Tudor releases a new Pelagos FXD Chrono, now with a cycling-theme to join the existing FXD Chrono Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition.
Press Release information with commentary in italics.
New: Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono Cycling Edition
The Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono Cycling Edition Ref. M25827KN-0001 retails for SGD 7,620 inclusive of GST.
Commentary
Interesting new addition to the Tudor collection. The Giro d’Italia Grand Tour has just started on May 5. Today, being Tuesday is the fourth stage. And the Tudor Cycling Team is participating in this grand tour which is classified at UCI WorldTour level! The Tudor team is only a UCI ProTeam and not UCI WorldTeam, this their entry into the Giro d’Italia is via a wild card. Perhaps becauseTudor is the official timing sponsor of the Giro. This is first for them at UCI WorldTour level. What a great start at one of the three Grand Tours. To celebrate, Tudor has released this novelty.
The collection chosen is the Pelagos FXD, but the new watch is a new version altogether of the existing FXD Chrono Alinghi. The novelty is the same as the Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition. Same carbon composite case. Same strap. Just different colours. The Cycling Edition now features a matte black case (same as the Alinghi) with fixed matte black bezel (the Alinghi had a bi-directional bezel) and a matte black dial (vs the Alinghi’s blue dial).
The biggest difference is the bezel markings and tachymeter on the dial. The bezel is now graduated in 60 minutes instead of the typical one for yachting. Also, the tachymeter is printed in pink on the angled rehaut. This is a nice nod to the Giro d’Italia as the tachymeter and sub-counter frames in pink is in solidarity with the colour of the Giro champion! The tachymeter is in the form of a spiral, wrapped around the peripheral to show speeds which are useful to professional cyclists. Typical tachymeter markings are associated with motorsport racing, and the scale is way too ambitious for cyclists. This one goes up a high of 240 units per hour, compared to typical tachymeters which measure in excess of 400. Though professional cyclists can achieve speeds in excess of 100 kph on downhill runs, 240 kph is still way too ambitious. Also, the on-board computer mounted on the handlebars of the bikes is a more convenient way to show speed at a glance. Plus it will also have the all important power meter readings. But what Tudor has done is very still a very nice nod to cyclists.
The movement is also the same MT5813, which is derived from the Breitling manufactured B01 movement.
Pricing wise, the Pelagos FXD Chrono Cycling Edition retails for the same price as the current price for the Pelagos FXD Chrono Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition. The Alinghi was SGD 7.08k, but the current Tudor site shows the retail is SGD 7.62k.
Release details
Specifically engineered for riders of the TUDOR Pro Cycling Team, TUDOR is unveiling a brand new Pelagos FXD model: a cycling-themed chronograph made with light weight and functionality in mind. With a carbon composite case fitted with a high-performance Manufacture Calibre, this watch echoes the daring spirit of a team competing in some of the most challenging cycling races around the world, including, from 2024, the Giro d’Italia.
Professional cycling isn’t for the faint of heart. Riders’ bodies and minds are pushed to the absolute limit with every pedal stroke, not to mention the incredible danger of the sport. A watch engineered with professional cycling in mind needs to stand up to the extreme demands of the sport, while being easy for the rider to operate. It’s no secret that the fastest bikes are made of carbon fibre, and that’s why TUDOR opted for carbon composite for the case of the new chronograph designed with daring riders in mind. The implementation of titanium elements help make the watch necessarily robust, as it will certainly face the unpredictable conditions presented by cycling.
It’s not only the durability of the watch that was considered during its design phase. It’s also meant to be useful to riders while they’re putting in time on the bike. It’s typical for the tachymetric scale of a chronograph to be calibrated to the speeds an automobile is capable of; indeed, many TUDOR chronographs feature a scale typically associated with motorsport. What makes the “Cycling Edition” special is that the scale is presented in a way that’s suited for the speeds that cyclists can sustain. The chronograph scale is “wrapped” around the dial in a spiral, allowing the average speeds that cyclists routinely operate at to be read at a glance. The tachymeter function on the Pelagos FXD Chrono “Cycling Edition” has been specifically designed for cycling.
