One week on the wrist -- Pelagos 39 review

To be honest, I never expected getting this watch. For one, I have pre-ordered a dive watch (more on that later!), so I didn't necessarily plan to buy this watch. More importantly, I have never seen one in any AD in Hong Kong. Every time I asked in a Tudor AD (not that I did actively search for it though), the staff said there was no available piece for me to have a look.

But then, my dad somehow managed to see one during his trip to Malaysia. He is never a watch guy who doesn't see any point in wearing a watch (indeed he is one who would say things like you can tell the time from your phone). He just suddenly messaged me and asked me whether the Tudor Pelagos 39 was a good watch. I just told him this watch was so popular that it was always out of stock in ADs. So, I was really surprised that he decided to buy it as a gift for me, along with a 1926 that he bought for my mum as a wedding anniversary gift.

Back to the Pelagos. I have now had it on my wrist for almost a week now, and I must say it looks even better than I expected. This is largely attributable to the ceramic bezel. It is indeed black, but it has a special radial brushing which makes it look grey most of the time. This contrasts very well with the black dial, which has a very -- I mean very -- slight sunburst finish.

Another thing that you would notice is the light weight of the watch -- after all, it is a titanium watch. It is not as light as I expected though, but it is for me a good thing, because I probably don't want the watch to feel like plastic (or bioceramic). It seems that most of the watch is on the watch head (the movement isn't titanium I suppose), but it isn't too top-heavy. Also, at 39mm, it sits very well on my wrist, and there is not much gap between the lugs and my 6 inch wrist, which is nice.

The bezel action is also quite solid. Initially, I found the bezel very hard to turn, and I thought maybe I had to turn it more to loosen it up. Then, I realised I had to push down the bezel slightly to turn it (I didn't notice any watch review that mentioned this, or maybe I missed something). The bezel is 60-click and it lines up perfectly with the minute markers. All the numerals and markings also glow very brightly in the dark, which I definitely like.

Lastly, there are three negatives that I will bring out. First, the finishing could have been better. Indeed, the coin edge of the bezel, the crown, and the edge of the bracelet seem to be quite sharp to the touch. I guess it means it is easier to operate the bezel and the crown, but I think it is slightly unpleasant to the touch. Second, the bezel and the hour markers (which are basically ceramic lume blocks) glow wonderfully in the dark, BUT the hands... not so much. Okay, I haven't really checked the lume with a UV torch, but I don't need a UV torch to make the bezel and hour markers glow. Third, it is a minor thing, but for me it would be better if there weren't 4 lines of text below the pinion. Why do you need to know it is a Chronometer and is Officially Certified... (The text looks better in real life, but still it can be simpler.) For me, "Pelagos" and "200m" is more than enough.

That's all I have to say about the Pelagos 39. This is my first watch review on WatchCrunch -- hope you've enjoyed reading it!