Tudor Pelagos -- More thoughts than review actually

[Left Coast Guy 24]

My Tudor Pelagos arrived Tuesday from Fat Panda -- excellent transaction and highly recommend those folks btw -- and after a few days on the wrist, wanted to share some thoughts. First, here she is:

 

On to the thoughts:

• First, its a pretty big watch. I'd never seen a gen, other than photos on the web, so when I got it in person I was a bit bigger than I expected. Probably my own fault for that misunderstanding, as I looked at the specs, but figure it would be similar in size to the Black Bay. While it may not be significantly bigger, it wears bigger on the wrist...its at least thicker and feels like the case at least (if not the bezel) is larger.
  

• The quality and design is really attractive -- I love the look of brushed titanium and love the contrast of the matte black with it. In terms of looks this rep delivers exactly as had hoped.
  

• Because of the titanium the watch wears really light, but the clasp makes it a little more noticeable on the wrist than I was hoping. Its a thicker clasp because of the spring mechanism so you definitely feel it when you type on a computer for example.
  

• The downside of titanium is that the bracelet isn't as "warm" on the wrist. I feel like steel bracelets don't feel as sharp once you've worn them a bit because the metal retains your body heat a bit and warms up, this bracelet doesn't feel cheaply sharp, but certainly has edges on it that you definitely feel in certain movements.
  

• After wearing it for a bit, I'm not really sure how I'd classify the style it represent -- for me your typical Rolex Sub is a bit of an everyday dress watch, since I feel the Rolex brand is old and stodgy, I prefer my Black Bay blue. I was kind of hoping the Pelagos would be a replacement for that, so I could put the Black Bay on the leather strap, but wearing it, it feels more like a casual Sub -- its larger, not as shiny and actually feels like a sport watch vs. the Rolex which feels like a dress watch with a sports design
  

Anyway, on all accounts, I'm very happy with the purchase at this point -- only time will tell though whether the Pelagos actually sees time on the wrist. As much as I like all my watches, now that I've got a fairly fulsome collection, I find there are 5-8 that I don't have to make myself wear, but rather end up picking up when I'm in a rush. Here's to hoping the Pelagos joins that crew

[Haltec 0]

Nice inputs. Steel warmth observation stands. Don't care mutch about Titanium either.

[nunu78 1,743]

nice writeup, thanks for the good and informative review.

[MetalMickey 179]

Thanks for this. I too find the titanium feels 'odd' but I think it is a perfect compromise of weight and size and I love the matt finish of titanium as a change from shiny steel.

[tomfun 0]

What's it like on the rubber strap? Very tempted with one of these

[k3rm87 180]

Good review. If it ends up with the other 8 in the box PM me and I might take it for your hands.

[Gazzla 23]

Good review and nice pic, Sir.

 

Much better than any Rollie . . .

[Left Coast Guy 24]

What's it like on the rubber strap? Very tempted with one of these

 

I haven't got that far yet. Given the usual pain in removing end links and since I'm not really a fan of the rubber, I'll probably not try it anytime soon.

[Kemist 0]

Nice review. Thanks for sharing the thoughts.

[SSTEEL 0]

Thanks for sharing your experience with your rep, have you a photo showing the clasp on the wrist so we can see what you are referring to?

[ShovelnTC 31]

Yeah thanks for taking the time, I'm a big Tudor fan and originally thought that this was a certainty for me but I held off due to the two versions but I've now lost interest and your comments about the size is the decider as the BB is as big as I want to go.

[Archimedes 0]

Nice looking watch, maybe add it to the wanted list

[MetalMickey 179]

Yeah thanks for taking the time, I'm a big Tudor fan and originally thought that this was a certainty for me but I held off due to the two versions but I've now lost interest and your comments about the size is the decider as the BB is as big as I want to go.

 

I find that with the reduced weight the Pelagos looks and feels about the same as the BB. perhaps cos I normally wear TAG and Rolex 39-40mm so they both seem bigger.

