Marine Nationale - MR STATELESS

October 30 2024

Tudor Unveils The New Pelagos FXD GMT “Zulu Time”: Built For Marine Nationale’s Elite Commandos

Ricardo Amaral NEW RELEASES, TUDOR 2024, GMT, Marine Nationale 0

Tudor has expanded its renowned Pelagos line with a striking new model, the Pelagos FXD GMT, designed in collaboration with Marine Nationale’s Commando Huberto, the French Naval Special Forces unit. This rugged timepiece, now part of Tudor’s permanent collection, brings a GMT complication to the titanium-cased Pelagos, reinforcing its status as a precision tool watch suitable for military operations and adventure.

Crafted with a Grade 2 titanium case, the Pelagos FXD GMT boasts dimensions of 42mm in diameter, 12.70mm in thickness, and a length of 52mm, achieving a balance of durability and wearability. The satin-finished titanium case is equipped with fixed spring-bars and is enhanced by a solid case back, engraved with the Marinha Nationale coat of arms and marked with “M.N.24.” Its black bidirectional 24-hour bezel, filled with green-glowing Super-LumiNova, pairs with a fluted crown at 3 o’clock, adding further durability with a flanking guard system.

The matte black dial of the Pelagos FXD GMT is complemented by beige block indexes and Tudor’s signature snowflake hands, all filled with luminescent material that glows blue. The GMT complication is underscored by an additional orange hand and a “Pelagos GMT” inscription at 6 o’clock, designed to glow green in the dark, aligning with the bezel’s visibility-enhancing design. A discreet date window positioned near the crown with a beige background blends seamlessly with the dial, enhancing readability without detracting from the watch’s bold aesthetics.

Powering the new Pelagos FXD GMT is the Caliber MT5652-U automatic movement, an impressive METAS-certified movement offering precision and reliability. With a GMT flyer and an operational frequency of 28,800 Vph, the movement provides a robust 65-hour power reserve, ensuring timekeeping accuracy and performance even under demanding conditions. The watch’s 200-meter water resistance adds to its durability, making it ideal for marine activities.

Tudor pairs the Pelagos FXD GMT with a military-inspired one-piece green fabric strap, complete with Grade 2 titanium hardware and a fabric loop showcasing the French Naval Aviation roundel. Priced at €4,740, this new addition to the Pelagos line offers both heritage and high performance, meeting the needs of professionals and enthusiasts alike.

Introducing the Tudor Pelagos FXD – Marine Nationale

Ricardo Amaral TUDOR Marine Nationale 0

About 2 weeks ago when David Beckham “let slip” for minutes a photo on his Instagram account showing him with a new Tudor on his wrist with the suggestive message “Game time Countdown” in blue followed by the Tudor Instagram account, it made you realize that the long-awaited Tudor Marine Nationale was about to arrive, albeit completely different from what we had all imagined.

Since the announcement about the new Tudor M.N. many months passed and much was speculated about what was to come, as is usual in the Rolex-Tudor universe, large windows of dialogue open on social networks between enthusiasts and pseudo-experts and almost always, as numerous of us warn, rarely the result is the expected, since the Rolex-Tudor universe listens to little or nothing to its audience, sometimes it goes well and sometimes not, but that’s what the market is and as they say in the financial markets, the price of stocks already discounts everything. Among the many options available to the public, there were some that stood out and almost made us believe what was to come, namely a new Tudor Submariner, a new Black Bay Fifty Eight with a snowflake dial, or a much-desired new Pelagos with a smaller case between 39-40mm in diameter and thinner.

Well then, nothing projected by an enthusiastic audience has been confirmed, with the exception perhaps of the fact that the new Tudor is a Pelagos, or almost that. But let’s go by parts, the new Tudor Pelagos M.N. comes with a new titanium case and thinner, with a new bezel and no date window, so far so good. Now for the most questionable, the new Tudor Pelagos M.N. still comes in a 42mm case, with a superior lug-to-lug distance of now 52mm, fixed-lugs, 200 meters of water resistance, and no helium escape valve. The first conclusion we can draw is that the new Tudor M.N. it’s very different from what most of us would like.

But after all, what can we find in this new Pelagos? A 42mm titanium case with fixed-lugs, bi-directional titanium bezel with ceramic insert with 60-minute countdown markers and 120 clicks, crown with guards at 3 o’clock, stainless steel case back engraved with “Marine Nationale” logo followed by the inscription of his initials and also reference to the year – M.N.21; sapphire glass and 200 meters of water resistance. The snowflake-style dial in blue shows few changes compared to its homogeneous Pelagos, now without a date window and with 4 lines of inscriptions on the dial, dropping the former “Self-Winding Rotor” line ”. Powered by Caliber MT5602 which is based on Caliber MT5612 (of the remaining Pelagos) and which equips the entire Heritage Black Bay line, it offers up to 70 hours of power reserve. The new diver watch is offered with a fabric strap with a contact clasp system in navy blue with gray central filament, and an additional navy blue rubber strap with fabric motif and titanium buckle, for a price of € 3,740.

Our Opinion

Although the new Pelagos has a more tool-watch appearance than its three older brothers, largely due to its countdown bezel and the new case with fixed lugs, the reduction from 500 to 200 meters of water resistance by suppression helium escape valve completely vanishes this idea. We are not here to say that 200 meters are not more than enough for most of us adventurers in the water, however, the Pelagos that we know and have learned to admire has as one of its most distinguishing features the 500m of water resistance. We also can’t understand why the new Pelagos come with fixed-lugs when nowadays we all like to change straps frequently, not to mention that it’s impossible to add a steel bracelet which, for me, excludes it from my shopping list. In short, the new Pelagos at first glance seems to be one of those cases that originated from a good idea but which later resulted in an unfinished project in which we have difficulty finding a spot to fit it, reminds us of the Black Bay P01, let’s hope we’re wrong and when we see it live we can change our minds.

Tag: Marine Nationale

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