Review: Tudor Pelagos aka the Dark Knight. Updated 6/20/14

The title says it all, here we have the beautiful Tudor Pelagos. Beautiful doesn’t even begin to do this watch justice. Never has the saying “less is more” become more apparent than with this watch I have sitting in front of me. It’s like a stealth bomber, with it’s killer lines. It’s hard to even start this review because I can’t stop staring at it. Where is my drool cup? The keyboard is getting soggy. This is such an understated, unique watch, that a traditional review would not be fair to this watch. It deserves an entirely different approach. Since this watch is a few years old, everything about this watch has already been reviewed multiple times. The Pelagos reminds of when you first saw Spider-Man in his black costume. No, not the cheese ball Tobey version, but the original comic book version. I remember thinking holy $hit! Spider-Man is so bad ass looking.

 

Or if the Rolex Sub is Bruce Wayne, then the Pelagos is Batman.

 

 

I’ve heard all the complaints about the Pelagos having an ETA movement, and I say so what. Just as I say, an inhouse movement, so what. We all buy watches for different reasons, if the movement isn’t your cup of tea, then don’t buy it. What is complaining about a watch you aren’t going to buy going to prove anyway?

The packaging for the Pelagos is perfect IMHO. I love the black and red colors. Comes with all the box and papers that are traditionally included when you purchase a watch.

The case is so sexy, yes I said sexy. It has curves like Marilyn Monroe. The case is machined by the same machines that Rolex uses on it’s watches. There are so many subtle details that you don’t even notice when you first look at this watch. It’s one of those watches, that the more you wear it, the more you discover about it. I’ve had it for about a week, and I’m still noticing details about it.

This is an adventurers watch, this would be a better choice for Daniel Craig’s Bond over the Omega PO. Don’t get me wrong the Omega is an awesome watch, but the Pelagos IMHO would suit Bond that much better. The Pelagos just screams classic yet rugged beauty.

The hands are a nice throw back to the Tudor watches of yesteryear, referred to as the “snowflake” style hands. All 3 hands are lumed, just as the raised markers on the dial are and the bezel numbers. The lume glows like a flashlight and lasts the whole night with just a bit of charging from a light source.

 

The lume is more green than blue in person.

The dial is matte black which gives it that stealthy look. The matte look of the dial matches the matte ceramic bezel. This watch is the exact opposite of any watch I have ever owned. This watch likes to hide in the shadows, unnoticed and unassuming but ready to kick some serious tail. The titanium case is not very shiny, like a gun metal flatness to it, but the nice detail bezeling on the lugs and side of the case catch natural lighting very well.

 

 

The screw down crown features the Tudor shield, adding to the “dark knight” feel to this watch. If you haven’t figured it out by now that not only am I a watch geek, I’m also I’m a comic nerd.

The “Gi Joe” specs of this watch are as follows

42 mm titanium and steel case, satin finish
Helium escape valve
Unidirectional rotatable bezel in titanium with black ceramic disc
Self-winding mechanical movement (ETA 2824)
Power reserve of approximately 38 hours
Screw-down steel winding crown with the TUDOR logo
Sapphire crystal
Waterproof to 500 m (1640 ft)
Titanium bracelet with folding clasp, safety catch and bracelet extension system Additional rubber strap with buckle and extra extension piece

You get a lot of watch for the price and a watch is only worth as much as you are willing to pay for it. It retails brand new for around $4000. I love everything about this watch. The only thing I would change to meet my personal presence is the size. I would love to see this in a 44mm case. The titanium worried me because of the lightness as I prefer a heavy watch, like I have a brick strapped to my wrist. But the Pelagos has a real nice feel to the weight and it doesn’t have a cheap feeling at all.

This watch has it all and can handle it all in my opinion. I like that it doesn’t have the pearl on the bezel, but instead has a flat pearl marker. Since this is an adventurers watch, I would worry if it had the pearl on the bezel that I would break it off. I’ve heard the argument before, if your spending that much on a watch then why would you take it on outdoor, rugged adventures? That question can only be truly answered by the individual who buys a watch. We all buy watches for different reasons and we all treat our watches differently. I personally buy watches that I know I can wear daily, and ones that I know can handle what I like to do outdoors. I prefer diver style watches. The Pelagos has most of what I desire in a watch and I couldn’t be happier. This very well can be a keeper for me. I’m a one watch guy. Some find that strange, which I agree, it is strange. Especially in a world with some many great watches. But I feel, if I watch has everything I need, why would I need to look for another?

I will updating this as my time with this watch goes on, but so far it’s comfortable, keeping good time +/- 7 seconds per day, it looks amazing on the wrist(even better in natural lighting, and I’m seriously loving everything about this watch. A great watch all around and I believe this is the classic Tudor of today is looking for. Thanks for reading my friends.

I have been wearing this watch non stop for a few weeks now and it is even better. The more I wear this watch the more I find more things to appreciate about it. One thing is the lume, it’s like a flashlight at night with a little charge from a light source. I’ve never cared about lume before, but that’s because I’ve never had lume quite this nice. It’s absolutely breathtaking.

The finishing on the case is so precise and methodical. It takes on a different appearance depending on what the light source is. The angles, machining, brushing can’t be truly described in words, it has to be experienced first hand. I would HIGHLY recommend this watch to anyone looking for a dive watch that can do it all. On looks alone, IMHO the Pelagos blows the submariner out of the water. The lines and curves of this watch are memorizing. The hands, dial and hour markers are so unique and beautiful, I disagree with anyone who says the Pelagos is meh/flat. This watch stands out and has a great presence on the wrist. Not a “hey look at me” kind of way, but a “whatever you can put me through, I’ll handle it with ease and beyond” kind of way. Awesome is all I can say about my experience with this watch. It definitely grows on you the more you wear it, just like the black Spider-Man suit did to Peter Parker and Venom.

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