Watch Review: Tudor Pelagos FXD Ref. M25717N-0001
Admittedly when I first heard about it and then first saw it, I was extremely skeptical; a luxury watch with fixed lugs and comes with a Velcro NATO style strap out of the box? I thought there ain't no way this watch is worth $4150. Especially since I had this long standing notion that NATO straps somehow cheapened watches. But as time went by I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I even took my old Invicta Pro Diver and threw it on a NATO strap to try and see if there was any appeal. Finally curiosity got the better of me and I drove over to the AD and asked to try one on. I went there with no intention to actually buy it; if anything I went with the intention to prove to myself how absurd this watch was...and then I tired it one and knew almost instantly I'd be leaving with it (which is a testament to how critical it is to try and actually get hands on with watches you're thinking of). If I didn't know myself better, I'd argue that this could suffice as my only watch. Enough of me professing my love for this watch, let's first take a look at the technical data and then I'll talk a bit more about my personal experience with the Pelagos FXD.
Technical Data
The Pelagos FXD is powered by the COSC certified Manufacture Calibre MT5602, which is Tudor's in-house-but-not movement. If that seems confusing, that's because it kind of is. The Calibre MT5602 along with a slew of other Tudor movements are actually made by a company named Kenissi. What gets confusing is that Kenissi was started by Tudor back in 2010 to build their watch movements, and is currently still owned by Tudor, hence the in-house-but-not designation of their movements. The MT5602 has a power reserve of 70 hours.
Housing the MT5602 is a fixed lug titanium case measuring 42mm (52mm lug-to-lug), and a case thickness just shy of 13mm. Adorning the case is a titanium 60-click unidirectional bezel with a matte black ceramic insert. The presence of a screw down crown allows the Pelagos FXD to have a water resistance of 200m, which is notably less than any other Pelagos model. There is no exhibition case back, which keeps in the no frills, military-inspired design. Also keeping with this design philosophy, the dial is matte black. The dial has this beautiful blue lume on all the indices as well as on the hour, minute, and second hands and also around the entire bezel, making this watch incredibly easy to read in the dark (pictured below)
Personal Thoughts
Most of the things that make love this watch can easily be seen as reasons someone else might detest this reference. First, the fixed lugs might be a turn off to many people as it severely limits one's strap options; in fact it pretty much confines someone to NATO straps and a handful of other options like Erika straps for the FXD. Second, people may prefer to have a 120-click bezel as opposed to the 60-click bezel. That preference is somewhat understandable as the 120-click bezel gives a higher degree of control and precision. I don't have a good reason or explanation why Tudor went with the 60-click over the 120-click, we just have to accept their design choice. Third is the overall water resistance of the Pelagos FXD. As mentioned previously, the water resistance on this watch is considerably lower than on other Pelagos references. I read somewhere that this was done to keep with military-inspired design, rooted in the belief that military operations seldomly require service members to exceed that depth. I have no clue whether that's true or not, in this case I'm only the messenger. All that being said, if you're an avid diver who needs to descend beyond 200m, this might not be a great option for you. And finally one of the things that makes this such a great tool watch is that when I say this watch is "no frills", I mean it. Anything flashy (literally or figuratively) has been stripped away replaced with design choices that only add to the Pleagos' functionality as a high performing tool watch, and that is certainly a reason why I could imagine people shying away from the FXD. For several thousand dollars you're not getting anything that at first glance looks like it cost several thousand dollars.
For me, all the aforementioned potential banes for other collectors are all boons to me. They all culminate in a watch that I feel confident wearing in just about any situation or circumstance (like sailing, as pictured above), and it's low profile design flies under the radar of potential thieves. It also has the added benefit of being a watch that pretty much only other collectors will recognize. Going back to the movement, whether Tudor's movements are truly in house or not really isn't all that important to me as they're ultimately still produced by Tudor for all intents and purposes, I just think it's an interesting bit a of watch trivia. The movement itself is pretty spartan, free of any major complications. Which makes a lot of sense when considering what the watch was originally designed for. And while I understand from a design perspective why they chose to eschew a date complication, I would have preferred one. That might be my most scathing criticism of this watch.
I'll close by reiterating how I opened; I love this watch. If I lost it somehow I would replace it as quick as I could. I'm keenly aware that this watch is not going to be everyone's cup of tea which is completely fine; that's what makes watch collecting fun. When I went to buy this, I was wearing a Hamilton Khaki Field 38mm, which in hindsight feels a little like asking the employee you're about to fire to train his replacement. The Pelgaos FXD is a dive watch but also feels like a field watch on steroids. My parting wisdom is that if you have an inclination whatsoever towards this watch, do like I did and just go check it out, I'm confident you'll know almost immediately if the Pelagos FXD is right for you.
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