Tudor Joins America’s Cup Racing With A Pair Of New Pelagos

Great watch designs aren’t limited to just motorsports and scuba diving. After joining up with some of the biggest names in big wave surfing, rugby, and professional cycling, Tudor’s latest partnership is a stake in one of the oldest and most dramatic races on the planet: America’s Cup.

To celebrate the partnership with Alinghi Red Bull Racing, which is scheduled to compete in the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024, Tudor recently unveiled two new Pelagos FXD models: a chronograph and a time-only watch, both inspired by the fast-paced world of yacht racing. Both feature cases made from carbon composite, titanium, and stainless steel, as well as in-house calibres, but you don’t need to know how to read a sea chart or tie a reef knot to appreciate their charms.

Both the Pelagos FXD and Pelagos FXD Chrono break new ground for Tudor, with elements inspired by the cutting-edge materials used in America’s Cup AC75 hydrofoil racing yachts. Like the vessels themselves, the watches are made from a combination of high-tech carbon composite (a first for Tudor), titanium, and stainless steel. Both watches use the 200-meter water-resistant FXD case design with fixed strap bars that was initially developed with the help of French navy combat divers for last year’s GPHG award-winning Tudor Pelagos FXD. Like the earlier FXD model, they also both feature a bidirectional 120-notch rotatable bezel with Swiss Super-Lumi- Nova Grade X1, a lume that offers up to 60% better performance compared to standard grades. Unlike a standard dive watch, however, the bezels are marked from 60 to 0 (instead of 0 to 60) to facilitate timing the countdown that marks the beginning of every yacht race.

In addition to a dial liveried in the colours of Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s AC75 hull, and “Alinghi Red Bull Racing” spelled out subtly around the edge of the dial, the watches both feature straps designed to perform on the high seas. Tudor has been known for its distinctive single-piece textile straps since introducing them as part of their standard kit in 2010. Woven in France on 19th-century Jacquard looms by the Julien Faure company in the St-Etienne region, they are known for their durability and comfort, as well as the vibrancy of their colours. For the Tudor Pelagos FXD models, Tudor and Julien Faure collaborated to create a new strap of a 22 mm “Team Blue” jacquard-woven ribbon with red accents, a titanium “D” buckle, and a self-gripping fastening system.

Priced at $6,130 for the chronograph and $4,430 for the time-only watch, the two new Pelagos models are yet another reason to keep your eye on Barcelona next summer, when Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Tudor will compete in one of the greatest matchups on the water.

Learn more about the Tudor Pelagos FXD and and FXD Chrono.

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