Tornek-Rayville Type 7B Blakjak Review

The watch world has so many interesting stories that have taken place over the hundreds of years people have been keeping track of time with these little mechanical marvels. From Breguet fleeing France during the French Revolution to a watchmaker at Zenith hiding critical machinery and documents to keep the El Primero movement alive during the quartz crisis. Today we will be looking at a watch from a brand that was able to trick the US government into allowing them to sell Swiss made watches for use by the US military.

In 1933 the US government passed legislation called the "Buy American Act" that required American made products to be given priority over foreign products for government use when possible. In the early 1960s the US Navy was in need of specialized dive watches for their Underwater Demolition Teams as well as the newly formed SEALs. The base needs for these watches were that they had to be very robust, be able to dive to great depths and also be highly legible underwater.



The problem was that at the time there were no American made watches that could meet these criteria. Meanwhile the Swiss made Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was already well in production and easily filled the needs of the US Navy. The "Buy American Act" completely barred the purchase of Fifty Fathoms from the US Navy though.

The solution to this problem was devised by American businessman Allen V. Tornek who was an importer of Swiss watches to the US. Tornek was well aware of the Fifty Fathoms and Blancpain's desire to break into the US market. For the problem with the US Navy's inability to purchase Fifty Fathoms, Tornek came up with an ingenious idea.

Tornek setup the Rayville Watch Co. with help from Blancpain with the sole goal of importing Blancpain watches, especially Fifty Fathoms, to the US. Rayville was a tongue in cheek reference to Villeret which is the Swiss village where Blancpain was and still is located. It is essentially the word Villeret jumbled up.



The Fifty Fathoms imported to the United States were sent without branding and then rebranded "Tornek-Rayville" on the dial and "TR-900" on the case back. Some minor assembly and quality control was then believed to be done in the US by Tornek, which added a bit more legitimacy to the claim that the watches were produced in the US.

In the end the trick worked and the TR-900 met the US Navy's MIL-Spec needs and were ordered for use as a US Navy watch. After all this work, only 1,000 TR-900 watches were ever produced and today command sky high prices whenever one comes up for sale. This story also further cements the legendary status of the Fifty Fathoms.

After the short contract for the TR-900s expired there was no real need for the Tornek-Rayville name and it faded into obscurity until Bill Yao, of MK II Watches, ended up purchasing the name in 2010. Yao was born and raised in Philadelphia and majored in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. After a career in investment banking Yao ended up earning his M.B.A. at The Wharton School. It was during this time in graduate school where the MK II watch company was founded in 2002.



MK II specializes in military inspired timepieces, so the Tornek-Rayville brand fits perfectly in their wheelhouse. After purchasing the name, Yao took over ten years to release a model that would do Tornek-Rayville justice. The first watch released by the resurrected brand was the TR-660 which is a modern evolution of the Fifty Fathoms based TR-900s of the 1960s. This is not the watch we are going to review though, we'll leave that one for another day.

Instead today we're going to be looking at the Tornek-Rayville Type 7B Blakjak. The Blakjak evolved from the MIL-W-46374F Type 6 SANDY 660 that was produced in the 1990s but never saw combat. Like the TR-900 only around 1,000 Type 6 SANDY 660 watches were produced. Tornek-Rayville modernized the SANDY in many ways, most prominent being the switch from a quartz movement to an automatic mechanical movement and using Super-Luminova over radioactive tritium.

Ever since I first saw the TR-660 launch I have been super interested by Tornek-Rayville. A few months ago I saw that the brand was going to be in Austin as part of a large watch show that was being held downtown. Of all the brands exhibiting at the show, Tornek-Rayville was the one that intrigued me the most. Knowing the story of Tornek-Rayville and being a huge Fifty Fathoms fan and owner just made me even more excited to see the watches in person.



Since I was able to attend the show prior to the doors opening for the general public I had plenty of time to check out Tornek-Rayville. I spent a good amount of time speaking with Bill Yao and got some good hands on time with the full collection. During this time I asked Bill if it would be possible for them to send us a model to do an in-depth review on and he agreed.

When the Type 7B Blakjak arrived the first thing I noticed was just how nice the watch felt in hand. The watch has a nice heft to it, weighing in at 125 grams on the rubber strap. The Blakjak is substantial and really feels like a tool watch that could take on anything you threw at it.

The next thing I noticed was the rather busy flat black dial. While there is a lot displayed on the dial, after a few moments with the watch it was completely legible. The Blakjak displays both 12 and 24 hour scales which is not something often seen on a dial. There is also a "no-rad" logo as well as the 7B model designation. Tornek-Rayville doesn't even display their name on the dial, that is only featured on the case back. Finally there is an interesting day/date window, but we'll get to that later.