[Left Coast Guy 24]

Here are some more pics to show the difference between the Pelagos, Black Bay, and Rolex Sub, and a few to show you what I mean by the clasp mechanism being thicker.

 

Just on reviewing these pics, the size looks pretty close to the Black Bay, but the case back does protrude on the Pelagos where its flat against the case on the Black Bay, that's why the Black Bay feels thinner I think.

 

[neogen69 0]

which do you think is a better buy the BB or pelagos?

[ShovelnTC 31]

OK physical watch size doesn't look as big as I expected but that clasp is a big chunker isn't it!

 

Wonder why the case back sits so much deeper being as I'm pretty sure that the BB and Pelagos share the same 2824 movement in Rep and Gen.

[flyr 4]

OK physical watch size doesn't look as big as I expected but that clasp is a big chunker isn't it!

 

Wonder why the case back sits so much deeper being as I'm pretty sure that the BB and Pelagos share the same 2824 movement in Rep and Gen.

 

Depth rating BB 200M

Pelagos 500M = thicker case

[Daywatch 4]

Very well summarized in-depth and thoughtful/helpful review. Does a very good general description of what to expect together with some helpful pics and comparisons.

Really enjoyed this, thanks for sharing.

[UmpaHimself 222]

Very nice. I really like the style and am a huge fan of Ti. The only thing I don't like about the clasp is how it kind of hangs off on the back side staying straight when the bracelet wraps to you wrist. Many bracelets do this to some extent but I think this one is a bit thicker and longer so it exaggerates that.

 

What's it like on the rubber strap? Very tempted with one of these

I love it on the rubber. Honestly it's hard to choose. I wanted it on bracelet because most of the watches I wear these days are on rubber or leather but it looks so damn good on the rubber and it's a really nice strap.

[nunu78 1,743]

I love mine on bracelet to me it's fine.

[MetalMickey 179]

I don't think the clasp is any bulkier than the new Rolex glide lock ones, which are hands down the most comfortable I have worn. The Pelagos one just feels wrong though. As Umpa says it has a gapwhen closed, it pops open despite the secondary lock when you catch that gap with your sleeve and it doesn't feel as positive when moving between positions.

[Left Coast Guy 24]

Thanks guys, glad I could help. I just wanted to show off the new toy!

 

which do you think is a better buy the BB or pelagos?

 

Hmm, tough choice. In terms of Tudors, the Pelagos is the one I had been lusting over, so I only really got the Black Bay because I figured the Pelagos would never get made. And it was a trade to boot, at the time I don't think I would have bought it outright. But now that I've had it, I do really love it -- It probably gets worn more than the 20 or so reps and 10 gens I own, at least in the last couple months. Considering you can get one of those for $250 or so these days, I'd say the Black Bay is the winner. But I'm only 3 days into the Pelagos.

 

I don't think the clasp is any bulkier than the new Rolex glide lock ones, which are hands down the most comfortable I have worn. The Pelagos one just feels wrong though. As Umpa says it has a gapwhen closed, it pops open despite the secondary lock when you catch that gap with your sleeve and it doesn't feel as positive when moving between positions.

 

Is the glide lock the one from the DSSD or just the standard adjustable one on the sub? My sub has the standard adjustable, one and I think the Pelagos is a bit bigger than that. But my clasp is fine otherwise, never pops off, feels fine until I type on my laptop....than it catches a bit.

 

But as you can seen, lots of watches have that problem...

[MetalMickey 179]

I'm comparing to the new sub ones, on the 116610 ceramic models. They initially seemed really bulky (to me) compared to the old flimsy clasps but I grew to love them. The Pelagos just seems so.... fiddly.

[Asaf 0]

Very nice .... always makes me feel tudor wat traying to creat Knights design

[winky 0]

imho....i think the pelagos is the perfect interpretation of a modern day sub....absolute poetry in referencing the vintage styling and detail while still somehow managing to add a modern minimalist feel....CRAZY GOOD