As someone who once owned the original Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight and BB58 Navy Blue, I can say they were both constant wears within my collection when I owned them. Now, to be clear, I did not “flip” the two watches. Both were lost as a result of the necessary “one in, one out” philosophy – the original BB58 helping to fund the acquisition of my birth year Rolex Explorer (which then left the collection to help fund my A. Lange & S?hne 1815 Up/Down ref. 221.021) and the Navy Blue BB58 left my collection to make way for my Datejust 36 ref. 126234. But, if I loved them both so much, why did I part with them? Well, the answer to that question leads me to the news at hand.My biggest gripe with the steel BB58s I had was that I could never get the perfect fit on my wrist with them. They were always a tad too tight or loose no matter the number of links I added or removed or where I placed the springbar within the three holes of micro-adjustment within the clasp. I even tried reversing the orientation of the bracelet on the case. But whatever I did, I never reached a Goldilocks serenity in fit. When the T-Fit bracelet was unveiled on the BB58 Bronze Boutique Edition, I knew it was the missing link. Had it existed on the initial two models the state of my collection could be very different now.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Everest Horology Products (@everestbands)With T-Fit only available for the bronze model, fortunately for my conscience, it was a bit of a moot point. But when the Tudor Ranger was unveiled this year with a steel bracelet and T-Fit extension clasp that offers eight points of sliding micro-adjustment, many, like myself, immediately wanted to know whether or not the Ranger bracelet was compatible with the BB58. Thanks to a reel shared on Everest Band’s Instagram last month, we now know that the answer is yes. Aside from the benefit of being able to find a better fit for your BB58 on the wrist, pairing the BB58 with a Ranger bracelet also resolves the dilemma of the faux-rivets – which some collectors do not particularly love.Inevitably, Tudor will bring T-Fit to future steel models of the BB58, and even sell existing models on the updated bracelet as well. But, if you currently own a BB58 and feel T-Fit would be a gamechanger for your wear experience, you may want to reach out to your AD to see if you can buy a Ranger bracelet.
12.12.22