A strong desire for adventure
TECHNICAL, reliable, relevant and highly evocative – Tudor watches are reportedly made for the modern adventurer.
For years, the company has presented its products against a backdrop of the great outdoors.
The same founder of the Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf, created the Tudor watch brand.
First established in 1946, the name came about from paying tribute to the Tudor rulers in Britain.
The brand has forged an identity for putting out timepieces that are modern yet stylish.
Each design from Tudor is unerringly classy – but at the same time, remains a robust creation.
In the early 1950s, members of the British North Greenland Expedition wore Tudor’s Oyster Prince watches on their wrists while carrying out a series of experiments in the most hostile conditions imaginable on Earth.
It was in the spirit of scientific instrumentation that the hybrid steel- ceramic external parts of the North Flag were created by the Tudor Style Workshop in order to express, on the outside, the high level of technology and reliability of its movement.
This begins with the choice of a case with integrated bracelet, a type of construction with a sophisticated overtone and a feel that requires delicate modelling work in order to attain optimum ergonomics and ideal fluidity of lines.
The Tudor MT5621 calibre powering the North Flag gives it a reserve of approximately 70 hours.
This means a wearer can take off the watch on Friday evening and put it on again on Monday morning without having to wind it.
Beating to a frequency of 28,800 beats/ hour or 4Hz, it is regulated by a variable inertia oscillator with silicon balance spring, held in place by a traversing bridge fixed at both sides to improve resistance to shocks and vibrations.
More than that, the calibre’s self- winding system is bidirectional and even comes certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute. This happens to be a first for a Tudor product.
Another creation, the Fastrider Chronograph, is born from a partnership with Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati.
Inspired by the non- conformist spirit of the famous Ducati Scrambler, the watch is both technical and exhilarating, with a youthful style.
In 2013, with the Fastrider Black Shield and its matt black ceramic monobloc middle case, Tudor presented the result of a shared design approach between the world of motorcycle sports and that of fine watchmaking.
It was an experience that continued with the customisation of a Ducati Diavel using the same aesthetic language.
Now, it continues on the path of aesthetic juxtaposition by offering a new Fastrider chronograph inspired by another Ducati model.
Three dials were designed to reflect the various Scrambler versions: bright yellow, the model’s historic colour; olive green for a powerful urban look; and loud red for a retro- chic effect.
Angular and detailed, it recalls the body of a motorcycle.
It holds a self- winding mechanical movement with a power reserve of approximately 46 hours, providing a calendar function with rapid corrector which may be read through an aperture positioned at 4.30.
One of the two bracelets available with the Fastrider chronograph is also an interpretation of typical north Flag. ( above) and Fastrider Chronograph ( left).
leather saddles with gadroons, offering an additional sporty effect.
The other option is a matt black rubber strap that reinforces the technical language of the watch.
The brushed steel case illustrates its technical nature and performance with its entirely matt finish, a feeling accentuated by the strong contrast created between the matt black ceramic bezel and push pieces, and crown with matt black PVD treatment.