The Pelagos Ultra Is Tudor’s Most Hardcore Diver

Launched in 2012, Tudor’s Pelagos collection is where the brand parks its most capable tool watches. Titanium construction, helium escape valves, self-adjusting bracelets, deep-water resistance ratings — all these features and more can be found in this high-tech, do-it-all line of diving timepieces. From the original 42mm ref. 25500TN to the easy-wearing Pelagos 39 to the series of military-inspired FXD watches, the Pelagos never fails to find fans.

For Watches & Wonders 2025, Tudor has delivered its most capable variant yet in the form of the Pelagos Ultra, a supersized 43mm reference boasting 1,000m of water resistance. Though it retains the look and feel of previous Pelagos models, its chunkier proportions make it ideal for a larger guy with bigger wrists, while its specs mean that someone who needs a watch while, say, welding a pipe at the bottom of a trench somewhere in the North Sea — admittedly a tiny sliver of the population — is likewise well served. (Its helium escape valve is designed for saturation divers — the type who live and work at depth in the ocean. As they reacclimate to surface pressure in a specialized environment, the change in said pressure used to blow the crystals off of dive watches, which had accumulated helium at depth. The H.E.V. allows these tiny helium molecules to escape without letting water in.)

While you might be thinking that a 43mm watch sounds like a vestige of the early 2000s, it’s important to remember that Tudor has been one of the few brands that embraced the idea of smaller, vintage-inspired sizing before it became “trendy” over the past two or three years. While the Pelagos and Black Bay collections do have larger references, there are also many 39mm (and even 37mm) watches on offer catering to folks who prefer these more manageable sizes. In this regard, the move to a larger size for the Pelagos Ultra (as well as for the new Black Bay 68) is understandable. As of 2025, there’s truly an offering for every wrist size, “completing,” in a way, the collections.

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Additionally, the increased water resistance necessitates a larger, thicker case, which is why this one is 14.5mm tall. Don’t worry about heft, however: The Pelagos line consists of watches produced from advanced materials, and this one is no different, with satin-finished Grade 2 and Grade 5 titanium construction extending to the case as well as the watch’s three-link bracelet with brilliant self-adjusting “T-fit” clasp. A new development in this system includes a visual indicator that shows how far extended the bracelet is — this in combination with a handy diver’s extension make it perhaps the ultimate dive watch bracelet. (A complimentary black rubber dive strap is also included with the package.)

Of course, an increase in the size of the case necessitates an increase in dial proportions too, and to that end the Pelagos Ultra dial is particularly legible. Matte black with a sandblasted flange, its signature Snowflake hands and applied markers have been thickened, and two colors of Super-LumiNova have been used: blue for the markers and hour hand, and green for the all-important minute hand and 12 o’clock bezel pip. (Elapsed minutes are crucial while diving — hours, not so much.) The date window at 3 o’clock and open minute track of previous models remain, while the “Pelagos” text is rendered in cool aqua blue — a subtle touch that offers a pop of color on this otherwise strictly utilitarian tool watch.

Tudor Pelagos Ultra dive watch on the wrist — Will you ever dive to 1,000 meters? Maybe not. But the Pelagos Ultra is eminently wearable.

Tudor

Within the case, the METAS-certified Manufacture Calibre MT5612-U offers bi-directional automatic winding and 65 hours of power reserve, while a screw-down crown engraved with the Tudor shield logo and a domed sapphire crystal round out the impressive feature set. And while sister brand Rolex of course offers deep-diving pieces in the form of the Sea-Dweller and Deepsea lines, it truly feels like it’s Tudor that has inherited the mandate of tech-forward, experimental tool watches that are not only meant to be tested to their limits, but whose pricing means that they’re still attainable by a wide variety of people.

At $5,950, the Tudor Pelagos Ultra is by no means inexpensive, but for such an impressive feature set — an in-house movement, advanced materials and 1,000m of water resistance in a wearable package — it’s well within the realm of reasonableness.

Time to dig your wetsuit out of storage!