that someone has already worn properly. The case sides and bracelet show it. The bezel and crystal — the two surfaces that most affect how a diver looks on the wrist — do not. For a buyer who intends to wear rather than curate, the depreciation on the marks has already been taken by someone else.

🗝️ BST Verdict

The Black Bay that Tudor built for bigger wrists, in the less-seen silver dial, with METAS Master Chronometer certification and the modern rivet-free bracelet and T-fit clasp.

Honestly worn and honestly graded, still recent, and still complete with its box, papers and cards.

👉 Every case deserves a closer look.