The watch I didn't plan to buy
A Lagoon Blue arrival, AD culture, and why the Bumblebee just got very real
Some watches you research for months. You agonise, you wait, you talk yourself in and out of it seventeen times. And then there are the ones that just happen to you.
The BB54 Lagoon Blue had already been on my mind for a while — I’d been using the colour palette from this watch as the basis for a branding project I was building at work.
The dial, the case, the lume — I’d been staring at those colours on a screen for weeks. I knew the watch was hard to come by too, so when I walked past my local AD window and it was just sitting there in the display, going back three days later was pretty much a foregone conclusion.
Tudor Black Bay 54 Lagoon Blue, mine.
No plan. Just that feeling — and apparently a professional justification I hadn’t expected.
It came on the jubilee-style bracelet, which is genuinely lovely. But the clasp sits slightly off-centre on my wrist and it bothered me enough to go looking for a rubber strap.
I wanted white — the Lagoon Blue dial and those cream markers needed something clean and summery to go with them.
I ended up ordering from Wrist Buddies, who I hadn’t used before. I’ll be honest, I was a bit cautious — some brands put their logo on the outside of the clasp and it just cheapens the whole thing when you’re putting it on a decent watch.
Watch Geko do this and it’s always bothered me. Wrist Buddies put theirs on the inside.
Small detail but in my opinion, the right call.
The service sealed it. Wrong strap turned up first — they’d sent a BB58 size instead of the BB54.
I emailed them, had a response in ten minutes, a replacement in the post same day, and they told me to keep the wrong one.
As it happens I’ve got a BB58 as well, so that worked out nicely — I’ll be putting a white rubber on that at some point too.
The strap is on the firmer side but rubber always breaks in, and the look is exactly what I was after.
White rubber, Lagoon Blue dial. That’s a summer wrist. Just because we are in a digital world where people get given products to promote I think it is important to highlight that this was purchased, not gifted.
At 37mm with a 46mm lug-to-lug this is one of the best-wearing watches I own on a sub-6” wrist — and I mean that properly, not in a “it’s fine for the size” way.
The BB54 gets overlooked because everyone’s eyes go straight to the BB58, but the 54 is the one that actually makes sense on a smaller wrist.
That’s not me settling. That’s Tudor getting it right.
The Milgauss has been on the wrist this week too. Quick note on that: 40mm sounds like it should be wrong for a sub-6” wrist, and on paper it probably is. But it’s got a 49mm lug-to-lug and the case wears flat — it genuinely fits better than some watches I own that are technically smaller.
The green sapphire and that orange lightning bolt seconds hand are Rolex hiding something brilliant in plain sight. I never get bored of that watch.
The week also involved a couple of London AD visits that are worth talking about, because they sat at opposite ends of what watch retail can feel like.
First one: walked in wearing a baseball cap and jeans. “Got the look”. The second they clocked the Milgauss the whole energy shifted. I shouldn’t need a five-figure watch on my wrist to be treated like a normal person in a shop, but there it is.
My local AD gets my business because they’ve never once made me feel like I need to prove myself first — and honestly that counts for more than any allocation or discount ever could.
The second visit was at a Tudor AD. I asked to try on the Royal colours and I felt like I got questioned before they’d even touched the case as to why I would even want that?
Once I mentioned owning the BB54 Lagoon Blue and suddenly we were best mates.
I’m still not sure which bit bothered me more — the suspicion at the start, or the fact that a specific reference was what changed things.
The good ADs already know how to do this right. The others will figure it out eventually, hopefully...
One more thing while we’re on London — if you’re nervous about wearing your watch in the city, don’t be. I’m there two or three times a month and I’ve never had an issue. Just carry yourself normally and nobody cares.
Which brings me to the Bumblebee, because I can’t write an issue this week without talking about it.
Tudor dropped the Black Bay Chrono 39 in yellow and black and I’ve got a take. I tried on the larger Flamingo Chrono earlier this week — purely out of curiosity for the colour — and honestly, pastels still edge it for me on screen.
But the Bumblebee has something the Flamingo doesn’t, and it’s the thing that actually matters for anyone with a smaller wrist: it’s 39mm.
That makes it the first Tudor chrono I’d genuinely consider as a daily wear. The bigger references just aren’t realistic on a sub-6” wrist. This one is.
From what I read, although it will be popular it’s not limited, so there shouldn’t be artificial panic.
Just a straightforward question of whether yellow and black is your thing.
I called in to my AD and they haven’t had one in yet, but when they do they’ll let me know.
I’ve got a good relationship with them and I’m building purchase history there with an eye on Rolex further down the line — turning down an allocation on a watch I’m genuinely interested in would be a bit daft.
So watch this space. Literally.
If you’ve been sleeping on the BB54 because it lives in the BB58’s shadow — have another look.
Especially in Lagoon Blue. Especially on a small wrist. It’s not the compromise. It’s the one that actually fits.
What’s the watch you didn’t plan to buy?
Hit reply — I read all of them.
— Dan