Tudor announces a new Pelagos 39

Just a few years ago, big watches were all the rage. The wearer’s wrist size didn’t matter, only the size of the watch was important. That said, things have changed in recent years. Watches of all types have shrunk to more reasonable proportions, but manufacturers have stopped short of a return to the tiny case sizes of decades ago. Tudor is no exception, as many of its recent releases have landed under 40mm in size. The latest is a brand-new 39mm Pelagos variant. 

The standard Pelagos and the more recent Pelagos FXD feature a 42mm case size. The Pelagos offers a date complication and a rotating bezel, while the FXD and Pelagos 39 are date-free. Even so, the smaller size brings no other compromises, and many people love the clean look of a no-date watch. It also features a 330ft water resistance rating, so it can handle light diving and swimming.

The 39mm variant comes in black, and Tudor includes a complimentary rubber strap. It’s still made with titanium, including the bracelet, so it’s incredibly lightweight and features a unique grey tint on the metal. The watch also comes with Tudor’s T-Fit clasp, enabling quick micro-adjustments. The feature is generally reserved for much more expensive timepieces, so the addition to a midrange watch from Tudor is a significant benefit and value add.

Under the hood, the 39 features Tudor’s MT5400 movement. The better-than-COSC-certified component offers an average daily time variation between -2 and +4 seconds when the movement is cased. That is more accurate than the COSC requirements of -4 and +6 seconds and is recorded when the movement is in the watch case, which is a technique Rolex uses. Timing a cased movement delivers less variation than timing an individual unit since the results represent a complete watch in the format that it would be worn daily.