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I already posted this over at the Rolex/Tudor Forum, but I think it fits in here quite nicely as well...
Been off the forums for a while but as I'm quite excited with this new arrival (I have it for 3 weeks now and it rarely left my wrist ever since...), I thought it might be time to share some first impressions:
The Tudor Pelagos attracted quite some interest at this years Baselworld and for me it clearly was the star of the show. Many things have already been said about this watch. Most comments were positive, but there were also a few negative ones. The negative comment I hear most often ist that it's too expensive, mainly because it "only" houses a common ETA movement. While the value of a watch is something clearly subjective, I think it would be a big mistake to judge this watch only by its movement! But I guess I better illustrate my points with a couple of pics:
Overall built quality is excellent and right on par with the one of the big sister, Rolex.
The watch is very comfortable to wear. On the one hand due to its shape (the caseback is large and flat and the lugs curve down nicely and perfectly hug the wrist), on the other hand due to its relatively light weight (for all the people who hate Titanium due to its light weight: this watch is still quite substantial. While I didn't weight it, it feels only slightly lighter than my Sub C). Here are a couple of wrist shots (I have a 6.75 in wrist):
The overall matte finish of the watch is stunning and gives the watch a clean no-nonsense tool-like look. the look reminds me a little bit to the IWC GST Titanium Aquatimer Ref. 3536, which is (at least for me) a good thing: I always loved that watch and I kicked myself a lot for not getting one when they where still regularly available...!
I particularly like the lumed matte ceramic bezel. And it doesn't only look nice: there is absolutely zero play and it makes the nicest clicking sound of all the watch bezels I've ever tried!The dial is very nice as well. I love the applied markers and the chapter ring with its cut-outs for the markers. The colour is a beautiful anthracite, much like the dial colour of the current black and yellow IWC Aquatimer 2000. The snow flake hands... well I guess you either love or hate them! I for one love them, and Rolex, take a close look: that's how you properly execute a phantom effect!
But of course one of the nicest things about this watch is its ingenious clasp (unlike the rest of the bracelet, it's made of stainless steel). The micro adjust mechanism works perfectly: you simply have to slightly pull down the divers extension part and then you can adjust the legth of it by sliding left or right. There are 3 fixed positions and the fourth (spring-loaded) variable position. And then you can still unfold the divers extension which is one of the longest I've ever seen. I think this might be one of the few metal bracelets you can actally fit over a 7mm wet suit!Yet Tudor was able to keep the clasp still relatively compact. I guess the development of this clasp alone must have cost them a small fortune!
If you are not so much of a bracelet guy, then no problem: the Pelagos comes with a very nice additional rubber strap (including a divers extension which ist actually long enough to wear the watch even over thick dry suits!). A very nice touch of Tudor!
By the way, the Pelagos also looks very nice on Natos or an Isofrane:
And just if you're wondering how the Pelagos compares size-wise to a Sub C, here are a few comparison shots:
All in all, I couldn't be happier with this watch. For me as a lover of Titanium dive watches, the Pelagos was a complete no-brainer right after I saw the first pics. But now as I own the watch, I must say that it even exceeded my high expectations! For me, it is worth every penny I paid for it. Cost-wise, I think it is unfair to compare it with boutique brand watches using the same movement (besides, I think Tudor must use a very high grade version of the ETA 2824, as it runs within COSC specifications...). I rather compare it with e.g. the current IWC Aquatimer 2000 (which I owned) or, quality-wise, even with my Sub C. And compared with these watches, the Pelagos is a real bargain: e.g. it costs not even half the price of a Sub C...!
So, is it better than a Sub? No, certainly not. But neither is the Sub better than the Pelagos. As a matter of fact, the two watches are so different, that it's hard to compare them. I think I try it with an analogy out of the car world: if the Sub C is a beautiful Range Rover Sport with nice shiny rims, low-profile sports tires and an excellent supercharged V8 engine, the Pelagos is a Land Rover Defender with a winch, snorkel and a rugged, reliable Diesel engine. Both are excellent cars in their own ways. But if you really had to go out in the dirt, which one would you choose...?
Cheers,
Beedoo
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Originally Posted by arutlosjr11
