You know I love the Sea-Dweller ref. This is one of those watches that made me say, “If I buy this, I’m probably screwed.” And I meant it at the time. Wearing the Sea-Dweller was an impressive experience and never lost its impact. But as time went on, I wondered if I romanticized the impact of the watch and the experience of wearing it. After all, that was twenty years ago. And in those twenty years, we’ve all seen a lot of changes in the world of watches. While I haven’t lost sight of the Sea-Dweller ref. 16600, its context has changed.
Essentially, I have been able to check out many incredible new watches and my frame of reference has changed. On top of that, many different timepieces have impressed in terms of materials, build quality and overall performance.
The typical Tudor dial design with oversized square and rectangular markers combined with snowflake hands makes for one of the most striking looks in the copy watch industry. It wasn’t necessarily love at first sight for me. But when you read the story of how it came to be, it’s easy to recognize how TUDOR solved a functional problem with an effective and great design. That’s when I realized that Tudor’s appeal goes far beyond its reputation as a budget Rolex cottage.
The Pelagos is a natural progression of the TUDOR brand. It is a modern diver with recognizable dial and hand features and modern execution. This is the type of evolution we often praise in Rolex. And that makes the Pelagos completely different from Tudor’s Black Bay collection.
It starts with the 42mm titanium case, which is 14.3mm thick. While this is quite substantial and too thick for some, that thickness serves a purpose thanks to the 500-meter water resistance rating and the helium venting valve on the left side of the case. On top of that, for me, the Pelagos don’t necessarily wear a heavy watch.
This is also thanks to the sturdy brushed titanium strap and the excellent spring-loaded TUDOR strap stretching system. This is yet another element that shows that TUDOR is here to create the modern diver and nothing more.
And while we’re on the subject, the Sea-Dweller ref. 16600’s Achilles heel is its fragile clasp. While I love the crunching sound of vintage Rolex straps, the Sea-Dweller 16660 is a bit too modern. Other than that, Tudor’s modern titanium bracelet is a step up in time from the Sea-Dweller’s hollow bracelet.