From the 1960s to the 1980s, Swiss watchmaker TUDOR was a go-to brand for both the French and U.S. navies with its Submariner dive watches. History with these types of timepieces served it well when launching two new divers in 2012: the heritage-inspired Black Bay and the modern-styled Pelagos. The Pelagos has since become its flagship tool watch and, upon its debut, featured the Rolex Group’s (TUDOR’s parent company) first titanium case ever.
TUDOR’s Pelagos line is easily one of the most traditional mechanical divers around, but fans had reported that the 42mm case size was a bit too bulky for everyday use, since many dive watch fans like to wear their timepieces wherever they go. Now, the Pelagos range gets a new addition with the Pelagos 39, which lessens the profile to a more casual 39mm and ditches the date window and helium escape valve. To do so, the watchmaker has lessened the water resistance from 500m to 200m, which may seem like a big drop. However, considering that the recreational dive limit is only 130m, the practicality of the tool watch still remains intact for most people.
The unidirectional rotating bezel features sunray satin-finished ceramic inserts and surrounds the black sunray dial with lumed indices. Inside the grade 2 titanium case is a manufacturer-caliber MT5400 automatic movement with a bidirectional rotor system and 70 hours of power reserve. The watch comes with a titanium T-fit folding clasp bracelet with a safety catch and diver’s extension, but a black rubber strap also comes complementary inside the box.
Several hundred dollars less than its 42mm counterpart, the Pelagos 39 retails for $4,400. Head over to TUDOR’s website to find out where to buy the dive watch.
