Tudor Releases their Latest Pelagos FXD Chrono
Tudor continues their extended campaign of surprise drops, and colorful editions of their Pelagos FXD Chrono, with the new Pelagos FXD Chrono “Yellow.” It’s been clear for some time now that Tudor’s broad release strategy includes limited production versions of certain key references, and they frequently highlight a bright color that’s not part of the core collection, and are always tied to a specific athletic partnership.
This new version of the Pelagos FXD Chrono is once again made from Tudor’s carbon composite material, and is effectively the same design as their recent release of this watch in pink. That watch, announced in May, was timed to coincide with the Giro d’Italia cycling event, and this one is similarly meant to be tied to the Tour de France. Specifically, Tudor has identified their partnership with Fabian Cancellara, a brand ambassador and former pro cyclist who is now the owner of the Tudor Pro Cycling Team, as the impetus for this watch. Cancellara, over the course of his cycling career, led the Tour de France for a total of 29 days and obtained 8 stage victories. Yellow is the color of the jersey worn by the Tour de France leader through each stage, so you often see watches tied to the race sporting the color it’s most associated with.
With each passing release, it becomes clearer that Tudor is aiming to make the Pelagos FXD Chrono a specialty sports watch as opposed to the diving chrono it looks like on paper, and have really leaned into cycling to do it. Tudor’s reasoning, beyond some obvious corporate synergy, seems relatively solid. Cycling, they argue, is a sport that’s particularly hard on the bodies of the participants over long intervals of time. Robustness and light weight are both therefore key attributes for a “cycling watch,” and the FXD Chrono’s construction, which mixes carbon and titanium, would seem to be well suited to the sport. As with prior releases aimed at cyclists, this version of the Pelagos FXD Chrono includes a tachymeter with a scale suited to timing speeds achieved in cycling, as opposed to the auto racing.
The specs for this watch are in line with previous examples of the Pelagos FXD Chrono in carbon. The diameter is 43mm and the case has a matte black finish and a fixed 60 minute bezel. The watch runs on the automatic MT5813 chronograph caliber and is COSC certified with a 70 hour power reserve when fully wound. Lume filled snowflake hands make the watch easily identifiable as a Tudor in spite of the less common (for now) carbon material. And of course on this version we have bright yellow accents on the tachymeter scale at the dial’s perimeter, as well as the subdials. A one-piece fabric strap is included that also has a yellow stripe running down the middle.
It’s always fun to wake up to a surprise announcement from Tudor. They are one of the most important brands in the watch industry, particularly for enthusiasts, and I think because of their association with Rolex there’s a perception that every move, and every release, is orchestrated in an extremely careful way. This release, I’m sure, has been in the works for many months if not multiple years, but there’s nevertheless a feeling of spontaneity seeing an objectively strange and niche watch like this suddenly appear, and to reflect that Tudor now has a real collection of highly specific carbon watches in its catalog that also includes a Black Bay Chronograph.
The Pelagos FXD Chrono “Yellow” is a limited edition of 300 pieces.The retail price is $5,600. Tudor
The post Tudor Releases their Latest Pelagos FXD Chrono appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Comments
Post a Comment