The Tudor Pelagos 39

Hello and happy Sunday. We’re back with another call-and-response where our editors answer some of the most pressing comments of the week. Please continue the happy cycle by commenting on the comments in the comments. Time is flat circle.

“What do you think about the hour markers, James Stacey? How would you compare them to the markers on Tudor’s other pieces, like the BB58? From a visual perspective, I think that I prefer the BB58 markers.” –

I like the hour markers on the Tudor Pelagos 39, and definitely prefer the square shape that we’ve seen not only on past Pelagos models but also on several past iterations of the Tudor “Snowflake” Submariners (such as the 7016 and the 9411). Given the design impetus of the Black Bay (and later, the Fifty-Eight), I can see why Tudor opted for the round/bar markers that were common to later generations of the Tudor Sub. That said, I think that the square markers offer something special that is different to that of the Rolex Submariner, and are both a fitting match for the Snowflake hour hand and a signal to a specific era of Tudor’s dive watch lineage. For me, square all the way. –James Stacey

Logan Baker kindly introduces us to the new Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon and Royal Blue Ceramic Perpetual Calendar.

“I have some kind of fascination for ‘swimming pool’ dials… I always love these dials that you’d want to wear by or in a swimming pool… know what I mean? The H. Moser mega cool, the Oyster Perpetual turquoise, hell ! even the Tag Heuer Aquaracer 200 for that matter… they just appeal to me. They make me feel like I’m by the pool even if I’m sitting at my desk… They have a soothing effect on me… And this AP is no exception to the rule, I dig it. That and the flying tourbillon, wow that’s cool… My frustration with most Royal Oak is the limited water resistance though (50 m in this case…), not to say that my pool is so deep… but a watch that chunky should be able to do better. What do you think?” – g999b

“Bringing another perspective to the table – if AP is a ‘high horology’ brand then why is a simple change of color celebrated as something noteworthy? Seems like an easy way to keep the revenue going with minimal effort on APs part, especially if we are speaking in terms of this pieces mechanical merits. The change of case materials, dial color etc… for existing models that brands release always rub me the wrong way. Variety is a good thing, and in a competitive environment like luxury goods its something that we should expect to see. So, is this worth reporting? Sure, would I call this ‘front page news’? Absolutely not.”

Although colored ceramic is inherently a difficult manufacturing process and fairly innovative from a materials standpoint, you’re correct in saying that there isn’t anything particularly groundbreaking about a new variant of an existing watch. But aesthetics do matter – and they matter a lot. For some collectors, they’re the whole ballgame. In my book, very few watches are as visually appealing as a Royal Oak, especially a perpetual calendar variation. And in terms of collectability, it’s safe to say you don’t see a whole lot of other blue ceramic QPs floating around the marketplace. As for water resistance, 50 meters will be more than enough for most people; pretty much anything else is purely academic. Besides, this watch already does so much! –Logan Baker