Review: Tudor Pelagos

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Tudor releases a blue model to the popular Pelagos diver’s collection. Made popular during the 60s and 70s, Tudor’s divers’ watch is closely tied to its intensive use by underwater professionals, particularly by world’s major navies. The brand’s diving collection are authentic tool watches, meant for real use, rather than just mere display. Bearing its past tradition, the Pelagos lives up to its name and remains one of the most popular divers’ watches today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTBDxuzr3vQ

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The Tudor Pelagos chronometer in blue. Its case and bracelet are entirely made from titanium.

The Case

Sized at 42 mm, the Tudor Pelagos is cased in titanium. Titanium weighs approximately 60% the weight of steel and also delivers great resistance to corrosion by seawater. These features makes it the premium and ideal material for the Tudor Pelagos. Apart from the main case and bracelet, the bezel is also made of titanium and houses a blue ceramic disc. It is a unidirectional bezel fitted with luminous markers for better readability in low light conditions.

The Tudor Pelagos is equipped to reach depths of 500 metres. However, as divers reach certain depths as in ‘saturation’ dives, helium atoms within the watch would eventually be able to penetrate the interior of the watch affecting its waterproofness. To circumvent this phenomenon, the watch is fitted with a helium escape valve. The helium escape valve allows the gas to escape freely from the watch without damaging it and it also accounts for the overpressure, avoiding any watch damage to the watch.

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The patented Tudor bracelet with a unique auto-adjustable spring mechanism.

The Bracelet

The Pelagos’s status as a tool watch is once again cemented with the technical features of its innovative bracelet design. Its new bracelet features a folding clasp with a unique auto-adjustable spring mechanism developed and patented by TUDOR. This technical system allows the bracelet to be adjusted during the dive, contracting when the combination is compressed at greater depths, and expanding when the pressure decreases again during the diver’s return to the surface. An additional rubber strap is provided with an extension system making it easily adjustable for all diving conditions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kYSIi3jGYc

The Dial

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The dial houses large luminescent hour markers and snow flake hands, reminiscent of the original Tudor divers.

We now move on to the dial. As with the earlier version in Black, we truly appreciate the matte effect on Tudor’s Pelagos lineup. This time in Blue, the Tudor Pelagos retains the military matte dial look while achieving a certain playful flare with the prominent colour. Apart from the aesthetics of the watch, functionality remains a mainstay in its design. Readability is an essential characteristic of a good diving instrument, and the TUDOR Pelagos offers several solutions for this. The watch’s dial presents generously-sized square hour markers, complete with a large quantity of luminous material for excellent contrast.

Apart from lume, the design of the hands of the Pelagos, particularly the hour hand with its characteristic square tip, allows the wearer to easily distinguish it from the minute hand. Known among collectors’ as the “snowflake”, this feature is emblematic of TUDOR divers’ watches from 1969 onwards.

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A colourful contrast, the matte blue against the white snow flake hands and luminescent markers.

The Movement

The Pelagos is powered with the new Manufacture TUDOR MT5612 movement, providing impressive autonomy. It has a power reserve of approximately 70 hours, which is sufficient for it to last through the weekends. Beating to a frequency of 28,800 beats/hour or 4Hz, this movement is regulated by a variable inertia oscillator with silicon balance spring, held in place by a traversing bridge fixed at both sides to improve resistance to shocks and vibrations. Its self-winding system is bidirectional. The movement is certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC)

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First introduced in a matt black version, the TUDOR Pelagos now comes in a matte blue model that echoes the traditional colours of 1960s Tudor diver’s watches and in particular, a model chosen by the French Navy and worn in great numbers by its divers.

 

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An all blue ensemble, the sporty diver’s watch pairs strangely well with a suit.

A magnificent example of a tool watch, Tudor Pelagos is one of the most complete traditional mechanical divers’ watches available today. The watch is priced at 4200 CHF, or approximately S$6000. Considering its steep tradition, great case design and 3 day power reserve movement, here at Deployant, we are big fans of this piece and do think that the Pelagos is a should have in any dive watch collection.

REFERENCE 25600TB (blue) 25600TN (black)

42 mm Monobloc middle case, screw-down case back and winding crown, helium escape valve at 9 o’clock
Titanium, satin finish, case back in 316L stainless steel
Screw-down winding crown, triple waterproofness system
Scratch-resistant and anti-reflective crystal
Waterproof to 500 m (1,640 ft)
Blue or black rubber bracelet with titanium buckle

 

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