Tudor Pelagos Ultra Review

The Tudor Pelagos has consistently been something of "the other watch" in the broader Tudor lineup, sitting in the shadow of the Black Bay. It is also decidedly more modern in its design and is intended as Tudor’s more contemporary, dive-ready tool. What started as a 42mm mode then morphed into a watch in varying sizes, lug construction, and case construction. In 2025 it now sits as a somewhat diversified collection of its own. Is it a Black Bay in terms of scale and breadth of the collection? No, it is not, but it is also no longer a one trick pony.

That concept is no more evident than in the Watches & Wonders 2025 release of the Pelagos Ultra, a 43mm riff on the Pelagos theme that aligns it more closely with the Rolex Deepsea than the Sea-Dweller or Submariner. This is a big, brash, and burly dive watch, intended for a very specific segment of the watch world. If you thought the Pelagos FXD was specific, the Ultra turns the dial up to 11.

Case

So as I mentioned above, the case is made from the traditional (for a Pelagos) titanium material, a combination of grade 2 and grade 5 to be specific. The side of the case opposite the crown features a discreet helium escape valve. The case may seem big from the specs alone, but the 52mm lug-to-lug makes it such that it isn’t a behemoth. The case thickness is a proportional 14.5mm and due to the overall size, you will be looking at a lug width of 22mm.

The bezel insert is made of a matte titanium housed in a titanium bezel. The Pelagos Ultra features a screw-down titanium crown with the Tudor shield. This all flows down to a domed sapphire crystal. The case features a closed caseback and is water resistant to a mammoth 1,000m.

Dial

Under that crystal lays a matte black dial surface which is flat unlike the sloped dials of the original Pelagos. The dial features slightly raised polygonal markers that are painted with Super Luminova. This is different from even the Pelagos 39 which uses solid blocks of luminous materials. The issue with raised blocks of lume is that it offers a lot of surfaces for lumination often resulting in the sides glowing less brightly.

Image provided by Tudor

Here, the painted markers, while still slightly raised, produce a steady bright glow. Speaking of lume, the entire bezel glows in a rich blue, as does the entirety of the dial, the hour hand, and the seconds pip. The minute hand however glows in a contrasting green color to aid in timing.

Bracelet

Image provided by Tudor

The bracelet is also made of titanium in a three-link structure all leading to the robust clasp featuring adjust system that fans of the brand have loved since the inception of the Pelagos. First of all, it features Tudor’s T-Fit adjustment system, but that’s not all.

You’ll notice the open area on the clasp which is tied to a spring system that allows the bracelet to flex when on the wrist, With the Ultra, Tudor has added a luminous feature to the clasp as well. That’s right, the clasp glows too.

Movement

Inside this watch beats the Manufacture Calibre MT5612-U which is both COSC and METAS certified. Master Chronometer certification has been Tudor’s latest innovation in the world of accuracy and it is really nice to see the brand continue to roll it out with new releases. This is also the first year we saw a METAS Black Bay 58.

The MT5612 offers 65 hours of power reserve and beats at 28,800 VPH (4Hz). The “dash U” signifier means that this is the Master Chronometer version of this watch. The power reserve also comes down from the previous 70 hours to 65 hours, but that is honestly a negligible difference. 

Conclusion

If there is one thing to be said, it’s that this is not the Pelagos for everyone. It is hyper-specific and niche, meant for those seeking adventure on the open seas. It's a swashbuckling watch. Does that mean you have to swashbuckle in order to wear one? Of course not, you can do whatever you want to do.

That being said, there is now (at least somewhat), a Pelagos for everyone from the 39mm variant to all manner of FXD models. You can find an option that works in a variety of wrist sizes. But the Ultra brings a certain modern toolishness that I think was missing from the collection which ties back to my Deepsea comparison. This is not an everyday Pelagos, but that’s why we have watch collections.