Hiroyuki Suzuki, editor of Chronos Japan, recently took a deep dive into Tudor's new 2025 model, the burgundy-colored Black Bay 58, and now he's taking a look at the Pelagos Ultra as another watch worth paying attention to. Suzuki says it has the strongest specs in Tudor's history, but what exactly does it offer?
Text by Hiroyuki Suzuki
[Article published on January 19, 2025]
The new Tudor Pelagos Ultra is packed with the most powerful specs
Another noteworthy addition to Tudor's new lineup is the Pelagos Ultra. This high-spec model joins the collection, which includes the 500m water-resistant Pelagos, the left-handed Pelagos LHD, the military-style Pelagos FXD, and the 200m water-resistant Pelagos 39. The Pelagos Ultra boasts water resistance of up to 1000m, making it the most powerful model in the Pelagos family.
Automatic movement (Cal. MT5612-U). 28,800 vph. Power reserve: approximately 65 hours. Ti case (diameter 43mm, thickness 14.5mm). Water resistant to 1000m. Price: 839,300 yen (tax included).
The Pelagos Ultra case measures 43mm in diameter and 14.3mm thick, a 1mm increase in diameter and only 0.2mm thicker than the Pelagos. Similar to the burgundy Black Bay 58 and the Black Bay 68, which also feature a 43mm case, Tudor seems to be strongly conscious of slimmer proportions this year.
The use of a titanium case is one of the Pelagos' identities, but the Pelagos Ultra achieves an all-titanium exterior by using grade 2 pure titanium for the case, bezel, and bracelet, and grade 5 alloy titanium for the case back. This is a major improvement considering that the 500m water-resistant Pelagos had a steel back. The reason the titanium material grades are different for the middle case and case back is to prevent the screw back from seizing and galling. Of course, there is a helium escape valve at 9 o'clock for saturation diving.
To accommodate the larger case size, the snowflake hands have been redesigned to be slightly larger, and combined with the monobloc hour markers made of luminous ceramic, they ensure proper legibility. In the dark, the hour and second hands, hour markers, and diving scale on the bezel glow blue, while the luminous point at 12 o'clock on the bezel and the minute hand glow green, ensuring that the watch's essential function of measuring elapsed time is fully realized. The diver's extension on the buckle has also been redesigned, and a new visual indicator in the same color as the logo is included.
The movement also has the strongest specifications
The Cal. 5612-U movement is COSC-certified as a chronometer when used alone, and METAS-certified as a Master Chronometer when encased. It boasts the highest level of water resistance and is also guaranteed to be magnetically resistant, far exceeding practical standards.
One more thing: the fact that this model is METAS-certified means that its water resistance must be 25% of the displayed depth, meaning that it cannot be called a Master Chronometer unless it is water-resistant to 1250m. In 2009, shortly after the brand's relaunch, the company released the Hydronaut 1200, which was water-resistant to 1200m. While the Pelagos Ultra is billed as the "highest-ever Pelagos," it actually boasts the strongest specs in Tudor's history.
