Sunday Morning Showdown: Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 Vs. Rolex Cosmograph Daytona

It’s Sunday morning, which means it’s time for a cup of coffee and a battle between two watches to start your day. For this week’s Sunday Morning Showdown, we have picked two chronographs from sister brands. Daan picked the new Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 “Bumblebee.” This smaller version of the Black Bay Chrono gained a lot of praise and created great expectations for what’s to come. It goes up against Jorg and the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. Can the new, smaller Black Bay Chrono beat its legendary cousin this Sunday morning? Let’s find out!

It’s not often that a Tudor watch beats anything from Rolex in our Sunday Morning Showdown series. In all fairness, we have only pitted the two brands against each other six times in total. Out of those, though, Tudor was able to win only one showdown. Back in 2023, the Tudor Pelagos 39 was able to beat the Rolex Submariner ref. 14060. Yes, it was the only time a Tudor beat a Rolex. But this week might lead to another Tudor victory. The brand’s new 39mm offering opens the door for a lot of fans to potentially own a Black Bay Chrono. With a redesigned, smaller case, it wears a lot better than the regular 41mm model and feels similar to a Daytona on the wrist. With this update and its €6,200 price tag, it might be the preferred option for many people compared to the €16,550 Daytona. Let’s find out!

Last week, on Sunday Morning Showdown…

Before we do, though, let’s quickly recap last week’s results. In the previous showdown, Jorg’s Certina DS Super PH2000M STC crushed Mike’s Tissot Seastar 2000 44mm. The Certina took home 80% of the votes, leaving only 20% for the Tissot. The comments also showed a similar trend, with a strong preference for the Certina. Both in specs and looks, the DS Super PH2000M STC proved to be the clear favorite in last week’s matchup. Let’s find out whether this week will lead to another clear victory for one of our two contenders.

Jorg: Rolex Cosmograph Daytona

Let’s clear something up before we get into this week’s battle. In previous Sunday Morning Showdown installments, I have been a passionate opponent of the Rolex Daytona. In matchups against the Speedmaster or Chronomaster Sport, I have always taken the side of the Daytona’s opponent. And I still stand by all those decisions and the arguments that accompany them. As some of you will know, Zenith is my favorite watch brand, and I will pick any Chronomaster Sport — apart from the open-dial versions — over a steel Daytona. The same thing goes for the Moonwatch.

However, I must admit that the Daytona has grown on me tremendously. I have spent some time with the different Daytona models in the current collection, and quite a few of them impressed me. If you are a regular Fratello reader, you might have noticed that I picked the current yellow gold model with the turquoise dial as one of my favorite summer watches. On top of that, we dedicated one of our weekly Top 5 lists to the current Daytona.

Why the Daytona is still the better option

My appreciation grew significantly when Rolex unveiled the current generation of the Daytona in 2023. The brand updated the case design to look more detailed and sophisticated. On top of that, the new in-house caliber 4131 allowed Rolex’s team to design a more svelte, 11.9mm-thin case. Despite the Black Bay Chrono 39’s updated dimensions, the Daytona beats its opponent in the slimness department.

The Daytona’s 40mm case also has a 46mm lug-to-lug. While the Tudor designers did an awesome job redesigning the Black Bay Chrono’s case, the Daytona still has better proportions and feels more refined. In particular, the profile looks curvier and more elegant. A clever detail that gives the current Daytona a slightly retro feel is the steel ring around the ceramic bezel. It is exactly the level of detail that immediately shows that the Rolex Daytona is on another level compared to the Tudor Black Bay Chrono.

The three-register layout feels more balanced

Another thing I prefer about the Daytona is its dial design, with three sub-dials. I generally favor that over a two-register chronograph, and putting the Daytona next to Black Bay Chrono confirms that once more. The Daytona dial feels more balanced. It’s the result of multiple design choices. First, the three registers require the designers to consider proportions and ensure all the different elements still have room to breathe. The Rolex designers did an amazing job making that happen.

They also chose to use a full set of indexes, whereas the Tudor designers left out the markers at 3 and 9 o’clock. As a result, the two registers on the Tudor still feel fairly far apart, whereas the Daytona’s dial feels just right. Lastly, I really don’t like the prominent date window at 6 o’clock on the Tudor dial.

I understand that it adds a functional detail to the dial’s lower half. In general, though, I don’t like a date window in that position. All in all, it comes down to refinement and balance, and the Rolex designers did an awesome job with that.

