Two years after the burgundy original, Tudor released the same watch with the warmth taken out — and that is not a figure of speech. The 79220B kept the case, the crystal, the hands and the movement, and deliberately removed every gold-toned element on the dial.
Which means if you have read strap advice for the burgundy Black Bay, almost none of it applies to yours.
Strap size and fit guide
Your Tudor Heritage Black Bay Blue (Ref. 79220B) has a 41mm case and a 22mm lug width, with a 50mm lug-to-lug.
On Helvetus product pages, select "Heritage Black Bay". That is the option cut for the 79220 and 79230 generations — the case did not change between them, only the height.
How to confirm you have this one: look for a rose on the dial rather than a shield, and silver hour markers rather than gold-toned ones. A shield means you have the later 79230B, which takes the same strap but is around 2mm taller. The blue also appears in a second place — there is a matching blue ring on the crown tube — which is the fastest way to tell a 79220B from a black-bezel Black Bay in a photograph.
Checklist: 41mm case, 22mm lugs, select "Heritage Black Bay".
Tudor removed the gold on purpose — so warm straps are out
This is the whole difference between this watch and the one that came before it.
The 2012 Black Bay was, in the words of one reviewer at the time, all gilt and faux patina — a chocolate-black dial, pink-gold hands and markers, cream-toned luminous material, gilt printing, and a burgundy bezel. Every element was warm.
The 79220B is the complete opposite, and every reviewer who covered its launch said so. Tudor replaced the gold hands and markers with silvered ones, swapped cream lume for white, made the dial a deep black rather than black-brown, and put a midnight blue bezel where the burgundy had been. The minute track and markers read as polished silver-grey. The result was described at the time as nearly monochromatic, and it is.
So the strap logic inverts completely. On the burgundy version, brown and tan work because there is gold on the dial for them to reference. On yours there is nothing warm anywhere. A brown strap has nothing to connect to and simply looks like a warm object attached to a cold one — which is the single most common mistake made with this reference, usually by people who read about the burgundy one first.
Everything on this watch is cold. Keep it that way.
The other thing: your bezel is only blue some of the time
Here is the detail that decides which cold colour you should pick.
The midnight blue is very dark. Reviewers noted it at launch and owners repeat it constantly: in subdued or indirect light the bezel simply reads black. Under daylight it resolves into a deep navy that is genuinely beautiful. One long-term review is literally titled around the watch being far better in natural light.
That means you own two watches depending on where you are standing. Indoors it is a monochrome black-and-silver diver. Outside it is a blue-bezel diver. And your strap decides which of those two you see most often, because the strap is a fixed colour that never changes.
- A blue strap gives the bezel a reference point. With blue sitting right next to it at the lugs, the eye reads the bezel as blue far more readily, even in poor light — you get the daylight version of the watch most of the time.
- A black strap does the opposite. The watch reads monochrome indoors, and then the bezel becomes the only colour on it the moment you step outside, which is its own kind of good.
- A neutral grey or white sits outside the argument and works identically in both states.
There is no wrong answer there, but there is a decision, and it is worth making deliberately rather than by accident.
Worth knowing: Tudor sold this reference with a blue fabric strap in the box alongside the bracelet, and also offered it on an aged blue leather strap. Blue is the factory's own answer, not an experiment.
The best strap colours for the Black Bay Blue 79220B
Navy Blue — the hero, and the one that keeps the bezel blue. This is the pick that gets you the version of the watch Tudor was actually selling. A navy strap sits directly against the bezel at the lugs and gives it something to be compared to, so the midnight blue reads as blue rather than collapsing into black under indoor light. It is also factory-sanctioned twice over — a blue fabric strap came in the box, and Tudor offered an aged blue leather option. Choose a navy slightly lighter than the bezel rather than an exact match; the contrast is what does the work. Navy Blue Tudor Black Bay Rubber Strap — select "Heritage Black Bay"
Black — the monochrome commitment. The opposite decision, and equally valid. Black makes the watch a study in black and silver for most of the day, and then the bezel reveals itself as blue whenever real light hits it — which is a genuinely satisfying thing to own. It is also the most versatile strap here and the one that makes the silver markers and white lume look sharpest, because nothing else in the frame is competing for attention. If you like the fact that this watch is understated, lean into it. Black Tudor Black Bay Rubber Strap — select "Heritage Black Bay"
Grey — the one that matches the dial furniture. Overlooked, and it should not be. The hour markers, the hands and the minute track on this reference are all polished silver-grey — Tudor's replacement for the gold they took out — and a grey strap is the only option that references them directly. The effect is properly cohesive: case, markers and strap all in the same tonal family, with the bezel supplying the only colour. It also works identically indoors and outdoors, so it sidesteps the lighting question entirely. Grey Tudor Black Bay Rubber Strap — select "Heritage Black Bay"
White — the summer one, and the coldest of the four. White picks up the luminous material and the silver markers, throws the deep black dial into high relief, and makes a fairly serious dive watch look considerably lighter. It is the least conventional of the four and the one that gets noticed, and because it is cold it stays completely consistent with what Tudor did to this dial. Best with the bezel in daylight, where you get white, silver, black and blue all doing separate jobs. White Tudor Black Bay Rubber Strap — select "Heritage Black Bay"
Full range for this case: All Tudor Black Bay Straps
Getting the order right
Colour first, then select "Heritage Black Bay" — not "Black Bay 41", since the Black Bay name spans several generations and they are not all the same width.
If you own or are cross-shopping other Tudors:
- Tudor Black Bay 41 Blue 79230B Strap Guide — the 2016-onward generation with the same blue bezel, same 41mm and same 22mm
- Tudor Black Bay Ceramic 79210CNU Strap Guide — 41mm, 22mm
- Tudor Black Bay Chrono 79360N Strap Guide — 41mm, 22mm
FAQ
What lug width is the Tudor Heritage Black Bay Blue 79220B? 22mm, on a 41mm case with a 50mm lug-to-lug.
Is it the same strap as the burgundy 79220R? Physically yes — same case, same width, same selection. The colour advice is completely different, because the burgundy version has a gilt dial and this one does not.
Can I put a brown strap on it? You can, but it is the one thing this watch genuinely does not suit. Tudor removed every gold-toned element from the dial when they created this reference, so brown has nothing to reference and reads as a warm strap on a cold watch.
Why does my bezel sometimes look black? Because it very nearly is. The midnight blue is dark enough to read as black under indoor or indirect light and only resolves into blue in daylight. That is by design, and it is why a blue strap is worth considering — it gives the bezel a reference and helps it read blue more often.
How do I tell the 79220B from the later 79230B? Check the dial logo. The 79220B carries a rose; the 79230B uses a shield. The later generation is also around 2mm taller.
Final thoughts
The Midnight Blue is the quietest Black Bay Tudor made, and the one that rewards paying attention — half the time it is a monochrome tool watch and half the time it is a blue diver. A strap is what tips the balance one way or the other.
Helvetus straps are cut for this exact case, so you get a clean fit at the lugs with no gaps. Every rubber strap carries a lifetime warranty, shipping is free worldwide with no import costs, and more than 50,000 customers have already made the swap.
