Tudor Pelagos Review (READ Before Buying!)

“Tudor is just an affordable Rolex”. This term needs to be thrown into the bin and burned into ashes because this is so untrue. Yes, Tudor is Rolex’s sister brand. Yes, they were both founded by the same owner. But as of late, Tudor is building a name of its own without its big brother’s help. 

Tudor has been killing it as of late, releasing new models after new models, and it does not seem to be slowing down. Thanks to their release of the Tudor Burgundy Heritage Black Bay in 2012, Tudor has properly cemented a place in the Swiss luxury watch world. 

The models within the Tudor range that attract the most people are undoubtedly their Black Bay heritage models, and we all love them for different reasons. However, there is another great collection from Tudor that is arguably often unmentioned enough – that’s the Tudor Pelagos. 

History

The Tudor Pelagos was first introduced in 2012 as Tudor wanted to prove to the world that they are one of the best brands for creating proper diver watches. 

During the same year of releasing the Black Bay model, which has a vintage-inspired diving watch design, the Pelagos is the opposite of that and has a modern design for people who go professional diving in the deep sea as just the name suggests (the Greek word for Pelagos is “deep sea”).

This release continues the legacy of Tudor since 1926, as Hans Wilsdorf always wanted to continue to strive making high quality watches that are built to withstand extreme conditions and pushing the limits. So much so that the marines even use the Pelagos for their important missions. 

There are four versions of Pelagos (Pelagoses?) this current day: matte black with contrasting white (2012), a blue dial (2015), Left Hand Drive (2016), and a Pelagos 39mm (2022).

Case

The Pelagos features a 42mm and 14.3mm thick case (39mm and 11.8mm thick), and the design of it is very utilitarian and is built to fit on the wrist well with a slight curve on the lugs to ensure maximum comfort. 

What impresses me the most is the build quality and the material of the Pelagos. It has a titanium case, and it weighs like nothing. I have handled the watch many times, and every time I pick it up, it always surprises me how light it is compared to other stainless steel watches of this size. 

To complete the look of the titanium case, it features a fully brushed, satin finish that has zero light reflections, giving it an extra sporty and utilitarian look. With a water resistance of 500m (200m for the Pelagos 39), it also features a screw-down crown and a nicely engraved Tudor logo on it. 

Furthermore, it has a closed case back, as most dive watches will have, but for the LHD (Left Hand Drive) model, it has an engraved caseback showing a numbered serial, indicating how many LHDs were made by Tudor, which is a very cool touch. 

What I think is the coolest and most unique feature of the Pelagos is its helium escape valve. It is located on the left side of the case (right side of the case for the LHD) and writes “GAS ESCAPE VALVE”. The purpose of this is to allow helium to escape from the watch during deep-sea diving to prevent the watch from exploding due to high pressure.

The Pelagos also has a unidirectional and ultra-durable ceramic bezel, which is virtually scratch-resistant.The bezel has very satisfying action with 60 clicks with virtually no play in it, making it more useful and reliable when using it under water or timing events. What’s also very scratch-resistant is the flat sapphire crystal and that improves legibility under water. 

As you can tell from its features, you will understand why the navies went for the Pelagos for their choice of watch. 

Dial

The Pelagos has three different dials that it comes with (technically 4 but I will get into that later), matte black with contrasting white, matte black with an off white on the LHD and a blue dial. 

All 3 dials feature a brushed and an almost grainy surface finish on the dial, and again, improving legibility as there will be no reflection of light, making it more contrasting with its applied bright white indices. It also features the iconic Tudor snowflake hour hand, a sword-like minute hand and a smaller snowflake seconds hand.

The dial on the Pelagos 39 is slightly more unique. It has a sunburst black dial, offering a more alluring look and will look differently depending on lighting. This provides the watch an entirely new look, making it slightly more dressy than its brothers. 

It also features a date window at 3 with a white date disc and a black date font. What’s also on the dial is the five lines of text written at 6, showcasing the reliability and the waterproofness of the watch, albeit being a little cramped on the dial. 

On a side note, on the Pelagos 39, it does not feature a date window, giving the watch a more symmetrical dial and this appeals to more watch enthusiasts (mainly because you don’t need a date when you’re diving if you’re a purist). But also, it might not be as functional as the 42mm Pelagos without the date. 

The bezel also has contrasting white markers with a clearer and more precise minute track going from 0 to 15 to more accurately track your diving time between those minutes. 

For the LHD, the indices, markers and hands feature an off-white color, making it more vintage looking. Also, the word “Pelagos” on the dial is red in color and the date window in the roulette style, meaning the numbers alternate between black and red, which again, is a very cool touch.

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The Pelagos 39 also features a red “Pelagos writing” and without the date window, it offers a cleaner and classic look and with just a pop of color to prevent the watch from looking too dull.

As a diving watch, the lume is excellent, featuring a blue colored lume on the hands, indices and the markers on the bezel. The lume lasts around 6-8 hours according to the wearers of this watch. No matter if you’re doing deep-sea diving, or just wanting to check the time on your watch during the night, the Pelagos got you covered. 

Movement

The Pelagos is powered by the very reliable in-house caliber MT5612. This automatic movement is 100% COSC certified to provide high performance robustness, reliability and also a precision of -4s to +6s a day. It also features a “weekend proof” power reserve of 70 hours, meaning the wearer can take off the watch on Friday and back to wearing it on Monday without worrying about it stopping. 

On a day to day basis, wearers have also claimed that the watch is actually more accurate than what it suggests, around +1 to +3 seconds a day, making it very accurate and also very reliable. 