The final thing I noticed about the Type 7B Blakjak was the size of the watch. The Blakjak has a near perfect (for me) lug to lug length of 49 mm and a case diameter of 42.5 mm. While I do prefer a just over 50 mm lug to lug, the Blakjak is more than close enough. I'm not a huge fan of the small watch trend, so it's nice to have a newer piece that bucks that trend.

Now that we've gone over my initial thoughts of the Tornek-Rayville Type 7B Blakjak, let's take some time to look over the technical specifications. As mentioned earlier, the watch has a case diameter of 42.5 mm and a lug to lug length of 49 mm. The thickest part of the case measures in at 13.3 mm and the watch weighs 125 grams on the rubber strap. The case is crafted out of 316L stainless steel and features both satin and mirror polished finishes.

The Blakjak features a flat sapphire crystal that has anti-reflective coating on the underside. Since anti-reflective material scratches rather easily, having the coating only on the bottom of the sapphire is preferred. Even with only having one side of the crystal coated with anti-reflective coating the Blakjak did an amazing job of not catching reflections.



Under the crystal clear sapphire is the jet black dial that we spoke about earlier. The twelve hour scale gets larger white Arabic numerals while the 24 hour scale uses a much smaller font. The "no-rad" logo found at 10 o'clock along with the 7B designation found at 2 o'clock also are done in white. Around the exterior of the dial is a minutes track once again done in white. There is also the smallest Tornek-Rayville logo under the 6 o'clock Arabic numeral.

The day and date windows found at 3 o'clock also hide an interesting little feature. The Blakjak has the ability to either show the day as your typical Monday – Sunday designation or Roman Numerals I – VII if needing to know how many days of the week have passed is more important. I've never seen this complication on a watch before and find it super interesting. The VII Roman Numeral is done in red while all other numerals, days of the week and date are done in white.

The white hour, minute and seconds hands are all covered with Super-Luminova BGW9 which glows a brilliant blue in low light conditions and under UV. The block hour markers around the minute track also are covered in Super-Luminova making telling the time in the dark no problem. I found the lume to be far more than adequate especially since there isn't that much lume used on the dial.



Tornek-Rayville uses a tall stainless steel bezel with two rows of scalloped edges that provide exceptional grip. The Blakjak can be had with a 12 hour GMT bezel or an elapsed time "diver" bezel. We picked to review the "diver" bezel option since I find it more useful than a GMT bezel. The bezel has a DLC coated stainless steel insert with a 0 to 60 scale. The 0/60 Arabic numeral has been replaced with a lumed triangle similar to what you'd see on a dive watch.

The bezel rotates uni-directionally and takes 120 clicks to complete a full rotation. Besides offering superb grip the bezel has a super nice feel to it. Each click is very sure and there is next to no back play on the bezel. My Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 500 Fathoms has way more back play on its bezel than the Blakjak does. The sound the bezel makes while turning is also pleasant on the ears.

The top and sides of the case are done with a satin finish while the chamfers and crown guards are done in high polish. The sides of the bezel also have some nice polish to them and really catch the light. Looking at the profile of the case you can see just how tall the bezel is, which is a great visual of the amount of surface area the bezel has that aids in its ease to grip and operate. There is a slight curve of the case to follow your wrist as well.



The right hand side of the watch features the large screw down crown which also features very nice scalloping. The crown has no branding on it and instead is satin finished on top. Un-screwing the crown allows you to manually wind the watch in the resting position. When the crown is pulled out to position one you can adjust the day and date. Turning the crown towards you advances the date, while turning it away from you allows you to set the day of the week. Also when setting the day of the week you can pick between showing Roman Numerals or days of the week. When the watch is set to display Roman Numerals the first three hours of the day does show the day of the week instead of the Roman Numeral which gets displayed after 3 am. Finally pulling the crown all the out to position two allows you to set the time and stops the seconds hand. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minutes hand and allows precise time setting. Screwing the crown back into the case requires no extra care to catch either.

Flipping the watch over shows off the solid stainless steel screw down case back. The case back is all business with Tornek-Rayville finally being displayed on the watch along with "Watch, Wrist: General Purpose", "Type 7 Class B", "No Radiation", "Water Resistant 200 M", "Automatic (NH36)", "Sapphire" and the serial number of the watch. The water resistance of 200 meters really helps the watch achieve that "Go Anywhere Do Anything" designation as well.



Underneath the solid case back beats the Japanese made SII (Seiko) NH36 automatic movement. The NH36 runs at 21,600 bph (3Hz) and has a power reserve of 41 hours. Seiko quotes movement of having an accuracy of -20 to +40 seconds per day. On our timegrapher the Blakjak averaged +5 per day of accuracy averaged out over various positions. With that result the Blackjak is just in chronometer specs and seems to be a very accurate timepiece.

