True enough, many people in the US don’t even know about Tudor and if they do they aren’t aware that Tudor watches are owned and made by Rolex. The main difference between Tudor and Rolex watches is that Rolex watches use in-house Rolex made movements, while Tudor tends to use base Swiss ETA movements. Tudor is also a slightly more entry-level timepiece, but certainly not a low-priced watch. What do they have in common? Well for years Tudor seemed to make “baby Rolex” watches. Meaning slightly less expensive versions of Rolex models with design changes here and there. For example, Rolex has the famous Day-Date watch, and Tudor has the related Date-Day watch (true story). A few years ago Tudor started to do something interesting, and that was to increasingly separate themselves away from Rolex designs and do their own thing.

The Pelagos (ref 25500TN) is a new for 2012 Tudor watch which incorporates some Tudor heritage, but is very much a new design. It shows exactly what Tudor is all about and how the brand will exist next to, and not under Rolex in the future – at least that seems to be the idea. The Pelagos in short is a very modern diver with a straight-forward tool watch look and feel. Fit and finish is great, but this is a watch that you really only start to truly appreciate after you wear it. That’s because this – in most all ways – is a true professional piece and not a pretty lifestyle watch. The Pelagos is handsome but it isn’t sexy. It’s like a trained dog, perhaps not something the girls will go wild for, but smart and reliable.

Comparing the Pelagos to the Rolex Submariner is a logical thing to do as they are both dive watches made under the same roof(s). True enough, Tudor dials and cases are made by the same workers, designers, and machines that make Rolex cases and dials. They are however just as different as any two dive pieces in the incredibly populated place that is the dive watch market. The price difference between the two is also about $4,000.

I wasn’t around when the original Rolex Submariner came out a few generations ago. But I know enough about its history to suggest something about the Pelagos. If you look at the Submariner and Pelagos next to each other I think you might agree that the Pelagos is a sort of 21st century Submariner from the start. We all know and admire the Submariner for its history and enduring design. It went from tool watch diver to almost a dress watch (with a price increase compared to the original to match). That was due to a combination of luck, lack of many market competitors at the time, and a lot of hard work by Rolex. Though like I said, the Submariner had a relatively humble beginning. For me the Pelagos is like a thematic “redo” of the Submariner if the Submariner was originally released today. It uses more modern materials and is a bit larger, but in a sense it really goes back to the core of what a good purposeful timepiece family starts with.

At the same time that Tudor announced the modern looking Pelagos, they also announced the vintage looking Heritage Black Bay. Two dive watches in the same year with the same movement, but with designs separated by time and demographic. The Heritage Black Bay doesn’t do a thing for me, while I am growing very fond of “butch,” which is the name I’ve given to the Pelagos. “Pelagos” to me just sounds too pelagic. And are you ready for me to get super nerdy? OK good. The pelagic zone is a section of the ocean’s water column closer to the bottom of the sea which starts at about 3.68 kilometers under water. It goes down to about 11 kilometers deep (where applicable). Under the pelagic zone is the benthic/demersal zone, which is the very bottom of the sea. Why do I grace you with this esoteric oceanographic information? Because the Pelagos diver is named after the pelagic region, but is only water resistant to 500 meters. So exposed in water, the Pelagos will never actually be able to be in the pelagic region unless it is strapped to James Cameron in a submersible. Then again, neither will any human being, able to wear it. Should we forgive Tudor for this purely technical naming mistake? Of course we will, but you know… I had to mention it.

As I keep saying, the Pelagos was created to be a very good dive watch, and by measuring the features of its design and functions it certainly is. I will start with the basics, the finely milled case is 42mm wide in titanium (no Rolex watches are) and is water resistant (again) to 500 meters. In addition to titanium there is some Steelinox in the case (probably for parts of the deployant and inside the case). The case has an automatic helium release valve, and an impeccable rotating diver’s bezel. I will venture to say that the clicking action when rotating the bezel is actually better than a Submariner. Both watches feature ceramic bezel inserts but the Pelagos has a more austere looking matter ceramic bezel. The numerals and markers in the bezel are likewise lumed… and the lume is of the highest quality in my experience.

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