Tudor Pelagos FXD Alinghi Red Bull Racing: Time-Only and Chronograph

The Pelagos line – launched in 2012 – is Tudor’s take on the ultimate modern dive watch. While the Black Bay line celebrates the past, the Pelagos line looks to the future, utilizing full-titanium construction, ultra-legible blocky indices, and top-of-the-line diving specs (helium escape valve, up to 500 meters WR). In 2021, Tudor released the Pelagos FXD: a fixed-bar Pelagos made in collaboration with the French Marine Nationale (a familiar name in dive watch partnership). Given that the watch was designed for military use, this blue beauty is hyper-capable and hyper-rugged. On June 29th, Tudor released two new variations of the Pelagos FXD, both in collaboration with yacht racing team Alinghi Red Bull Racing. One is a 42mm time-only watch and the other is a 43mm chronograph: a first for the young Pelagos line. Curiously, both of these watches feature carbon composite cases: another first for the Rolex family as a whole. Before discussing the significance of these new Pelagi (?), let’s take a closer look at the units themselves.

Tudor Pelagos FXD Alinghi Red Bull Racing

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The time-only variant of the new Pelagos FXD is fairly familiar. Its 42mm case, dial layout, and functionality is congruent with the Marine Nationale FXD. Aside from its refreshed aesthetics, which we’ll discuss, this watch features one large deviation: a carbon composite case. While this is a first for Tudor (and Rolex), this technology is ever present across multiple price points in the watch world (Panerai, Formex, Oris, IWC, Bulgari, etc.). Assuming it’s similar to other carbon composite materials I’ve had hands-on with, it’s pretty cool. This is a very strong and lightweight material. I’ve found its aesthetics to be somewhat polarizing, but I’m personally a fan. Speaking of aesthetics, the Alinghi Red Bull Racing partnership comes with a whole new color scheme for the Pelagos FXD. We have a dark blue dial contrasted by red ‘Pelagos’ text and a matching red seconds hand. The bezel features a black carbon insert contrasted by white indices similar to those on the dial and rehaut. From 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock, we see ‘Alinghi Red Bull Racing’ text on the rehaut. This text replaces 20 seconds worth of indices: a non-issue due to the indices on the fully-graduated bezel. 

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The chronograph variation of the new Pelagos FXD is an entirely new watch. Inside the slightly larger 43mm case sits Tudor’s caliber MT5813: a COSC-certified chronograph movement also found in the brand’s Black Bay Chrono watches. This movement is based on Breitling’s esteemed B01 chronograph architecture. This Pelagos FXD Chrono takes the cake (from the Black Bay Chrono) as the least expensive (new) watch with a Breitling-B01-based movement. The color scheme is the same as the aforementioned time-only variation, with the red accents also appearing around the 3 and 9 o’clock subdials. Unlike the time-only version, the chronograph has a date aperture at 6 o’clock. Also unique to the chronograph, the rehaut features granular indices for chronograph seconds accuracy. Unfortunately, this means that the “Alinghi Red Bull Racing” text is a real detriment to the watch’s functionality: if you need 1/5th second accuracy, you won’t be able to read it from 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock. In reality, this won’t be an issue for most people.

The Significance of The Alinghi Red Bull Racing Pelagos FXD

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Thematically, this Alinghi Red Bull Racing collaboration is very different from that of the Marine Nationale. On one hand we have a yacht racing team, on the other we have a branch of the French military. That said, both worlds demand a highly capable waterproof watch, and the Pelagos FXD is a great pick. The inclusion of a chronograph in the Pelagos line is a welcome one. Furthermore, this is the most attainable Breitling-B01-based watch on the market: an aspect that should not be overlooked. While I don’t have much of a personal connection with the Alinghi Red Bull Racing team (or yachting in general), I love the color scheme and design of these watches. Beyond representing the Alinghi club, these watches champion the expansion of the Pelagos line, introducing an entirely new complication and color palette to the beloved family of dive watches.

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