Tudor Pelagos 25500TN: The Ultimate In-Depth Guide
The Tudor Pelagos reference 25500TN is the first step in a new direction for Tudor.
It is also one of the modern Tudor watches which have come to become the most popular.
But why is that so, and what is it that makes the Pelagos so special? In this article, we’re discussing the Tudor Pelagos 25500TN.
The Tudor Pelagos 25500TN was released at Baselworld watch fair in 2012, which is today sometimes referred to as the year of the divers? Why? Well, not only was 2012 an important year for Tudor as it was at the beginning of the Tudor brand’s extensive rebranding, but it was an important year because it was the year when two of Tudor’s most important models, which also happens to be dive models, were released.
I am of course talking about the now so-popular Heritage Black Bay, and the Pelagos 25500TN, which is the watch we’re going to focus on in this article.
The Pelagos can be considered an instant success. When it was launched, it was well-received by most people, and overall, it received good reviews.
It is now many years since Tudor’s most serious dive watch was released, and a lot of things have happened – including the update of the Pelagos 25500TN in the form of a new in-house movement as well as a few other visual differences. Tudor has also introduced more variants to the Pelagos range.
But despite this, the Pelagos 25500TN is still the ”original” and first Pelagos model, and while many people argue that newer is always better, that does not seem to be the case for the Pelagos 25500TN, as it is just as appreciated, and just as appreciated – if not more – as it was when it was first launched in 2012.
Tudor Pelagos 25500TN
The Tudor Pelagos 2550TN is Tudor’s most serious dive and tool watch to date. Despite the fact that it has now gone more than seven years since it was launched.
But what is it that makes the Pelagos so popular, almost to the point where it can be considered a modern classic?
Well, first off, the Tudor Pelagos is packed with lots of clever features and tech, that not only show that Tudor is, despite being a brand with a long and rich heritage, a brand that means business as it continues to progress, develops, and push innovation forward.
Secondly, the Pelagos combines subtle vintage-inspired elements that people have come to love and combines that with modern design and technology, and the result is a combination that just works perfectly. Some of these design elements can be seen as references to vintage Tudor Submariner models, but at the same time, the Pelagos only lends some design elements from Tudor’s past, not copies it like the Heritage Black Bay, and this results in something new and unique.
Then, of course, we cannot forget the fact that the Pelagos 25500TN is a really good-looking watch.
The Pelagos is Tudor’s most serious dive watch, and the reason I say so is that it has a water resistance of 500 meters (or 1640 feet). This is significantly more than the dive watch that is in second place, which is the Heritage Black Bay. This watch ”only” has 200-meter water resistance. In other words, the Pelagos have more than twice the water resistance that the Black Bay has. Now, there are watches that have even greater water resistance, like the Rolex Deep-sea Sea-Dweller, but the fact is that no normal person, or even diver, dive down to depths greater than 500 meters.
What enables the 500-meter water resistance is the watch’s helium escape valve. The helium escape valve is placed on the left side of the case, and it is engraved with the words gas escape valve.
In order to allow for water resistance, a helium escape valve is needed, in order to release the helium that is created inside the case under pressure.
Case
A special thing about the Pelagos 25500TN is that the case is made completely out of titanium and has a satin finish. Not only does satin titanium look sporty and contributes to making the Pelagos appear more like a tool watch.
The fact that the case and bracelet are made out of titanium makes the watch extremely light. As a result, the low weight makes the 42mm case feel smaller than it actually is on the wrist. This is a good thing considering the fact that it is a tool watch, and should not get in the way when you’re out diving or doing other adventures.
The case has a really nice finish, and considering its price, it is a watch that offers great bang for the buck.
Yes, the low weight can result in it feeling like a low-quality watch, as many people tend to associate lightweight with cheap, and hefty with high quality. However, the case of the Pelagos is so nicely finished, has no rattle, and feels in no way low-quality, so most people would consider the use of Titanium a good decision for this type of watch.
