Introducing: A Black Tudor Pelagos FXD, Inspired By The U.S. Navy
What We Know
Tudor released the Pelagos FXD in 2021 as a purpose-built take on its Pelagos dive watch, designed with direct input from France’s Marine Nationale. Today, Tudor has announced the next iteration of the Pelagos FXD, this time inspired by its history of watches made for the United States Navy. Except for the new black color, the latest Pelagos FXD is similar to the existing model that was developed with input from the MN.
The dimensions of the brushed titanium case on the new Pelagos FXD are familiar: 42mm diameter, 52mm lug-to-lug, and 12.75mm thick, along with fixed spring bars (FXD is short for FiXeD). True to the Pelagos’ purpose, it’s a modern, do-it-all-diver, now with military inspiration.
The ceramic bezel is black, fully graduated, and lumed. The only functional difference compared to the MN is that the new FXD has a uni-directional rotating bezel. The bezel meets the ISO standard for dive watches.
The new black FXD comes on a one-piece fabric strap in forest green with a red strip down the middle. It’ll also come with an additional one-piece rubber strap.
Finally, the new Pelagos FXD uses the same Tudor caliber MT5602 also used in the Tudor Pelagos FXD for the MN. It’s an automatic, 4Hz movement with 70 hours of power reserve that Tudor introduced in 2016. The new Pelagos FXD has a price of $4,150.
What We Think
Tudor explains that its dive watches were tested and evaluated by the U.S. Navy as early as the mid-1950s and officially adopted by 1958. It says that the new Pelagos FXD is closest to a vintage ’60s 7016, most notable for its snowflake hour hand, but also incorporates mil-spec and design elements from other generations of issued Tudor divers.
Unlike issued watches in many other military branches, Tudor says that U.S. Navy-issued Tudor watches didn’t follow this convention. Many were sterile or marked at the unit level, which can make it difficult to determine the military provenance of Tudor Subs today, though many of them were in fact issued.
The new Tudor Pelagos beside a vintage Submariner 7016 with U.S. Navy provenance.
Unlike the original blue Pelagos FXD, there has been no official collaboration or input from the U.S. Navy on the new FXD. But, Watches of Espionage has written an article explaining that the new black Pelagos FXD is a civilian adaptation of a Tudor that was developed for the Navy’s SEAL Team Six.
“The ‘Black FXD’ is not new at all,” Watches of Espionage writes. “For almost a year, a special unit version has been on the wrists of dozens of elite operators during training exercises and operational deployments around the globe.” He explains that a black FXD has been available for purchase by unit members (i.e., not issued) and has a few other details that distinguish it from the new commercial version: The commissioned watches have just two lines of text on the dial (not four), the “Pelagos” text is available in multiple colors, and it’s even available in a left-hand drive (LHD) version.
With this added context, it seems that Tudor’s connection to the military is very real. The connection to SEAL Team Six makes the latest Pelagos FXD more than just another example of Tudor drawing on its heritage to make a killer-looking modern dive watch.
James will have a full hands-on review of the new Pelagos FXD in the next few days, so stay tuned – after spending just a few minutes hands-on with it, he said the vibe is kind of like an FXD crossed with the Pelagos 39, which is a vibe I can certainly get behind.
When ending his hands-on of the original FXD, James said, “If you asked me three times in a single day which Pelagos I’d like to own, you’d likely get three different answers. But I’ll tell you this, one of them would certainly be the new Pelagos FXD.” After seeing even just a few photographs of this release, I’m inclined to say the same thing about the new, new Pelagos FXD.
Updated (9/14): This article was updated shortly after publishing to include the additional connection to the Navy’s SEAL Team Six.
The Basics
Brand: Tudor
Model: Pelagos FXD
Reference Number: M25717N-0001
Diameter: 42mm (52mm lug-to-lug)
Thickness: 12.75mm
Case Material: Titanium (grade 2)
Dial Color: Black
Lume: Super-LumiNova on dial and bezel
Water Resistance: 200m
Strap/Bracelet: Black fabric strap + additional rubber strap
The Movement
Caliber: Tudor MT5602
Functions: Time only
Diameter: 31.8mm
Thickness: 6.5mm
Power Reserve: 70 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour
Jewels: 25
Chronometer Certified: Yes
Pricing & Availability
Price: $4,150
Availability: Immediate at Tudor retailers
Limited Edition: No
For more information, visit Tudor Watch.
Hodinkee
