Case #728 — Tudor Black Bay Chrono Ref. M79360N-0011

Case #728 — Tudor Black Bay Chrono "Reverse Panda"

Ref. M79360N-0011

Status: Available

Condition: Excellent Pre-Owned

Scope: Box, Papers, and Cards

Year: 2021

🔎 Case Notes

The appeal here is immediate and almost entirely down to the dial: matte black with contrasting silver counters, the configuration collectors have long called a "reverse panda." It is the quieter half of the pair — the darker dial can make the watch read slightly smaller on the wrist, while the silver sub-dials keep the chronograph registers prominent and easy to read — and it is the version that tends to hold its composure under a shirt cuff rather than announcing itself across a room.

Underneath, this is not a dressed-up ébauche. The Black Bay Chrono runs the Manufacture Calibre MT5813, COSC-certified, self-winding, with approximately 70 hours of power reserve, in a 41 mm stainless steel case rated to 200 m and capped with a domed sapphire crystal. Screw-down pushers support that 200 m rating — unusual for a chronograph — and the calibre pairs column-wheel control with a vertical clutch, the architecture normally reserved for considerably more expensive machinery.

BST has inspected this example and grades it Excellent Pre-Owned, with no specific condition defects recorded at inspection. It is supplied on a stainless steel bracelet with folding clasp, currently sized to fit an approximately 7¾-inch wrist, and arrives as a complete package: box, papers and cards. Year stated by BST as 2021.

🕰️ The Evidence

• Reference: M79360N-0011
• Model / Collection: Tudor Black Bay Chrono
• Year: 2021
• Case: Stainless steel, polished and satin-brushed finishes
• Case Diameter: 41 mm
• Thickness: 14.4 mm
• Lug-to-Lug: Approximately 50 mm
• Lug Width: 22 mm
• Dial: Black with silver counters ("reverse panda"), domed, with date at 6 o'clock
• Hands: Snowflake hands, a Tudor hallmark first introduced in 1969
• Crystal: Domed sapphire
• Bezel: Fixed stainless steel bezel with matt black anodised aluminium disc, tachymetric scale, silver markings
• Crown: Stainless steel screw-down winding crown with the TUDOR rose in relief
• Pushers: Stainless steel screw-down pushers at 2 and 4 o'clock
• Movement: Manufacture Calibre MT5813 (COSC)
• Movement Type: Self-winding mechanical chronograph with bidirectional rotor system
• Certification: COSC chronometer
• Power Reserve: Approximately 70 hours
• Functions: Hour, minute, second, chronograph and date
• Water Resistance: 200 m (660 ft)
• Bracelet: Stainless steel bracelet
• Clasp: Folding (deployant) clasp
• Bracelet Fit: Approximately 7¾-inch wrist
• Condition: Excellent Pre-Owned — no specific defects recorded at inspection
• Factory Warranty: Tudor's guarantee for the model is a five-year transferable guarantee with no registration or periodic maintenance checks required; coverage runs from the original activation date on the card, and on a watch of this stated year the period should be assumed elapsed
• Included: Box, Papers, and Cards

🌟 Collector Provenance

The Black Bay Chrono matters because of what it attempted: a diver's-watch case carrying a genuine racing chronograph. Tudor describes it as a hybrid, preserving the characteristics of the Black Bay family in a steel case fitted with pushers inspired by the brand's first generation of chronographs, finished with a fixed bezel carrying an engraved tachymetric scale. That lineage is not marketing decoration — the model's 2021 rework arrived fifty years after the launch of Tudor's first chronograph, the Oysterdate.

The 2021 generation is the one most collectors now treat as the reference point for the model. Tudor relaunched the Black Bay Chronograph with panda and reverse-panda dials plus discreet tweaks, mostly to the bezel, across a total of six new references, all with contrasting light/dark dials. It replaced the previous all-steel model with the black dial, and in doing so converted a somewhat anonymous tool chronograph into something with a recognisable face.

The physical changes were real, not cosmetic. The case stayed at 41 mm but was slimmed noticeably — from roughly 14.9 mm to around 14 mm — making it far more wearable, and the highly domed sapphire crystal adds retro character while visually reducing the perceived thickness.

Of the two dials, the black-with-silver-counters execution is the one that reads as the more traditional Tudor: tool-watch legibility, Snowflake hour hand, tachymeter bezel, no theatrics.

🌟 Technical Provenance

The MT5813 is the reason this watch is discussed seriously by people who care about movements. It retains the architectural core of the Breitling B01, using a column wheel as the chronograph's start-stop switch and a vertical clutch to transmit power from the base movement — the same architecture found in the Rolex calibre 4130 — running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a 70-hour power reserve. Tudor also specifies a silicon balance spring, with COSC certification and performance the brand states exceeds the institute's standards.

In practical terms that architecture matters more than the spec sheet suggests. A vertical clutch allows the chronograph seconds to run continuously with minimal wear — no stutter on engagement, no penalty for leaving it running — which is precisely why the configuration became the standard in high-end integrated chronographs.

Combine that with screw-down pushers reinforcing 200 m of water resistance, a rating uncommon in chronographs, and the result is a chronograph that can be treated like a sports watch rather than a display piece.

🧾 From the Case File

What you get, practically, is one wristwatch covering a wide brief. At 41 mm with 22 mm lugs and 14.4 mm of thickness, it has presence; it remains a fairly large and heavy watch on the steel bracelet, with a roughly 50 mm lug-to-lug, though it has been described as surprisingly ergonomic for its size. The black dial helps — visually it sits more calmly on the wrist than the white-dial version.

The 70-hour power reserve is the quiet convenience. Set it down Friday evening and it is still running correctly on Monday morning, which is not something the older generation of Swiss chronographs could offer.

For the buyer, the arguments for this particular example are straightforward: an Excellent Pre-Owned grade with no specific defects recorded at inspection, the complete box, papers and cards presentation that the secondary market consistently prefers, and the less-shouty of the two dial options from the 2021 generation. It is already sized for an approximately 7¾-inch wrist. BST has not performed timing tests on this watch, and no service history has been supplied, so no claims are made about current rate performance; as with any pre-owned mechanical chronograph, a service at the appropriate interval should be budgeted.

🗝️ BST Verdict

A column-wheel, vertical-clutch manufacture chronograph with 200 m of water resistance, a 70-hour reserve and COSC certification — wearing the dial configuration that most collectors ask for first, in its more restrained form.

Complete with box, papers and cards, graded Excellent Pre-Owned, and ready to wear on an approximately 7¾-inch wrist. For anyone who has been circling the Black Bay Chrono and would rather not pay new-watch money for it, this is a sensible place to stop circling.

👉 Every case deserves a closer look.