Smaller And No-Date, Meet The Tudor Pelagos 39 (Live Pics & Price)

If the Black Bay is often seen as the cornerstone model of the brand – which it is in reality – Tudor has more to offer in the field of dive watches. In fact, the real diver in the collection is named Pelagos, a robust 500m titanium watch with a 42mm case and all the necessary equipment for saturation diving. A tool that pro divers have praised for a while already. Recently, Tudor has introduced a rather specific edition of the Pelagos, made together with the French Marine Nationale, the Pelagos FXD… an even focused edition made for military divers. And now comes this, a more versatile, less rugged, more “urban” edition of this watch that doesn’t look its characteristic design, but offers a less hardcore approach. Here’s a first look at the new Tudor Pelagos 39.

So what’s the idea behind this new edition, in terms of positioning? Looking at the classics, there’s basically the two original emblamatic models, the 41mm Black Bay and the 42mm Pelagos. Then came a smaller Black Bay, the Fifty Eight, and then the military-oriented Pelagos, the FXD. The new Tudor Pelagos 39 sits, at least in my opinion, in a small window; a compact dive watch with traditional features and a more rugged and more modern look than the BB58. And according to the brand, “Pelagos 39 is a compact and versatile, traditional mechanical dive watch, with a touch of elegance created by the shine of the sunray satin finishes on its dial and the insert on the bezel.”

So what’s to know about the Pelagos 39? First of all, it retains most of the design elements of the original 42mm version, yet simplified some technical features. As such, the case remains pure Tudor in the shape, with strong shoulders and a bevel running on the side of the lugs. The crown, which screws down, is still protected by pointy crown guards and the overall look will certainly feel familiar. Same goes for the choice of material, as this new compact model is still made of grade 2 titanium, with its characteristic dark tone and satin-brushed finishing.

New is the size. From 42mm originally, the Tudor Pelagos 39 now loses 3mm. The case also loses its helium escape valve and has now a 200m water-resistance. Thinner and smaller, it’s not meant to be a deep-dive watch anymore but a classic, robust yet wearable model also for daily life. The sapphire crystal on top is, as expected, framed by a unidirectional bezel made of grade 2 titanium, with a ceramic insert in black. Yet, now the bezel has a radial sunray brushed pattern and the 60-minute scale (only fully graduated from 1 to 15) is stil coated with luminous material. The caseback is screwed and solid stainless steel.

As with the rest of the watch, the dial will be a familiar one, yet with some updates. First and foremost, the Tudor Pelagos 39 now becomes a no-date watch. Then, the dial has been updated with a sunray brushed finish in the center and a matt finish of the 45° conical bead-blasted flange – again to bring contrasts and more refinement. Hands are classic white Snawflake and fully coated with X1 Swiss Super-LumiNova. And if the square hour markers are again known, they are now made of monobloc luminescent ceramic composite, a feature that enhances the technical aesthetics, whilst increasing the luminous surface of the hour markers. The final touch comes the cherry-red, glossy Pelagos printing at 6 o’clock.

On the wrist, the watch feels extremely pleasant, with balanced proportions. Not only the 39mm feels right on most wrists, but the 11.8mm is also very decent for a solid dive watch. The 47mm lug-to-lug is also close to perfect for such a sports watch. The final touch is the weight. Surely, titanium feels light but the watch, specifically on its bracelet, has enough heft and presence so it doesn’t feel fragile or too light. It’s kind of a home run in terms of size…

The Tudor Pelagos 39 model is equipped with the manufacture Calibre MT5400. Like all its siblings,  its construction has been designed to ensure robustness, longevity, reliability and precision due to its 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, the Calibre MT5400 has been certified as a chronometer by the COSC, with its performance going beyond the standards set by this independent institute. Indeed, if COSC allows an average variation in the daily running of a watch of between -4 and +6 seconds, Tudor insists on between -2 and +4 seconds’ variation per day. This movement runs at 4Hz and stores a comfortable 70h power reserve.

As expected, the new Tudor Pelagos 39 is worn on a matching satin-brushed grade 2 titanium bracelet, which is now equipped with a folding clasp that features the T-fit system, allowing for rapid length micro-adjustment. 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 diving extension. Finally, a black rubber strap with its own titanium pin buckle, its own titanium end links and a 110mm rubber extension piece for diving is also included.

Availability & Price

The new Tudor Pelagos 39 reference 25407N is available as of now from boutiques and retailers. It is priced at CHF 4,200. For more details, please visit www.tudorwatch.com.