Two years ago, after decades of hiatus, Tudor has renewed its collaboration with the French Navy (the first dating back to the middle of the last century), producing a version of the brand's best-performing diver, to which some specific modifications have been made. This is the Pelagos FXD, so called because of the fixed bars (FXD is a contraction of "fixed") of the strap attachment, of the through-bracelet type, which create a single body with the 42 mm diameter titanium case. Completely satin-finished, it tactically avoids any kind of reflection.
The new evolution of this model, on the other hand, pays tribute to the history of the watches that Tudor made for divers in the US Navy, starting in 1965. Compared to the previous version, it changes the colour of the dial from blue to black, in line with the Oyster Prince Submariner Ref. 7016 from the late 1960s, its vintage reference.
There is no change in the layout with square hour markers and Snowflake hands, two unmistakable elements with which to make the luminescence more intense in low light conditions. The water resistance datum is 200 metres.
Another element of difference from the French Navy version is the bezel. In the first model, in fact, it is of the bidirectional type and features a sexagesimal scale graduated in the retrograde direction for setting and monitoring countdowns, which is useful for the requirements of 'underwater navigation', one of the combat swimmers' specialities. In the new version, however, it is unidirectional and the black ceramic insert has a regular 60-minute diving graduation, replacing the inverted scale on the FXD of 2021.
The strap, produced in cooperation with the Julien Faure company, consists of a black nylon fabric band with a red central thread, with a titanium 'D' buckle and a hook-and-loop fastener that fits wrists of all sizes and offers an optimal fit. The watch comes with an additional dark grey rubber strap with fabric motif and a titanium pin buckle.
At its heart, the manufacture movement remains the automatic MT5602 calibre with silicon balance spring and 70-hour power reserve, which boasts Cosc chronometer certification. But if the standards imposed by the Cosc allow for an average variation of between -4 and +6 seconds in the daily running of an unset movement, the performance of Tudor's calibre goes much further. In fact, the brand stipulates a variation of between -2 and +4 seconds for its movements for the fully assembled watch.
Price4,190 euro.