The Type 7B Blakjak features drilled lugs which is something I just love seeing on a watch. The lug width is 22 mm and the watch comes with a stainless steel bracelet, rubber strap and Maratec Mil Series nylon strap.

The stainless steel bracelet uses a three part construction and features screwed in links which is my preferred method of adjusting links. The clasp features a flip lock with the Tornek-Rayville logo on it. There are no micro-adjustments on the clasp, but there are plenty of fine adjustment holes that just require a spring bar tool to adjust. The bracelet also features a quick change system that requires two pins to be pushed in to release the bracelet from the clasp. The bracelet does taper down from 22 mm to 18 mm at the deployant clasp.



I'm not the biggest fan of bracelets so I wore the Blakjak pretty much exclusively on the rubber strap during my time with the watch. The rubber strap has the slightest taper from 22 mm at the lugs down to 20 mm at the satin finished stainless steel pin buckle. With the strap being so wide and also having nice texturing on the reserve side the watch always stayed put on your wrist and never favored one side over the other. The rubber is rather supple and didn't require much break in to be comfortable.

I didn't try the Blakjak on the Maratec nylon strap but the strap seems to be very well made. The black nylon strap comes with a black pin buckle featuring the Maratec branding. Naturally there is no taper on this strap which measures 22 mm throughout the length of the strap.

I was sent the full retail packaging for the Type 7B Blakjak which I don't typically receive with review watches. The watch comes packaged in a hard case similar to the case you would see for a pistol. The case is branded Tornek-Rayville and inside has a cut outs for three watches and includes the three straps and watch tools. Overall the packaging of the watch fits perfectly with its military inspired nature of the watch along with its tool watch purpose.



I wore the Type 7B Blakjak through most of the holidays and during that time the watch was on the excellent rubber strap. The monochrome look of the Blakjak meant the watch went very well with my typical dress of sneakers, sweats and a hoodie or shorts and a t-shirt depending on the weather. At 125 grams the Blakjak isn't a featherweight like some of the watches I'm used to, but it had a nice feel on the wrist.

The extreme contrast of the black dial and white markers made telling the time just at a glance very easy on the Blakjak. I've also started using dive bezels more and more for timing things and I timed a few grocery store runs on it. Like I mentioned earlier, I find the dive bezel more useful than the GMT bezel offered for everyday life.

Although the Type 7B Blakjak is around a millimeter or so off from my preferred lug to lug length of 50 mm, the watch looked just right on wrist. I feel the extra height of the bezel used on the Blakjak gives the watch a bit more presence. Also if you wear the watch on the stainless steel bracelet the watch does appear to wear larger. The Blakjack also never favored one side of my wrist over the other, which is something I can't stand on watches. That is probably one of the main reasons I don't wear smaller watches or wear my watches loose.



With the Blakjak being a dedicated tool watch the watch naturally didn't attract much attention when worn out to dinner and drinks or running mundane dad errands. The area we live in is saturated with Rolex sports models, so most looks were just to see why a Submariner was on a strap. Those I did show the watch to really liked it and had only positive comments about the watch. When I told them the price they were pleasantly surprised that such a well made watch cost as little as it did.

Speaking of price, the Tornek-Rayville Type 7B Blakjak retails for $895 and currently only models with slight scratches are being sold for $805.50 while the brand waits on more stock. For a tool watch such as the Blakjak is, saving $90 for a minor scratch or two seems like a good deal to me. Especially since this watch is more than likely going to be a daily wearer and pick up some scratches pretty fast.

The Blakjak represents great value for money in my opinion. First off the brand is behind one of the most interesting stories in the history of horology when Tornek and Blancpain were able to pull a fast one on the US Navy and get Swiss made Fifty Fathoms accepted for government use. The Blakjak is also exceptionally crafted and is based off of a lesser known military spec design from the 1990s. The design was improved and modernized to the GADA watch you see here today. Finally the Seiko sourced movement is a workhorse and can be serviced and repaired by just about any local watchmaker, additionally in our testing it was also extremely accurate.



The Tornek-Rayville Type 7B Blakjak is in a very competitive space of watches that are military inspired and tool watch focused. I think now would be a great time to take a look at some watches from other brands that have similar features and aesthetics and see how the Blakjak stacks up.

First up we have the CWC RN Automatic Divers Watch MK2. CWC was founded in the 1970s and also offers very military inspired timepieces and has also supplied Royal Navy divers. This watch is crafted out of stainless steel and has a case diameter of 41 mm. The CWC is powered by a Sellita SW200-1 Swiss made automatic movement that we have also found to be a very accurate movement and offers a power reserve similar to the Blakjak's Seiko sourced movement. The CWC also offers a bit more water resistance at 300 meters, but to be honest anything over 100 meters is more than enough for anyone who isn't a professional diver. The CWC is also a good deal more expensive than the Tornek-Rayville at around $1,550.

