Rolex

1/ The PELAGOS ULTRA, ref. M2543C1A7NU-0001 powered by Calibre MT5612-U

As surprising as it may seem from someone like me who is very much focused on colored gold dress watches, I've always loved the Pelagos and have been tempted by the regular blue dial variant (ref. M25600TB-0001).

The 43 x 14.5 mm case of the Ultra is unfortunately too large for my wrist, but I liked it very much nonetheless: the matte black dial with light green "Pelagos" looks aesthetically perfect and I liked very much the fact that the notched inner minutes flange that frames the applied markers on the regular versions has been replaced with a more classic angled réhaut. Lastly, contrarily to many Black Bay models, the Pelagos Ultra has kept its snowflake seconds hand (not replaced by a lollypop).

So, it's really a diver I wish I could pull off better...

As a comparison, here's how the 42 x 14.3 mm case of the regular blue version (ref. M25600TB-0001) and the 39 x 11.8 mm case of the Pelagos 39 (ref. M25407N-0001) looks on my wrist (sorry for the bad screenshots of videos from 2023). 

2/ The OPALINE DIAL BLACK BAY PRO, ref. M79470-0006 powered by Calibre MT5652

This watch looks really nice, but I found it a bit too thick for its size (39 x 14.6 mm) and preferred the black dial variant (ref. M79470-0001), which I could also try on.

3/ The BLACK BAY 54, ref. M79000N-0001 powered by Calibre MT5400

Even if the fit (37 x 11.2 mm) was perfect for my wrist, I didn't respond at all to the shape and aesthetic of this watch: the lugs seem to me to be excessively long for the restrained diameter of the dial and bezel. And the vintage vibe, which Tudor has created very successfully on other models, somehow felt a bit "artificial" to me on this particular one (just my feeling of course). Also, I personally like the lollypop seconds hands with its round ended counterweight less than the snowflake seconds hand (which, sadly, is progressively replaced by the lollypop one on many Black Bay models).

4/ The RANGER ref. M79950-0001 powered by Calibre MT5402

The fit (39 x 12 mm) was good, but the "field watch" aesthetic, even if very well executed, didn't speak to me.

5/ The BLACK BAY 58 BRONZE ref. M79012M-0001 powered by Calibre MT5400

To say that I liked this particular timepiece would be an understatement: I loved it to the point that I was tempted to buy it instantly. Why? Because I'm enamoured with warm colors and the bronze case and bracelet with the brown dial and bezel felt absolutely wonderful to me (btw, the case is 39 x 11.9 mm).

I wasn't able to try on the complementary "brown-bronze" fabric strap with yellow center-line which comes with it, but I could try on the 925 Silver variant with its taupe fabric strap (ref. M79010SG-0002) and it convinced me that it would look absolutely perfect (see photos below).

I know that bronze tarnishes and I've even heard some owners say that this bronze watch ends up smelling like the metal variant of a wet dog, but it was by far my favorite, with the Pelagos Ultra.

Thanks for reading!

Best, Emmanuel

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