Some hobbyist watchmakers have a passion for making replica or "homage" watches for models they admire but can't afford. Rolex is the most recognized luxury watch brand, but models start at around $8000 and can be over $50,000 for precious metal. They are also very stylish, rugged, and accurate (for a mechanical watch).
I built two Rolex copies in 2019, a black bezel Submariner for Riley, and the Ice Blue Day-Date (ref 228206), and they turned out fairly well, though each have had some trouble after I finished them.
Now in 2022, I'm looking to build something different, and the model that caught my eye was the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Red (ref. 79220R).
On the used market the Black Bay Red "Smiley" sells in the range of $3500-4000, and some people consider them collectible because during that time Tudor fitted it with a fairly mass-market ETA 2824-2 movement. In 2016, Tudor released the 79230R, which looks similar but runs a Tudor in-house movement.
The 79220R has a couple of other distinctive features, one is the "rose logo" on the dial at 12. In 2016 Tudor changed logos to a shield shape they still use in 2022. The other highlight on the dial is the label "SELF WINDING" in an upward curve at 6 o'clock that people describe as a "smiley". The hands and dial indices have luminous paint outlined by rose gold. Overall, to me the look is both sporty and classy, and it's very readable.
After selecting on the design, the next challenge is sourcing the components. Replica watch part suppliers typically style the case to look like a desirable luxury watch but internally design it to fit an available movement such as the Seiko NH35 or ETA 2824-2 automatics or the ETA/Unitas 6497-2 manual wind. So-called Superclones contain copies of the actual movement such as the Rolex 3235 complete with engraved logos and serial numbers. I'm not comfortable working with these more expensive superclone movements, so I was happy to choose the 79220R based on the familiar and popular ETA 2824-2.
Recently I have built two Panerai style watches, and Helenarou.com was my source for most of the parts. I noticed they listed a Tudor Black Bay watch set, but it was SOLD OUT.
I contacted them directly, and they had the same set in stock except fully branded to match the authentic Tudor 79220R and based on the 2824-2 movement. All of which is perfect. Not only does it look great, but the crystal is sapphire with antireflective coating, the steel is 316L (same as original), and it is rated to 20ATM (200m) water depth like the genuine article. From experience I learned with the Raffles.com Submariner set that these clone movements may look like a dive watch, but the cosmetics are the only priority, and the structure of the case/bezel/crystal can preclude any level of water resistance. Here are some photos of the product:
The only downside of Helenarou.com is they ship from Hong Kong, and currently small parcels like this can take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks.
One small challenge is that the 79220R has no date display, so that function needs to be disabled in the movement so there are only two crown positions, making redundant the extra date setting position from the 2824-2. I happened to find on Ebay someone selling a 2824-2 Elabore (high grade) movement modified for only two crown positions. According to the listing it was unused and included the parts to restore the 3rd crown position. Not only was it modified as I need, it also has the better Incabloc shock jewel system that normally is fitted only to the Top Grade 2824-2 ($310).
After the case set including case, dial, and hands plus the movement, the only remaining part is a matching bracelet. Seller on Etsy have Tudor-branded replacement bracelets for $55-85, as compared to a used authentic Tudor bracelet costing on the order of $1500 on Ebay.
While a convincing visual match, my experience is a branded copy bracelet is (as expected) not as well built, though much better than ultra-cheap stamped metal bracelets. I found this model on Etsy from a UK source for $85. Visually it's actually a copy not of the 79220R bracelet but the one shipped with the 79230R, the differences being the "rivets" on the sides of the links and the extra lines on the outer edge of each link, both of which give it a little more character than the overall smoother original.
The final puzzle piece does not make much sense because it will be hidden under the non-display case back, and it's a Tudor-branded auto-wind rotor. I saw it on eBay for $10 and thought that would make me happy knowing it says Tudor inside in case anyone ever looked.