In the Pelagos 39, it features an in-house caliber MT5400. It has all the great features and reliability of the MT5612, just without the date. Arguably, in the long run, the Pelagos 39 might be more reliable than the others due to it having one less component. One less component means one less part for it to potentially go wrong. 

Straps

The Pelagos has a full titanium bracelet, including the clasp as well, making the overall aesthetic much more utilitarian. The design of the bracelet features a three-link design that is very functional but also looks stylish. 

The bracelet also has a unique, patented auto-adjustable buckle. It is a spring mechanism that allows the bracelet to auto adjust during diving, depending on the depth of diving, the wrist might be compressed and thus, making the watch looser. 

This spring loaded adjustable buckle will adjust automatically on the spot to ensure the watch is always on the wrist of the diver. The same will happen as the diver returns to the wrist and pressure decreases, the buckle will return back to the original size. This auto-adjustable buckle is available in the Tudor Pelagos 42 only, where deep diving is prioritized. 

The Pelagos 39 is equipped with Tudor’s proprietary T-fit clasp that allows the wearers to adjust the strap on the fly without any hiccups.

It allows the wearer to make small and instant adjustments with a total adjustment window of 8 millimeters. This unique, patented clasp also has a 25 millimeter bracelet extension, which allows the wearers to be worn over a wetsuit. 

From experience, the T-fit clasp is one of the best in the business. Its ability to just adjust easily and smoothly, but at the same time does it very sturdily makes it one of the best that I’ve used among most watches, let alone watches in the same price bracket. 

But, there’s more. It even comes with a flexible and comfortable black rubber strap along with a titanium pin buckle that also has a Tudor logo engraved on it.

The rubber strap also features solid end links so there are no gaps between the rubber strap and the case. The attention to detail that Tudor has in this watch is amazing. 

This allows the watch to be truly an everyday watch. Want something more versatile to match with a shirt or perhaps suit? Go for the bracelet. Going to the beach or doing sports? Change it to the rubber strap.

However, I wish Tudor included a spring bar tool in the package so that the wearers can change the strap on their own. Instead, they have to bring it to the store to change it, which might be a hassle for some people. 

On-Wrist Experience

I have personally held this watch several times and have also compared this model to other watches as well. The Tudor Pelagos always surprises me in terms of how great it feels. It feels extremely light on the wrist and sometimes you forget that it’s on your wrist, but at the same time when you handle the watch, it feels extremely sturdy. 

The curved lugged on the case gives a great wearing experience as it sits well on your wrist. The 42mm will fit people with larger wrists and because of the weight, it actually feels that you’re wearing something smaller. 

Thus, I would say the Pelagos will fit a 7 inch wrist or above easily. So if you’ve got a smaller wrist, do not worry as it fits most wrists out there and besides, you can always go for a different Pelagos if it’s too small/big. 

Bezel action is great and wearers have stated that after long term use, there are still no scratches on the bezel and the “clicks” remain to be very tactile and satisfying after long term wear.

When I tried this watch on, I was wearing a suit, and to be honest, you could get away with it. Obviously it is not a dress watch by any means but I can see people wearing this on a slightly more formal wear with this watch, especially on the titanium bracelet.

The only slight issue with this watch is the thickness. With a thickness of 14.3mm, it does not hide under the cuff very easily, but other than that, if you’re not always wearing a suit (which is 80% of the people out there), this watch will wear great.

For me personally, I will pick the Pelagos 39mm as I believe it will fit most people’s wrist. Depending on where you are located, during the hotter days as your wrist expands or during colder days where your wrist contracts, the T-fit clasp is a dream to have, making it a comfortable fit all the time.

It is more wearable, thinner and at the same time, it still includes all the same specs, the 70 hour reserve, the accuracy, the finishing, and everything important is still there except the 500m water resistance. But let’s be real here, nobody is going more than 10 metres deep let alone 500m. 

Price & Availability

You can purchase the Tudor Pelagos at your local authorized Tudor retailer such as Exquisite Timepieces and you can get them online or in store.

The Pelagos 42 is priced at $5,200 whereas the Pelagos 39 is $4,875. It is usually available in stores and because of how great of a watch this is, I do not think the Tudor Pelagos is going to be gone any time soon.

You can also get them at preowned stores at potentially a lower price but please buy at your own risk and only buy from a reputable dealer. 

I personally think at this price point, I can safely say this is probably the best priced luxury watch out there. You get a reliable watch from a very reputable brand that offers 5 years international warranty, full titanium case and bracelet, solid wearability and an appealing design. Compared to many dive watches around the market at this price point, this Tudor Pelagos is hard to beat. 

Conclusion

I’ve admired Tudor for a very long time, making bold and daring watches but at the same time maintaining its identity as one of the best Swiss watch brands in a very competitive industry.

Doing things outside of the box may often backfire, especially in the very enthusiastic and scary watch world. But the release of the Pelagos is precisely why I think Tudor is making a brand for itself, and even succeeded at that. 

The Pelagos is incredibly well-made and for the money, it’s one of the best dive watches out there that you can find. For around $5000, it offers a sporty, durable, comfortable and most importantly, versatile wearing experience.

The inclusion of the rubber strap just makes it even better for money, and for the versatility to switch styles depending on your mood. It will suit most people out there and it ticks all the boxes for it being an excellent daily beater and even more uniquely, it’s made entirely from titanium. 

The Tudor Pelagos does not only suit people for day to day wear, and is even chosen by the marines, making it a watch that you have to try for yourself in store or perhaps even better, own one.