"It's Clean" The Tudor Ranger Beige

Which as we all know is what attracted Major Lawrence to the desert.

With those cinematic bon mots out of the way, on to the latest offering from Tudor -

Courtesy of Tudor

First impressions? Well, here gentle reader, I have to be honest -

Meh.... 

Meaning I was left unmoved, unimpressed, and uninspired. As mentioned on more than one occasion - I am the proud owner of a Tudor. I have had some desirous thoughts about the Tudor Professional (opaline dial), and although it's not everyone's baby, the pink dialed chronograph was an inspired release. And for once Tudor showed restraint by not flooding the market with a gazillion of them. What was mocked by some has become a hot ticket! 

So in fairness, Tudor can execute. It just seems that the execution is somewhat sporadic. The new Tudor Ranger in beige is not "born to dare". It is like my high school soccer coach - playing not to lose. When you're so fearful of losing, you become too afraid to win.

But with that said, and in all fairness, this might be just the ticket for you. So here are the pertinents, straight from Tudor -

Watch Specifications

Reference: M79930-0008

• Five-year Guarantee

  Five-year transferable guarantee with no registration or periodic maintenance checks required

• Case

  36mm steel case, satin finish

  Lugs: 19mm lug width

  Case thickness: 11.0mm

• Movement

  Manufacture Calibre MT5400 (COSC)
  Self-winding mechanical movement with bidirectional rotor system

• Power Reserve

  Power reserve of approximately 70 hours

• Winding Crown

  Steel screw-down crown with the TUDOR rose in relief

• Waterproofness

  Waterproof to 100m (330 ft)

• Bezel

  Smooth satin-brushed steel

• Dial

  Beige, domed

• Crystal

  Domed sapphire crystal

• Bracelet

  Green fabric bracelet with red and beige stripes and buckle

 

The North Flag

From Tudor!

Now point of full disclosure, several of my European colleagues got treated to a very fun preview of this watch the night before BaselWorld. But all jealous feelings aside, I have to say that this was the watch that just about everyone was talking about. One of my colleagues from the magazine that I sometimes write for said - "That is the one watch I would be ready to take out my credit card for."

I got to see this early on at BaselWorld, but I wanted to give it time to sink in before writing about it.  And after seeing everything else on offer from all of the brands, I can honestly say that this made my top 3, no question!

This model is called the North Flag.  A closer look will reveal that the lugs are "integrated" just like those of the Ranger 2 of "yesteryear".  It comes in a few options in terms of bracelet -
stainless steel, or matte black leather with yellow stitching and lining. Secured by a satin finished stainless steel clasp.
The case is stainless steel measuring 40 m in diameter.  The back is a sapphire crystal display.  Water resistant to 100 meters.

And wait - there's more!  Not only is this a certified chronometer, it also utilizes a Tudor manufacture movement!  That would be:
Manufacture Tudor MT5621 
Self-winding mechanical with bidirectional rotor system and COSC certified.  Hours, minutes, seconds, rapid date set and power reserve indicator.  70 hours of power reserve!

If I am honest, I was a wee-bit underwhelmed by last year's Ranger.  But this one, this one I think is a home run!  Well done Tudor!