Those who know me know that I love my Tudors.  Everything kicked off from the revival of the brand with its very first iteration of the Black Bay.  I still have my smiley face Black Bay – 41mm, ETA powered movement and only in production between October 2015 and March 2016.  I love the brand’s products because they are as robust as advertised.  I am a physical trainer by day, and my Ranger and FXD are regularly in rotation in gyms.  In fact, I am such a fan of the brand that as an administrator for the Singapore Watch Appreciation Group (nee SWAG), I proposed for a special collaboration Tudor watch.  Then the global pandemic happened, and I think the project caught COVID and died (And why would a watch brand want to collaborate with a watch group, right? We are already customers!).

Tudor is no stranger to watch collaborations, with English departmental store Harrod’s receiving special treatment to sell their very own version of Black Bays.  Usually, the brand would partner with military units to produce one-0ff watches, although there are some odd choices, like tech giant Google.

To my knowledge, there has not been any Tudor collaborations with Singapore military…

So, imagine my surprise when I caught sight of an unusual Black Bay on the gentleman queuing in front of me at Starbucks.  My bad habit of watch-spotting has finally paid dividends!  The dial was definitely something outside of normal production.  The occasion definitely required me to behave outside the norm, so I plucked up my courage and went to introduce myself, and then proceeded to ask that fine gentleman what was on his wrist.  Initially reticent, he eventually warmed up and volunteered some information about the watch and the symbol on it.

This gentleman is an active member of Singapore’s elite Special Operations Force (SOF)  According to their Wikipedia entry, the SOF is the primary special forces unit of the Singapore Army responsible for conducting special operations. The SOF is only composed of highly trained regular servicemen, most of whom are from the Commandos formation. It is also a component of the Special Operations Task Force (SOTF), alongside the Special Warfare Group (SWG) of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).  So, this shy gentleman is not to be messed with.

I spent about half an hour with the owner and his watch.  As expected, he declined to be named.  I know nothing of his rank and status.

Based on my observation, the specifications of this watch are identical to those of a standard Black Bay 58, with the exception of the unique dial and the laser-etched case back. According to the owner, this was a one-off production piece, and there didn’t appear to be any plans for an ongoing collaboration with the SOF. He explained that there weren’t enough units produced to supply every SOF soldier. Additionally, he clarified that these watches were not issued as equipment but were instead purchased through an authorized dealer, which he chose not to name. He expressed gratitude for being allocated one of these rare pieces. Our conversation then drifted into his broader watch collection—an intriguing topic for another day.