Launched by Rolex in 1946 as a more affordable offshoot, Tudor finally became a revered brand a little over a decade ago with the debut of its vintage-inspired Pelagos and the Heritage Black Bay — a pair of dive watches that could actually compete with the well-established options already available.
Tudor has been joining forces with the French Navy — known as Marine Nationale — since the mid-’50s and together they’ve released plenty of dive watches. However, for their latest collaboration, they’ve gone global with a new GMT instead that caters to the pilots of the French Navy. Let’s take a look…
Practical Proportions
While the standard Pelagos was a super-capable diver, it was a bit extreme. In 2021, with the help of Marine Nationale, Tudor came out with the Pelagos FXD (FiXeD strap bars). Now lending itself to NATO pass-through straps for easy swapping, it also dropped the impractical 500m of water resistance to 200m, and with it the watch’s thickness (from 14.3mm to 12.7mm). It still looked similar, however, with the same 42mm case diameter and titanium material. On the other hand, the bezel was a bit redesigned, now with bidirectional movement, a fully graduated countdown scale, and a toothier appearance.
Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT Zulu Time Basics
Based on the Pelagos FXD platform, the new GMT version may look like a diver in some ways but is an aviation watch through and through. Let’s start with the bezel, which is now given a 24-hour scale on a black ceramic insert, all on top of the 42mm grade 2 titanium case (grade 5 for the caseback). Obviously, we also get a fourth hand on the dial, colored in orange to contrast the black dial and beige markers and time-telling hands.
For those who don’t know, “Zulu Time” is the name given by many militaries for the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). You may recall Longines also having a Zulu Time pilot watch. This is the first GMT movement in any Pelagos model, let alone the FXD. And thus, we get a new movement for the Pelagos line. Essentially, it’s the Kenissi-base manufacture caliber MT5652-U you’ll find in the Black Bay GMT models, now with Master Chronometer certification.
Paying tribute to the French Naval Aviation (Aéronautique Navale) is a green woven polyester strap designed to look like their flight suits. The caseback features the Marine Nationale symbol etched into the titanium material, as well as “Aéronautique Navale” and “M.N.24” to signify the year.
Spec Sheet
Case Size: 42mm
Case Thickness: 12.7mm
Case Material: Titanium
Water Resistance: 200m
Movement: In-house MT5652-U automatic GMT
Band: Green woven polyester NATO strap
Limited Edition?: No
Pricing & Availability
Best of all, the Pelagos FXD GMT Zulu Time is now part of Tudor’s permanent range, meaning it’s not limited in edition size. Priced at $4,625, the timepiece is now for sale from Tudor’s website.
Recap
Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT Zulu Time
Tudor typically teams up with the French Navy on its Pelagos divers but has now added a GMT function for the first time ever, honoring France’s military aviators.