Next up we have the M60 AquaLion from Vertex. Vertex was one of brands that supplied the dirty dozen series of watches for the British army during World War II and has a strong identity as a producer of military watches. The M60 AquaLion is based off of Vertex watch designs of the 1950s and 60s and like the Blakjak modernizes and improves the original design. The watch has a case diameter of 40 mm and is crafted out of stainless steel. The M60 AquaLion uses a more up-market Sellita automatic movement in the SW300-1 with a similar power reserve. Once again the M60 AquaLion offers more water resistance than the Blakjak at an impressive 600 meters. Like the CWC the Vertex is a good deal more expensive than the Tornek-Rayville at $3,600.



Moving on we have the Marathon 41mm GSAR Type II Divers Automatic. Marathon like all the other brands previously mentioned has a strong tie to the military and has been supplying watches to various armed forces over the decades of their existence. The GSAR is crafted out of 316L Stainless Steel and has a case diameter of 41 mm. The watch is powered by the same movement as the CWC in the Sellita SW200-1. Also like the CWC it offers 300 meters of water resistance. The GSAR is also quite a bit more expensive than the Blakjak at $1,800.

Finally we have the U50 from German brand Sinn. Since the 1960s Sinn has been producing watches for both the military and general public. Their watches are pretty much the definition of no nonsense tool watches and over the years I have even owned a few of their pieces including the U1 and U2. The U50 has a case diameter of 41 mm and is crafted out of German submarine steel. The watch is powered by the same movement as the Vertex in the Sellita SW300-1 and offers an impressive 500 meters of water resistance. Like the other watches, the Sinn U50 is a good deal more than the Blakjak at $2,980.



Looking at the above four watches you can see that the Tornek-Rayville Type 7B Blakjak comes in well below the competition in terms of price. The Blakjak offers very similar specs and capabilities as the other four watches as well. While I'm not personally familiar with the CWC and Marathon pieces, I have spent a good deal of time with Sinn and Vertex pieces. Sinn and Vertex offer superb timepieces that rival those from established big Swiss manufactures that start in the five figure range for a fraction of the price. The finishing and overall package of the Type 7B Blakjak is in the same ballpark as those two brands and really shows just how much of a value this watch is.

In the end is the Tornek-Rayville Type 7B Blakjak for me? I'd say for the most part it really is. What would make the watch perfect for me? I'd say if the watch was maybe one millimeter larger and if there was a titanium option I really couldn't ding it for anything based off of my personal preferences. I know my love of titanium and larger watches isn't really the trend right now, but it's just my taste. Other than that even being crafted out of stainless steel, the watch isn't that heavy at 125 grams. The 49 mm lug to lug is just a fraction off of my preferred 50 mm and the watch does wear larger on wrist. The dial is extremely legible and the bezel has one of the nicest actions I've felt recently. The Seiko movement being so reliable and accurate is also a nice added bonus. Finally the brand's tie into the history of the Fifty Fathoms is a great story to be able to tell when wearing the watch.

So would I recommend the Type 7B Blakjak to somebody looking for a great daily watch that can take anything you can throw at it? I would 100% recommend the Blakjak in a heartbeat. At well under $1,000 you really can't go wrong with the Blakjak. The 200 meters of water resistance and DLC coated bezel really means the watch can be put through any torture test and pass with flying colors. The watch is kind of in that goldilocks size of case diameter and lug to lug where it can work on both smaller and larger wrists as well. The watch is also overall a very attractive package that will go with pretty much anything you would wear it with from the office to the beach. The fact that the watch is packaged with a stainless steel bracelet, rubber strap and a nylon strap gives the Blakjak a ton of versatility as well.



The Type 7B Blakjak served as a great introduction to the Tornek-Rayville brand for me. You can see a ton of time was taken when designing this watch and the final product just oozes quality. I'd really like to thank Bill and Tornek-Rayville for sending us this Blakjak to review and can't wait to get a TR-660 in for review in the near future.

For more information about the Type 7B Blakjak please visit : Tornek-Rayville

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: Type 7B Blakjak

Retail Price: $895

Case Size: 42.5 mm

Lug to Lug: 49 mm

Thickness: 13.3 mm

Weight: 125 Grams (On Rubber Strap)

Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel

Bezel: DLC Treated Stainless Steel

Strap: Stainless Steel Bracelet, Black Rubber Strap, Black Maratac Mil Series Nylon Strap

Movement: SII (Seiko) NH36 Japanese Automatic Movement

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Day of the Week and Date

Power Reserve: 41 Hours

Water Resistance: 200 Meters