Introducing the New Tudor Royal
After seeing many Rolex launches a few weeks ago, it seems that the surprises do not end here, it is now its subsidiary Tudor bringing to the market a new watch (and no, I did not forget the launch of the new BB58 on the first of July) with nothing less than 52 different variants, and yes, it was on purpose that I wrote in number instead of in full, since it is a huge amount of alternatives.
The Tudor Royal is not a really new watch in the Tudor collection, it is a model that has been around for a few years and to be honest I never knew exactly where it fit, maybe something close to the vintage Rolex Datejust, I would say it was probably one of the most simplistic watches in the brand, something that was forgotten in time … until today. This new Royal is completely different from the previous one, it is almost like going from night to day, so what stands out in it? a curved day window at the top, a crenelated bezel and an integrated bracelet.
But what exactly are these new Tudor Royal? Let’s start with the material of the case, they are made of stainless steel with an integrated bracelet, which confirms what we have already said for some time, that the integrated bracelets are in fashion and look really cool on the wrist, but back to the case, there are also several options in two tones, to be more specific 26 possibilities that are exactly the same number of options in stainless steel, these two tones are in stainless steel with a bezel and the small connection links on the bracelet in 18k yellow gold. About the size of the case, here things start to get more interesting, because it comes in four sizes, 41, 38, 34 and 28 mm, but the number options are not the same between them, in 41 and 38 mm there are twelve options for each one and in 34 and 28 mm they come with fourteen alternatives each. Now it’s time to talk about what differentiates them, the answer is the dial, there are five dials of different colours, in blue, black, silver and gold, all with sunray-finish and one last in white mother of pearl, the dials have marks of hours with Roman numerals (the same as we see on some Rolex models), but only 22, as the other 28 are marked with diamonds and Roman numerals. But there is more, although they all come with a date window at 3 o’clock, only the 41 mm size came with a curved day window at 12 o’clock, which brings an exquisite touch to the dial, like the Rolex Day-Date, it seems to us that they should have extended this feature at least to the following size, since others may still benefit from the excuse for size. Inside, a self-winding ETA movement with different Caliber’s, 2671 to 28 mm, 2824 to 34 and 38 mm and 2834 to 41 mm, but all with the same characteristics, 38 hours of power reserve and 100 meters of water resistance.
Final considerations, it looks like an exquisite piece with a very beautiful appearance, with a lot of alternatives for all wrist sizes and for all tastes, the crenelated bezel I would say is a questionable choice, even if it brings a vintage look, I remember one of the first comments on social media to the announcement of the launch of the watch – “that bezel kills the watch”, so I would say that betting on a fluted bezel instead of that crenelated bezel would be a more consensual choice. For me, the size of 38 mm should be a victory among the collection, but the fact that they do not come with the curved day window is a big mistake because it completely changes the perception we have about the watch. My last observation is about movements, I have no problem with ETA movements, they are great in performance and more accessible in terms of service, but for these days 38 hours of power reserve seem to be totally out of date, I remember that the same happens with other models from Tudor like Black Bay 36, and about it, I can say that one of the reasons why I haven’t bought one yet is because it comes with the ETA movement, when they should already come with an In-house movement, hopefully, they will arrive soon.
