Hands-On with the Tudor Pelagos Ultra: The New Standard for Deep Divers

This year, we at Everest were lucky enough to have access to the brand-new Tudor models at Watches and Wonders. I was instantly drawn to one new watch in particular: the Tudor Pelagos Ultra. Before having hands-on time with the watch, I saw it on Instagram and thought, “Man, that watch looks like a 10 — too bad it's probably going to be unwearable,” due to its 1,000-meter (3,280 feet) water resistance. For reference, that’s more than three times as depth-resistant as the Submariner and twice as water-resistant as the standard 42mm Pelagos. This level of water resistance usually comes with some serious sizing sacrifices. Luckily, almost all of my assumptions about this watch were wrong.

Pictured on 6.25 inch (159mm) wrist

The good news is that with this watch, I wanted to be wrong. Tudor really put their thinking caps on when it came to the case and bracelet design. In fact, I predict that the Pelagos Ultra is a watch we will reference for years to come as the first true ultra-deep watch to be wearable as an everyday watch. I’ve had the chance to get my hands on pretty much all of the ultra-deep offerings from the big boys (Rolex, Omega), and to be frank, they usually feel clownish in size and wrist feel.

Pictured on 6.25 inch (159mm) wrist

I have a pretty big wrist — 7.5 inches (190mm) — and these ultra-deep watches generally feel top-heavy, like I’m wearing a metallic hockey puck. The Pelagos Ultra shattered my expectations when I had it on my wrist. The lug-to-lug measurement isn't confirmed, but it comes in at just 14.5mm thick. This watch is extremely wearable.

Don’t Judge a Watch by the Comments

Predictably, the comments sections on watch release posts this time of year are disgusting. People cannot wait to tell you a reason they won’t buy a watch. Let me give you an example: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME, I would TOTALLY buy this watch if it was 42mm instead of 43mm.” That type of knee-jerk reaction leads me to the second thing I got wrong about the Pelagos Ultra: the light blue/turquoise text on the dial.

Upon first glance on Instagram, I was thinking, “Well, if the text was red instead of light blue on the dial, I would totally buy this watch…” Again, I was wrong. While standing inside of Tudor’s booth at Watches and Wonders, I became a believer in why this color — which also appears on the clasp — is maybe the coolest design detail I have seen in a while.

A Clasp That Makes Sense

The clasp — a refreshed take on the multi-point, self-adjusting Pelagos clasp — has an indicator of which adjustment setting you’re on, in the exact same shade of turquoise as the dial. This indicator helps you see, at a glance, how much more room you have to adjust the bracelet size. As the Tudor representative explained to me, this turquoise color is purposeful — because of its shorter wavelengths (compared to red, orange, or yellow), it can be seen at lower depths.

Tying these two elements together — the dial text and clasp indicator — gives the Pelagos Ultra a sense of cohesion that, like the collection itself, is rooted in functionality and utility as a dive watch. Frankly, it made so much sense that I now don’t want this watch with red text.

Real-World Specs That Work

I’ve learned not to judge a book by its cover — or a watch by its case diameter. The Pelagos Ultra has a 43mm case diameter, but again, this single dimension is the wrong thing to judge a watch by. Lug-to-lug measurement and case thickness directly impact wearability more than case diameter, and I would say Tudor (and a boatload of other brands) have not prioritized these measurements in some past releases. I won’t name names, but in recent years, they’ve improved upon these dimensions in a big way. (Let me just say that the redesign of the 41mm Black Bay from 2023 is a breath of fresh air.)

The Pelagos Ultra occupies a sizing sweet spot in ultra-deep territory. I do not have the lug-to-lug yet (will add it once I have it confirmed by Tudor), but it’s very reasonable — probably somewhere in the 50–52mm range. The case thickness is only 14.5mm and the lug width is 22mm. This is chef’s kiss for a watch of this size; the proportions are bang-on.

A Few More Highlights

The Pelagos Ultra’s dial is another improvement here — it has a semi-matte finish and a redesigned rehaut, raised slightly above the dial. Along with the new maxi-sized minute hand and a matte ceramic bezel insert, the overall look of this watch is perfect, particularly paired with the brushed three-link titanium bracelet. To be very honest, I should mention that the rubber strap felt somewhat short for my wrist, and the hole positioning felt slightly off, no matter how much I messed with it. However, I’ve run into this with past Tudor straps, so it’s not unique to this watch.

Also worth noting: the Pelagos Ultra is powered by the MT5612-U — a Master Chronometer-certified version of the MT5612 that appears in the standard 42mm Pelagos. That “-U” designation means this watch has passed METAS testing for accuracy, magnetic resistance, water resistance, and power reserve — tested as a fully assembled watch.

The Pelagos Ultra is priced at $5,950 and is available through all Tudor boutiques.

Final Thoughts

To wrap this article up, I find myself dreaming of this Tudor. I am gushing because this watch is executed so exceptionally in a time when many others seem to miss the target on extreme-depth dive watches. It seems that Tudor took the time to think through what would improve on others’ concepts while keeping the DNA of the Pelagos intact. In a sea of overbuilt, unwearable deep divers, Tudor has managed to create something rare — a comfortable and wearable ultra-deep watch that looks awesome on the wrist.