Due to the character of titanium, the watch has no polished parts but is instead satin all the way through. And for a tool watch like the Pelagos 25500TN, this makes sense, as polished surfaces tend to add elegance to the watch, and this is not a trait that the Pelagos strives to have.
In true vintage fashion, the lugs of the watch have bevels that not only look good but work as a reference to Tudor’s history.
Looking at the crown guards of the watch, you’ll see that they are pointy. Pointy crown guards can be found on early Tudor Submariners, and in that way, you can assume that Tudor has taken a bit of inspiration from these crown guards when designing the Pelagos. More specifically, the pointy crown guards date back to the early 1960s model reference 7928, which was the first Tudor Submariner with crown guards, since the previous models did not feature crown guards at all.
Maybe the biggest vintage-inspired trait of the Pelagos is the dial, and most specifically the hands and markers, and this brings me to the dial of the watch.
Dial
The dial of the Pelagos 25500TN is matte and has a rich texture. This builds on the already industrial satin look of the rest of the watch.
The dial is black, but the rich texture of the dial makes it come to life when the sunlight hits it.
The watch has so-called snowflake hands, which is one of the most iconic (and loved) traits of Tudor’s vintage dive watches. The snowflake hands can be found on the so-called ‘Snowflake’ Submariner (reference 7016 and 7021) which was released in the late 1960s. The Submariners which feature these snowflake hands have skyrocketed in price over the years, and collectors go crazy over them.
The indices continue on the theme and are square, which not only continues on the snowflake theme but also has a practical purpose as they allow for great legibility. This is, of course, crucial for a dive watch, as divers need good legibility – even in dark places.
This brings us to the lume.
The lume of the Pelagos is great. The hands, indices, and bezel, glow strong and glow a long time after being charged. The square snowflake hands also allow the wearer to effortlessly distinguish between the hour and minute hands.
The watch is equipped with a flat sapphire crystal that is AR coated which allows for a clear view of the dial when looking at it straight on.
The contrast of black and white also contributes to the great legibility.
You’ll also find a date window at 3 o’clock which comes in handy when wearing the watch as a daily /everyday watch. And… Let’s be real. That’s what most people will use it as anyways.
Bezel
The bezel of the Pelagos 25500TN is great. It continues on the satin theme and is finished in matte black, with white markers. What’s special about the bezel markers is that they are luminous, so in dark enrolments, they glow and allow the wearer to keep track of the bezel timing.
The bezel points out slightly from the case, which enables the wearer to get a good grip on the bezel. The bezel also has a sharp coin teeth edge, which allows for perfect grip, even when operating it with swimming gloves. As you’d expect, the bezel is unidirectional.
Something you may not think at first is that the bezel insert is made of ceramic. This is because it is matte, while most other ceramic inserts tend to be polished.
Ceramic is more commonly used for watches due to their scratch-proof and very wear-resistant characteristics.
Bracelet
The bracelet is the most discussed (and loved) part of the Pelagos model. As mentioned, the bracelet has been made in titanium, and if you are familiar with the bracelet of the Black Bay, the Pelagos bracelet won’t be something new. It has the same three-link structure and the same clasp. At least visually. But when you look closer, the clasp is where the Pelagos stand out.
The clasp of the watch is a real tech fest, that has lots of fun and useful features. The clasp in the Pelagos 25500TN is also the first clasp of its kind from Tudor. This is also a reason why, when it was launched in 2012, it was so well-met.
What does the clasp do?
Well, first off, the bracelet adjusts during diving. When diving in deep water, it contracts when the diving suit is compressed and its volume is reduced. Conversely, the clasp expands as the pressure eases during the ascent of the diver, and the pressure release.
Furthermore, the clasp also has a diver’s extension which can be found inside the clasp at a ”button” that says ”push”. Push this and the bracelet will extend itself a few millimeters in order to fit over a wetsuit.