KEY POINTS
- 43mm black matt-finished carbon composite case with fixed strap bars
- Fixed bezel with 60-minute graduation
- Cycling-specific tachymeter scale on dial
- Black matt dial with luminescent ceramic composite monobloc applied hour markers
- Manufacture Calibre MT5813 certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) with a hairspring in silicon and a 70-hour power reserve
- “Snowflake” hands, one of the hallmarks of the TUDOR divers’ watches introduced in 1969, with Grade X1 Swiss Super-LumiNova® luminous material
- One-piece technical fabric strap in black with matching hardware
RACE READY DIALS
The matt black dial with red accents puts legibility first and foremost and is reminiscent of the TUDOR Pro Cycling Team colours. The signature square hour-markers and “Snowflake” hands, designed back in the sixties by TUDOR to offer larger luminous surfaces and thus improve legibility, are fashioned from luminescent ceramic composite for optimal legibility in challenging conditions. Around the circumference of the dial, printed on a 45°-angled rehaut, is a re-calibrated tachymeter scale whose inner ring focuses on the speeds that cyclists ride at.
A FABRIC STRAP FOR RIDING
The single-piece fabric strap is one of the hallmarks of TUDOR, which in 2010, became one of the first watchmaking brands to offer it with its watches. Woven in France on 19th century Jacquard looms by the Julien Faure company in the St-Etienne region, its manufacturing quality, robustness and comfort on the wrist are unique. For the Pelagos FXD models, a highly technical strap construction was developed by TUDOR and Julien Faure. Made up of a 22mm solid black jacquard-woven technical fabric and a traditional buckle, it’s perfect for putting in time on the bike.
MANUFACTURE CHRONOGRAPH CALIBRE MT5813
The Manufacture Calibre MT5813, powering the Pelagos FXD Chrono, displays hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph and date functions. It also bears the matt finish typical of TUDOR Manufacture Calibres and comes complete with a signature tungsten openwork monobloc rotor.
Boasting a “weekend-proof” 70-hour power reserve and a silicon balance spring, the Manufacture Chronograph Calibre MT5813 is certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), with its performance exceeding the standards set by this independent institute at -2 and +4 seconds’ variation per day, tested on every fully assembled chronograph. A high-performance movement, it was crafted in the purest watchmaking tradition, with a column wheel mechanism and vertical clutch. In keeping with the TUDOR philosophy of quality, it presents extraordinary robustness and reliability, guaranteed by the array of extreme tests applied to all TUDOR products.
Derived from the Manufacture Calibre Breitling 01 chronograph, with a high-precision regulating organ developed by TUDOR and exclusive finishes, this movement is the result of a lasting collaboration between the two brands.
Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono Cycling Edition Specifications
REFERENCE 25827KN (Chronograph)
CASE
43mm black carbon composite case with matt finish
BEZEL
60-minute scale, fixed
WINDING CROWN
Titanium screw-down crown with the TUDOR shield in relief
PUSHERS
Titanium, direct-action
DIAL
Black, matt, red accents on the chronograph counters and tachymeter scale
CRYSTAL
Flat sapphire crystal
WATERPROOFNESS
Waterproof to 100m (330 ft)
BRACELET
Single-piece black fabric strap
MOVEMENT
Manufacture Calibre MT5813 with chronograph function
Self-winding mechanical chronograph movement with bidirectional rotor system
POWER RESERVE
Approximately 70 hours
PRECISION
Swiss Chronometer officially certified by the COSC
(Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute)
FUNCTIONS
Hour and minute hands at the centre
Chronograph seconds at the centre
Chronograph 45-minute counter at 3 o’clock
Small seconds hand at 9 o’clock
Instantaneous date at 6 o’clock with rapid adjustment without non-correction range
Stop-seconds for precise time setting
OSCILLATOR
Variable inertia balance, micro-adjustment screw
Non-magnetic silicon balance spring
Frequency: 28,800 beats/hour (4 Hz)
TOTAL DIAMETER
30.4mm
THICKNESS
7.23mm
JEWELS
41 jewels
