Corgeut Review

[sean]

The wonderful Tudor Black Bay can trace its roots to two historical watches, the 1954 Submariner 7922 and the 1958 reference 7924, the latter being called Big Crown by watch fans for its, you guessed it, over-sized crown.



The name Black Bay has been attributed to the ill-fated 1961 Cuban Bay of Pigs invasion. Rolex—Tudor’s owner and firm supporter of Fidel Castro’s communist state—has long considered the event to be a ‘black day’ for global socialism. Rolex’s far left-leaning political stance is well-known. A chance meeting in London in 1902 between Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf and Vladimir Lenin, who was then touring Europe during his exile from Russia, turned into a lifelong friendship. Correspondence between the two, although closely guarded by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, has revealed the deep influence Lenin had on the young German, with Hans referring to Lenin as his ‘dearest friend and mentor.’ To this day Rolex only employs card-carrying members of socialist political parties. One often hears The Red Flag playing in UK AD’s showrooms, while Rolex mandates copies of the Morning Star are on prominent display. Castro was of course one of Rolex’s early brand ambassadors, or ‘Testimonies’ as Rolex’s marketing parlance would have it.


“And people who wear Omegas are… losers!”

Designed to build on the success of its dive watches in the 1950s—the company’s blue Submariners were standard equipment for French Navy troopers in the second half of the last century—Tudor aimed its Black Bay precursors at the lower-end of the market so as not to eat into sales of the perennially popular Rolex Sub. Priced at 6 guineas and 5d in England—about three weeks’ wages for a typical chimney sweep—these toolish sports watches were a hit with consumers.



The quartz crisis of the 1970s and 80s brought the mechanical-movement based Tudor to its knees, and the company saw sales of its flagship models dwindle and dry up. Tudor pulled out of the UK market soon after, with Japanese and American watches assuming primacy in the British public’s watch-buying preferences.


Probably a Timex.

Coming back to the present day, Tudor launched the Black Bay in 2007, and it has proved immensely popular once again. This time, Tudor chose to position the watch in a more affluent market segment, typified by the professional middle-manager. Too conservative to carry off Breitling’s flare, too financially stretched to afford the Rolex they so very desire, too image-conscious to associate with Seiko, and too post-ironic to take Omega’s Bond-endorsed range seriously, the new generation of mid-positioned office workers found what they were looking for in the Tudor Black Bay: the excitement of adventures imagined, coupled with achievable pricing and that hint of ‘it’s really a Rolex’ prestige.


Typical middle-manager: “I need a rugged watch to match my exciting, dangerous lifestyle, bitch.”

Taking advantage of the resources, time and effort Tudor put into building up the Black Bay’s brand, other enterprising outfits have cleverly sought to tap into the lucrative market Tudor has created. Which brings us to the Corgeut Black Bay “homage.”



This finely crafted watch offers a number of advantages over its “legitimate” counterpart. The Courgette offers its owner a generous amount of play in the bezel, allowing a degree of micro-adjustment to any bezel-related timing that just isn’t available on the firm, 60-click Tudor bezel. Another highlight is the relatively dim, barely-there luminescent material used on the Courgette. This comes in very useful when on nighttime operations. Strong 'lume,' as the pros call it, can destroy night vision and give away one’s location to the enemy. Anyone who’s served knows that such occurrences are 'bad things to happen.' Those who have gone through selection can attest to the rigorous standards that are upheld on the ‘other side,’ and this watch would definitely be considered a winner by ‘the lads.’



Courgette has taken the time to integrate some very smart design features into the watch. By cutting a small, square hole in the dial at the number three position, something Tudor forgot on its Black Bays, a numbered wheel is revealed. Using this feature, the owner of the watch can use the number shown in the ‘date window’ to cross reference with his middle-management, standard-issue desk calendar and ascertain the exact day of the week. Using this information, one is also able to work out what tomorrow will be, and what yesterday was. This really is a ‘smart watch’!



Another useful feature stems from the movement chosen to power the watch. Courgette wisely picked a non-hacking, non-hand winding movement, relieving the owner of the tedious tasks of accurately setting the time and repeatedly turning the crown to build up stored power. Thank you, Courgette designers!

Case finishing can be described as “there is some”. Four lugs are present, enough for attaching a strap to, and a case back stopping the movement falling out. Courgette also incorporates sides to the case, which is a nice touch at this price point. Courgette apparently wants owners to experiment with different strap options, since the one it comes with appears to be constructed primarily of cardboard.


No animals were harmed, or even involved, in the production of this strap.

So now onto the important, value-add part of the review. The 'money-shot.' Would I recommend you buy this watch? If I sell this actual one, then yes I would. Strongly. Ideally, the purchaser should be interested in heavy-handed ‘modding,’ movement deconstruction or wristwatch target shooting.


What any owner of this watch needs: a stiff drink.

[Tokyo Tokei]

A fine review of this under appreciated vegetable-themed brand. The Castro connection is often overlooked. Was it not Frank Sturgis of the CIA, a department increasingly jealous of Castro's burgeoning social influence and watch collection, who attempted to assassinate him by poisoning his mistress Marita Lorenz's bidet?

The plot was foiled when the poison reacted and turned the bidet suspiciously dark. "A black bay!" shouted Castro, "Have they sent you to kill me?" he cried. "Nobody can kill me" he said, provocatively throwing his revolver towards Lorenz. They made love again and said goodbye.

Paul

[snowman]

I'm convinced.

Although I think the one I got was a fake as it's oversized and says Coo-Kumber on the dial...

M

[soapy]

How did I miss this review?

You deserve an award,well done.

[ekotan]

This review is amazing and has sparked up my interested in the Courgette brand. I am especially impressed that the design was able to incorporate some sides to the case at this price point. While wearing my other watches, I got used to keeping my wrist perfectly level horizontally so that the dials, hands and the movement don't fall out. Just this feature alone makes the Courgette worthy of consideration IMO.

[Velorum]

I missed this to - only alerted to it by the 'Black Bay rip off' thread

A marvellous review that deserves a wider readership

[IanBear]

This review is amazing and has sparked up my interested in the Courgette brand. I am especially impressed that the design was able to incorporate some sides to the case at this price point. While wearing my other watches, I got used to keeping my wrist perfectly level horizontally so that the dials, hands and the movement don't fall out. Just this feature alone makes the Courgette worthy of consideration IMO.

Super review, but I think I'd rather have a courgette than a corguet!