Tudor’s Military Grade Dive Watch For French Navy Now Available To The Public

Tudor is renewing its historic relationship with the French Navy as a supplier of dive watches, and this time they’re making a version available to the public, with a state-of-the-art movement and a robust, titanium case. The Pelagos FXD was developed specifically for underwater missions, including navigation and combat. The FXD in the name, refers to the fixed strap bars, machined together with the case from a single block of titanium. The goal is extra safety, and for the same reason, a NATO style strap is used, which means it is a one-piece design that weaves under the case instead of the traditional two-piece design that attaches to lugs via pins – which can easily break if the strap gets caught on something; you never know what might happen on a combat dive. Titanium is used for the same reason – it’s twice as tough as steel.

Tudor developed its first dive watch for the French Navy in 1956. Back then, the Groupe d’Étude et de Recherches Sous-Marines (G.E.R.S.), a scientific body attached to the French Navy, tested a series of Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner watches to assess them in real-life situations. They were deemed perfect for the Navy’s purposes, and Tudor became an official supplier in 1961. That lasted until well into the 1980s, and at least one of the many models created by Tudor specifically for the Navy has become a sought-after collectors’ piece – the Ref. 9401, made in 1975.

None of these historic pieces were available through Tudor retailers, but now that Tudor has renewed its partnership with the French Navy, the new Pelagos FXD is being made available through its authorized dealers. A slightly different version – with a special attachment on the strap for Navy equipment, and right-or-left hand options – will be supplied to the French Navy. Otherwise the watch is the same, with 200 meter water resistance, and plenty of Super-LumiNova on the hands and numerals. It has a 120-notch rotating bezel, with retrograde graduation from 60 to 0. The movement is the COSC certified caliber MT5602 with a 70-hour power reserve. The caseback is engraved with the French Navy logo and the letters “MN” which stand for Marine Nationale, along with the year of issue (21). It is priced at $3,900, and comes with a five-year warranty.

The strap is made of blue polyethylene woven ribbon with a silver central thread, a titanium “D” buckle, and a self-gripping fastening system. Fun fact: the maker of the strap, Julien Faure, a French firm founded in 1864, has woven decorative ribbons for many years bearing the names of French Navy ships, and makes part of the legendary bachi, the red pompom hat worn by French sailors and quartermasters.