Dubai Watch Week
Dubai Watch Week: Tudor Extends the Ranger’s Range with New Dial and Size Options
Unveiled during Dubai Watch Week, the well-established watchmaker plants flags on new summits with a thoughtful expansion of its original, now legendary, expedition watch.
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
Since the registration of the “Ranger” name by brand founder Hans Wilsdorf in 1929, tough, robust Tudor timepieces have accompanied explorers on extreme adventures. And well before “extreme” was even a popular adjective used to describe these kinds of activities.
While the first true Tudor Ranger timepieces – with their distinctive large Arabic cardinal numerals and unmistakable mix of a generously lumed stubby arrow hour hand, extended baton minute hand, and visually critical red-tipped seconds hand – didn’t appear until the 1960s.
Still, Tudor’s toughness and reliability are legendary, having traveled from the frigid polar icecaps (with the British North Greenland Expedition in the 1950s, where team members wore rugged Tudor Prince models) to the blazing dunes of Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter (with the Dakar Rally, of which Tudor is the official time-keeper).
New “Dune White” Dial
Speaking of the Tudor torture test-bed of the Dakar Rally, the newly unveiled “Dune White” dial, introduced as a permanent part of the collection at Dubai Watch Week, certainly draws inspiration from that demanding off-road competition. The sandy dial approach stays true to the proven elements of the Ranger’s timeless design, but injects just the right degree of blazing desert heat to the presentation.
The “Dune White” is offered on both a burly satin-finished three-link steel bracelet or a rugged tri-color fabric strap in khaki green, khaki beige, and red (both options feature new “T-fit” adjustable clasps allowing for up to 8mm of wrist adjustment). Also, you have TWO case sizes to choose from if you’re interested in the “Dune White” dial option (as well as the matte black dial version). That brings us to the next bit of news…
New(?) “Vintage” Case Size
Historically, Ranger cases have wandered around from a vintage 34mm size to a “maybe too big” 41mm size. And the 2022 upsize of the Ranger case to 39mm seemed like a “just right” size option when it hit three years ago, and that size option remains for today’s Rangers.
Thus, in addition to the 39mm, the brand has added a new 36mm steel case size option for both the “Dune White” dial and the existing grained matte black dial (which also carries its sandy sister’s bracelet and strap options).
Two Case Sizes, Two Movements
Each of the two case sizes has its own movement. Inside the 36mm is the COSC-certified manufacture MT5400 caliber, and inside the 39mm beats the COSC-certified manufacture MT5402 caliber.
Both of these automatic movements share a variable-inertia balance oscillator, an anti-magnetic silicon balance spring, a stop-second function for precise time setting, a 100-meter water resistance rating, and a 70-hour power reserve. The MT5400 movement is just 4mm smaller than the MT5402.
Pricing & Availability
So, with sandy beige and matte black dial options, on either steel or fabric, the Ranger family shown at Dubai Watch Week represents a compelling quartet for your own, hopefully less extreme, adventures. Prices for the 36mm Ranger are $3,350 for models with fabric straps and $3,700 for models on a steel bracelet. Meanwhile, the 39mm Rangers list for $3,825 on steel and $3,475 on fabric.
For more information, check out the Tudor website.