With its modern design and high-end performance, Tudor's Pelagos range has been the go-to watch for professional divers and fans of the brand who don't appreciate the faux-vintage design of the Black Bay range.
Up until now, however, the Pelagos has only been available in a shirt-stretching 42mm diameter, which isn't ideal for those of us with smaller wrists or people who prefer smaller watches.
Today Tudor has launched the Pelagos 39 model, which measures 39mm (the same as the immensely popular Black Bay 58) and, the brand claims, is at the 'crossroads between the world of technical diving and urban sophistication'.
The Tudor Pelagos 39 features grade 2 titanium, luminescent ceramic composite monobloc hour markers, a rapid adjustment system for the clasp and a diver’s extension. Esentially this is a professional dive watch with the versatility of a 39mm case – a surefire recipe for success in my eyes.
The Pelagos 39 model joins Tudor's family of technical divers' watches, and will sit alongside the 42mm Pelagos, Pelagos LHD and Pelagos FXD models.
The aesthetic balance of the Pelagos 39 model is achieved through an entirely satin-brushed case in line with the rest of the Pelagos family. This contrasts with the radiance of its bezel insert, made of black ceramic with an enhanced sunray satin finish, featuring a graduated scale in white luminous material. The diameter of the bezel slightly exceeds the middle case for maximum grip.
The applied hour markers on the dial are made of monobloc luminescent ceramic composite, a feature that enhances the technical aesthetics, whilst considerably increasing the luminous surface of the hour markers.
The dial is made up of two main elements, a sunray satin finish flat disc whose subtle shine contrasts with the matt finish of the 45° conical bead-blasted flange.
Last, but not least, the name Pelagos stands out in glossy cherry red at 6 o'clock, disrupting the model’s two-tone colour palette.
Inside, the Pelagos 39 model is equipped with Manufacture Calibre MT5400. Its construction has been designed to ensure robustness, longevity, reliability and precision.
The movement features a variable inertia balance, which is held in place by a sturdy traversing bridge with two points of fixation. Thanks to this balance and the non-magnetic silicon balance spring, Manufacture Calibre MT5400 has been certified as a chronometer by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), with its performance going beyond the standards set by this independent institute.
In fact, where COSC allows an average variation in the daily running of a watch of between -4 and +6 seconds in relation to absolute time in a single movement, Tudor insists on between -2 and +4 seconds’ variation in its running when it is completely assembled.
Another notable feature is that the power reserve of Manufacture Calibre MT5400 is "weekend-proof", about 70 hours, which enables the wearer to take the watch off on a Friday evening and put it back on again on Monday morning without having to wind it.
The Pelagos 39 model is supplied with an entirely satin-brushed titanium bracelet that is equipped with the TUDOR “T-fit” clasp for rapid length adjustment. Easy to use, requiring no tools and offering five positions, this system allows the wearer to carry out a fine, instant adjustment of the total length of the bracelet along an adjustment window of 8 millimetres. This clasp also has a 25-millimetre bracelet extension function to allow the watch to be worn over a wetsuit.
The Pelagos 39 comes with a second strap made of black rubber, with a titanium pin buckle, that attaches to the case with titanium end links. Also included is a rubber extension piece that makes it possible to lengthen the strap even further, by up to 110 millimetres.
The Tudor Pelagos 39 is available in stores immediately and retails at £3,400.
