Introducing: Tudor And The Marine Nationale Go Worldwide With The Pelagos FXD GMT 'Zulu Time'

October 30, 2024

At 12:00 Zulu Time, Tudor went hot with a new Pelagos FXD, a watch originally developed with the French Naval special forces unit Commando Hubert as a purpose-built tool for underwater navigation and buddy diving. That watch became a platform for a variety of releases, including sailing chronographs, cycling chronographs, and a bunch of others. Tudor has now gone back to the core inspiration for another watch built for the rigors of the Ae?ronautique Navale with a new GMT version of the Pelagos FXD. Cased in Grade 2 titanium, measuring 42mm by 12.7mm with a 52mm lug-to-lug fixed strap-bar design, the watch looks and feels similar to several previous Tudor releases, all combined into one tough-looking package. The watch features a matte black dial and beige applied indices (with blue emission lume), an orange GMT hand (with green emission lume matching the GMT bezel), and red accents for the product name on the dial. The bezel is also in titanium with a ceramic bi-directional GMT insert. The caseback features the engraving "M.N.24" (Marine Nationale 2024) as a callback to the original military-issued Tudors of the '70s and '80s. Inside, you'll find the Manufacture Calibre MT5652-U automatic "flyer" GMT movement with 65 hours of power reserve and an independent jumping hour GMT hand. It's also METAS-certified. The watch comes on a "flight-suit green," one-piece fabric strap with a grade 2 titanium pin buckle and keeper. It also has an extra removable fabric keeper with the French Naval Aviation roundel if you really want to lean into the French military theme. The watch is listed at $4,625 and isn't a limited edition. What We Think When Tudor started teasing this release, I was pretty certain it would be a titanium version of the FXD Chrono platform because of the emphasis they put on helicopters. A flyback chronograph for pilots would have made a lot of sense and shown the breadth of what the Marine Nationale and, specifically, the Commando Hubert do on a mission basis, including airborne insertions. On the other hand, the Pelagos FXD GMT makes a lot of sense as a complementary tool for every member of the team, especially when they're operating boots dry or just on station in a land-based combat zone. My immediate reaction to the image on Instagram was that I had to get one as soon as possible. I regret not picking up the original Pelagos FXD with the M.N.21 caseback upon release, and as someone who wears a GMT almost daily, I've been waiting for the right Tudor GMT to join the collection. This is like a mashup of that original FXD M.N. and the LHD (Left-Hand Drive). When I saw it was the older MT5652 movement, I paused. It's a solid movement, with a flyer GMT, but the Black Bay Pro has that same movement and an interesting design but falls on the chunkier side.? The new Pelagos FXD GMT feels more reasonable, with a wider 42mm case but thinner at 12.7mm (versus 14.6mm for the Pro), which isn't too far off from my Rolex 126710BLRO. The larger case size might also balance out nicely with the Grade 2 Titanium. I'm going to wait to reserve final judgment (and payment) until I finally get my hands on one in person, but even more importantly, we should get a follow-up from Hodinkee's King of Tudor, James Stacey, as soon as he can get his Pelagos-loving hands on one.? The Basics Brand: TudorModel: Pelagos FXD GMTReference Number: 2542G247NUDiameter: 42mmThickness: 12.7mmLug-to-Lug: 52mmCase Material: Grade 2 titaniumDial Color: Matte blackIndexes: Beige applied hour markers with matching "Snowflake" handsetLume: Blue and green emission Super-LumiNova Water Resistance: 200mmStrap/Bracelet: Flight-suit green one-piece fabric strap with grade 2 titanium pin buckle and keeper; extra removable fabric keeper with the French Naval Aviation roundel The Movement Caliber: Manufacture Calibre MT5652-UFunctions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, flyer GMTDiameter: 31.8mmThickness: 7.5mmPower Reserve: 65 hoursWinding: AutomaticFrequency: 28,800 vphJewels: 28 jewelsChronometer Certified: Yes, METAS certification Pricing & Availability Price: $4,625Availability: ImmediatelyLimited Edition: NoFor more, click here.