It will come as no shock to my family, friends and colleagues to hear me admit that I have a certain fondness for Tudor watches. With each addition to my collection, I make the hollow promise that it will definitely be the last and, while I did manage to resist all of 2021’s early releases, it was a surprise launch in November that forced me to break my resolution. A timepiece that reignites Tudor’s famed military past, the Pelagos FXD is a watch that lovers of the brand have been waiting a long time for.

The story began in the mid-1950s with the introduction of the Oyster Prince Submariner that capitalised on the waterproof Oyster case developed by Tudor’s sister brand Rolex. Well built, reliable and affordable, the Sub was popular with both civilian and military divers and was adopted by several navies including France’s Marine nationale (MN), which issued its elite combat divers with Tudor watches through to the 1980s.

In terms of design identity, Tudor’s dive watches hit two important milestones. In 1969, Ref. 7016 introduced new, square indexes and hour and seconds hands with diamond-shaped tips that allowed additional luminous material to be applied – apparently a direct request from the MN. Because of their resemblance to ice crystals, collectors nicknamed the hands “Snowflake” and this was later adopted by the brand itself. The relationship between Tudor and the MN was later cemented by the Ref. 9401, which was finished with a blue dial and bezel and engraved on its caseback with the initials “M.N.” followed by the year of issue.

The Snowflake layout disappeared from the Tudor catalogue in the mid-1980s, but returned in 2012 when the brand relaunched itself with the Heritage Black Bay and Pelagos models – the first an homage to the Submariner, the second a slightly more serious tool watch. And while the Black Bay spawned a huge family of models, only three variations of the Pelagos were launched up until last year.

With a 42mm titanium case waterproof to 500m, a helium release valve, unidirectional rotating bezel and titanium bracelet plus rubber strap, the first Pelagos was every inch the professional tool watch. Three years later, the original black version was joined by the Pelagos Blue in the same colour as the MN Submariners of the 1970s. A year later, in a nod to another watch created for the MN, Tudor introduced the Pelagos LHD (Left Hand Drive), designed to be worn on the right arm.

n the right arm. But the trio has now been joined by the Pelagos FXD, and it is this watch that is proving irresistible for anyone with a passion for Tudor’s naval diving past. Aesthetically, there are several differences to previous Pelagos models. The date window and helium valve have been removed, while the five lines of dial text have been reduced to four. The 42mm monobloc titanium case – which at 12.75mm high is about 1.5mm slimmer than the previous version – now has fixed strap bars (hence “FXD”) and the titanium bracelet has been substituted for a pair of one-piece straps in embossed rubber with a pin buckle and woven fabric. In terms of performance, the watch is waterproof to 200m and the bezel rotates bidirectionally and displays a countdown scale rather than one that shows elapsed time.

Why have these changes been made? All the adaptations have been requested by those who originally inspired the piece: the French Navy’s Commando Hubert unit of combat swimmers. The new bidirectional bezel disqualifies the watch from the ISO diving watch standard, but it does meet the underwater navigation requirements of Commando Hubert.

In reference to the watches of the 1970s, and to formalise a renewed professional relationship, the caseback of each watch is hand-stamped with the MN logo and the year of issue (M.N.21 for the first batch off the production line, M.N.22 for those delivered this year and so on).

The MT5602 movement inside the case features a tungsten rotor and non-magnetic silicon balance spring. The watch is covered by Tudor’s transferable five-year guarantee that does not require the watch to be registered within that period.

£3,000; tudorwatch.com