The Pelagos also comes with an additional rubber strap with a third extension system part that enables you to wear the watch with the rubber strap over a wetsuit. The rubber strap has a titanium lock which has the shape of the Tudor shield logo.
The clasp also has three micro-adjustments which you can see indicated on the side of the clasp, allowing you to further adjust the bracelet size.
Pelagos Movement
Now that the Pelagos 25500TN has been discontinued (as of 2016), in favor of an updated in-house version, we can discuss a little about the movements, what made Tudor change the movement, and which really is better.
The Pelagos 25500TN is equipped with a Tudor-modified ETA 2824 movement. And now that an in-house version is available, the movement is normally the thing that causes the most debate. In other words, should you get the Pelagos with the in-house movement or should you get the original, classic, Pelagos with the ETA movement?
Well, it is obviously up to you, however, most purists will opt for the 25500TN for a number of reasons. First off, purists prefer classics. The ETA version will always be the first Pelagos, and this obviously has a bit of historical importance. Furthermore, ETA movements have a lot of benefits.
ETA movements are generic movements that most watchmakers can service. In-house Tudor movements, however, are a bit more complicated, and ”can” only be serviced by Tudor themselves. And I put can in quotation marks because there are of course watchmakers who will be able to service your Tudor movement even though they don’t worry for Tudor or at a Rolex service center, however, it gets a lot more complicated to service this type of movement than a basic ETA movement.
The result is that services tend to be more costly to do, and when a service is due, you really don’t want to compromise and have your Tudor movement serviced by someone who has no previous experience with that movement.
The ETA movement can be considered a bit boring. It’s nothing fancy, however, the upside is that it has proven to be a reliable workhorse that offers great functionality.
The ETA movement of the Pelagos 25500TN is tried and true, and it is cheap to maintain, but the downside is that it is a bit boring and generic.
On the contrary, the new generation Pelagos reference 25600 is equipped with an interesting in-house movement developed by Tudor which adds another value proposition to the watch. And when you look at other dive watches similar to the Pelagos on the market which have in-house movements, the competition is extremely narrow. This separates Tudor’s in-house Pelagos more from the competition than the ETA Pelagos.
What’s interesting is that most watch collectors tend to opt for the ETA Pelagos 25500TN rather than the in-house version, when considering which of them to buy.
While you would assume watch collectors are also movement nerds, that is not always the case. The number one reason why people choose the ETA over the in-house? That is actually the text on the dial.
The Pelagos 25500TN only has two lines of text on the dial apart from the Tudor shield logo and the Tudor name.
On the contrary, the in-house Pelagos has an added three lines of text, which takes up a lot of space on the dial.
And I can agree that the dial of the modern Pelagos can look a bit cluttered with all that text. At the same time, some people don’t have anything against the extra lines of text on the dial, and it especially makes sense that Tudor wants to proudly show that the watch has an in-house COSC movement. Oh, and the ETA version of the Pelagos is ever so slightly thinner than the in-house version, which some people also take into consideration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Tudor Pelagos 25500TN is a serious tool watch from Tudor that offers great bang for the buck.
It is surely a future classic, and naturally, it makes us want to compare the Pelagos to the Rolex Submariner as they are both dive watches made under the same organization.
The Submariner and the Pelagos are made under the same roofs, and even by the same workers, yet still, they are very different in so many ways.
With the Pelagos, Tudor shows that it is willing to go in its own direction. Tudor was previously known by many as the ”poor man’s Rolex”, but since its relaunch, and in recent years, the brand has moved more and more away from Rolex, and proven that it is strong enough to stand on its own legs. In particular with the release of watches such as the Pelagos.
With several Pelagos watches available on the market, it is up to you to decide if you want the original, classic, ETA 25500TN, or if you are going to opt for a modern in-house version.
Either way, the Pelagos is a watch that offers great value for money, and that sits really good on the wrist.
