Monday Morning Rematch With The Winner Of The Fratello Summer Splash 2022: Morgan’s Very Own Tudor Pelagos FXD

Do you have any idea how long I’ve been listening to our photographer Morgan telling me how badly he wanted a Tudor Pelagos FXD? Ever since he started with Fratello back in March. Yes, he desperately wanted to be part of the winning team. I am, of course, referring to the fact that the titanium dive watch, with its crisp blue dial and fixed lugs, won last year’s Fratello Summer Splash. Anyway, not too long ago, he managed to acquire the dive watch of his dreams, and ever since, I’ve been looking at a very happy Frenchman. I decided to snatch the Pelagos off his wrist and see if the watch was also able to ignite a spark in my heart.

I have a couple of very rational arguments for why I like the Tudor Pelagos FXD (M25600TB-0001) in its Marine Nationale attire. The fact that it’s a non-retro watch, for instance. That it’s made of lightweight titanium is another one. And I like the shade of blue of this utilitarian dive watch with its quirky fixed lugs. It’s not made to charm the market. Instead, it’s made to function on the wrists of French Navy divers. That’s why the bezel is not unidirectional but bidirectional because, that way, it can be used to navigate underwater. Funnily enough, the top tool watch of the Tudor bunch is one of the hottest tickets in the catalog. Heck, there are more people on waitlists for it than there are professional divers in the world.

Reacquainting myself with the Tudor Pelagos FXD

Sure, the FXD isn’t produced in the largest of numbers, but still I think that Tudor is surprised by the demand from the market for a non-retro tool watch with some very odd specifications. It must be the no-nonsense attitude and the military DNA that speaks to the current Tudor crowd. It sure swayed the Fratello crowd because it took last year’s win in the most prestigious and respected of watch competitions, the Fratello Summer Splash. And I get it. Well, rationally, I get it. Emotionally, not so much. It’s time to reacquaint myself with the watch, try it on for size once more, and see if it’s going to woo me this time.

Nothing wrong with the numbers

On paper, there’s nothing wrong with the Pelagos FXD’s numbers. The case has a 42mm diameter with a 12.75mm thickness and a 52mm lug-to-lug length. Those are middle-of-the-road dimensions for a modern sports watch and will work on almost any wrist. And this watch does work on my 18.5cm wrist, for sure. It does look a tad big on the wrist, though. That’s because of a couple of things. There’s the bezel that sticks out ever so slightly — the roughly two extra millimeters do make it very easy to operate, though. The proportions also make the watch look a bit flat and wide. And because of the fixed lugs, you will have a strap running underneath the case, lifting the whole case on your wrist. This does help counter the “flat and wide” look a bit, I have to admit.

Still, with the fabric strap that comes with the watch, the Pelagos FXD feels very comfy on the wrist. The titanium case keeps the weight down, and the strap makes it possible to accurately size it to your wrist.

The sound of Velcro in the morning

However, there’s something about that fabric strap that I have a real problem with. I just don’t like the sound of Velcro in the morning — or the afternoon or the evening, for that matter. Do you know the scene from Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) in which Cal Weaver, a middle-aged man played by Steve Carell who wants his wife back, gets style advice from womanizer Jacob Palmer, portrayed by Ryan Gosling? In the mall, Jacob picks out a new wardrobe for Cal, and when Cal wants to pay for the clothes, he pulls out a wallet and opens it. The ripping sound of Velcro that follows makes Jacob move back in disgust. That scene made my son throw away his old wallet. Well, the OEM strap of the Pelagos FXD has the same effect on me as the wallet did on Jacob.

There’s an easy solution for that, though. Yes, it’s an extra investment on top of the €4,070 you’ll pay for the Pelagos FXD, but it won’t break the bank. There is, of course, the purist option, and that is to put on a thin elastic Marine Nationale strap. A strap like this is very appropriate, and although hooking one takes a bit of getting used to, it is very nice to wear. You can also choose from a lot of colors that match both the watch and your style and taste. And if you want to dress the watch up a bit, there’s the option of putting on a single-pass leather strap from Atelier Romane — take a look at the cream variant in deer leather.

Feeling like a skipper

Back to the factory-standard Pelagos FXD on the wrist. I took it to a ship that’s docked very close to Fratello HQ. Once I climbed aboard the Enterprise, a barge built in 1921 by Belgian shipyard Boel in Temse, I felt like a skipper. And although, technically, a skipper needs a deck watch, not a dive watch, any maritime watch will get you in the mood/character once you set foot on the deck of a boat/ship. You know that if you fall overboard, the 200m-water-resistant watch won’t let you down, and you also won’t miss dinner because the caliber MT5602 inside the watch is a chronometer-certified, self-winding movement.

Alone on the water with just my thoughts and the Pelagos FXD

I didn’t navigate the Enterprise out of the harbor for real, but I still spent some time aboard with the FXD on my wrist. I had my coffee, enjoyed the fair morning, played around with the watch, observed it on my wrist, and waited for love to strike me. Well, love didn’t strike me, but I did warm up a bit. Was it the August sun or the watch? I think it was a little bit of both. Well, that and the photographer shouting how good the watch looked on me — you know who I’m talking about. Did the rematch with the FXD make it win my heart? Well, one thing is for sure: the Pelagos FXD is my favorite modern Tudor watch. That opinion is still largely based on rationality, but I do think I can feel a small spark somewhere. And it isn’t my fifth cup of coffee.