The overall feel of the Daytona is different

That same story continues with the two calibers. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with the COSC-certified Tudor MT5813, the Rolex 4131 is a major step up. The Superlative Chronometer standard improves accuracy to -2/+2 seconds per day after casing, compared to -2/+4 seconds per day for Tudor’s MT5813. Additionally, the 4131 features Rolex’s energy-efficient Chronergy escapement and a Parachrom hairspring. It’s just a better movement overall than the Kenissi-produced Tudor caliber.

While I would expect that extra level of detail and quality compared to the more affordable Tudor, it goes beyond a mere comparison of elements. The feeling when you put a Rolex Daytona on the wrist is so different from putting on a Tudor Black Bay Chrono. Though we referred to these watches as cousins earlier, on the wrist, it’s a feeling of big brother versus smaller brother. It’s about the brand appeal and the overall aura that comes with a Rolex watch.

For me, it’s about the rich history of the different models, the design language that defined the industry as we know it today, and the world of Rolex, which touches on some of my great passions, like tennis and architecture. The weight that it carries translates to the watches, which is why I would not hesitate to pay the heavy premium for a steel Daytona over the Black Bay Chrono 39 any day of the week. But let us know why you don’t agree with me, Daan.

Daan: Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39

Thanks, Jorg, and good morning, everyone. Let me start by saying that the current Rolex Daytona is objectively one of the best automatic chronographs on the market today. As you already mentioned, Jorg, it has wonderful proportions, making it wear like a dream on wrists of a wide variety of sizes. Over the years, it also evolved into one of the most refined watches out there, with its encapsulated ceramic bezel and flawless dial design — except maybe for that paragraph of text at 12 o’clock.

And of course, it features the latest and greatest automatic chronograph movement that Rolex has to offer. That’s something the brand is obligated to offer by its standing. Tudor, on the other hand, is and will always be the cheaper alternative, so it comes with a Kenissi-manufactured movement based on the Breitling B01. However, unlike you, Jorg, I’d definitely hesitate to pay a €10,000 premium and spend many years on the waiting list to get my hands on a Rolex Daytona. Instead, I’d much rather buy the new Tudor Bumblebee, which is definitely no slouch in any way.

Downsized and refined

Compared to the previous versions of the Black Bay Chrono, Tudor shrunk the diameter from 41mm to 39mm and the thickness from 14.4mm to a very acceptable 13.1mm. Finally, the lug span went from 50mm to a more compact 47mm. Sure, it’s still not at the level of the Rolex Daytona, but I’ve tried it on, and it wears great on my 17cm wrist. And yes, the Rolex Daytona is indeed a very refined watch, but I have to say the new Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 Bumblebee has improved significantly in that regard.

As I mentioned in my hands-on article, the smaller Tudor Black Bay Chrono loses open space around the dial. It also has better-looking sub-dials and more consistent fonts on the dial and the bezel insert. There’s very little to fault when it comes to the dial. Indeed, the date at 6 o’clock could be an irritation, like you mentioned, Jorg. However, to me, it balances out the dial nicely, just like the logo at 12 and the text at 6. I also really like that the designers chose black applied markers and black hands. They contrast nicely against the bright matte yellow background.

Even Tudor’s MT5813 automatic chronograph specs aren’t far behind Rolex’s. The 70-hour power reserve, magnetism resistance, and reliability are all there. Even in terms of accuracy, the Kennisi movement is almost on par with Rolex’s. Sure, it doesn’t have the latest and greatest parts with proprietary, interesting-sounding names, but who cares about those?

I want a nice watch, not an overhyped status symbol

So, in terms of specs, the new Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 “Bumblebee” is certainly not inferior to the Rolex Daytona. But that’s not even my most important argument today. The most important reason for not choosing the Rolex Daytona is its image. As Lex already argued a few years ago, the Rolex Daytona isn’t actually a watch anymore; it’s more like an overhyped status symbol. You need to please your AD or pay a substantial premium on the secondary market to get one. However, once it’s on your wrist, you have to be aware of everyone who wants to rip it off, right there on the street.

No, I’d much rather wear a less desirable Tudor Bumblebee with a daring yellow and black dial. By the way, I honestly really like the Bumblebee’s looks. Many people, including Jorg, are waiting for more modest options, like a panda or reverse-panda dial. However, I’m a fan of this bright yellow colorway. It offers something different from the usual black, white, or blue dials, but it’s still wearable and matches the racing theme perfectly. So yes, I’d happily go for the Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 over the Rolex Daytona.

Cast your vote

There you have it — another Sunday Morning Showdown between Rolex and its younger sibling, Tudor. Would you go for the legendary Cosmograph Daytona, or would you rather wear the sportier Tudor Black Bay Chrono 39 Bumblebee with its smaller case and yellow dial? Make sure to cast your vote below, and tell us in the comments why you voted the way you did.