Around October last year, my friend and salesperson Kara asked me if I was interested in a Tudor FXD at Hal Davis Jewelers in Boise. Of all the watches released in the last couple of years, the FXD was the most intriguing. I loved the fixed lugs, the change in the color of the blue dial over the original Pelagos, and that it was slightly thinner than the old Pelagos. I thought about it for around twenty seconds before saying yes.
I lived in Massachusetts then, worked at a watch retailer in Boston, and went to school. The FXD fit the old life I had just recently left behind, and after having it shipped to me, I wondered if I could use the FXD for anything other than walking to and from the train and on my walks in the parks outside of the city. The FXD made me homesick for Idaho and the adventures I could have climbing the mountains while wearing it.
Nevertheless, I found a way to wear the watch as much as possible while living in New England. I took it to New Hampshire (one of the most beautiful states I have ever been to) and the various preserves and beaches around Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island. When I first started wearing it, the weather was still warm, and I found the fabric strap to be perfect for the sweat the humidity caused, even if it got a little damp. The rubber strap was not as comfortable, and as much as I tried to get along with it, I have long since stopped trying to wear it. I may revisit it soon.
The watch is lightweight and wears as easily as a 42mm watch (even with the longer lugs due to the fixed lug design at 52mm). It did not flop around on my wrist when using hiking poles or doing more intense arm movements. The 12.75mm thickness was never an issue, even with sweatshirts and jackets—a complete winner for outdoor activity.
In Boston and Marblehead working, and at school in Cambridge, the watch attracted zero attention from the people I worked with, on the train and subway, and from my classmates (many of whom had Rolex watches on. I realize how stuck-up that sounds. I apologize.). Once, while wearing my Explorer on the subway, I noticed a man giving it what I deemed to be an inappropriate amount of attention. I never wore it again after that and switched to the FXD. It was comfortable to wear on my wrist while typing and taking notes, and I never felt fatigued with it after a long day of school and traveling from Salem to Cambridge and back.
It is effortless to read, and the lume is fantastic. Unlike my Omega NTTD, the lumed bezel on the FXD does not get in the way of reading the hands and night, and the lume lasts all night, no matter what. The ceramic bezel is not shiny and is easy to turn, even with very wet hands. The countdown function was one I only just now thought about. After receiving the watch, I thought it might get in the way of timing my hikes, but it doesn’t. I remind myself that I am counting down, not up, and it is easy. For those worried about it, I would say let this worry go.
In the ten and a half months I have owned the watch, it has kept very good time, consistently losing around a second a day. I dropped the watch, hit it against doorframes, had my gear bounce off it, and slammed it into the wall and rock while climbing. It hasn’t missed a beat, both figuratively and literally.
Speaking of climbing, I learned to climb with this watch on, including lead climbing. I was concerned that the impacts of falling (sometimes you hit the wall, it’s just a fact of life) would mess with the watch, but a few dozen falls later, and there hasn’t been any change to its performance. It is difficult to scratch, as even falling and hitting the watch against one of the plastic holds didn’t cause a lasting scratch on the surface. I have been very impressed with it, and I will see if this durability continues as I start to wear it again in the fall.
I got married wearing this watch, as it was my only watch. In my blue suit, it looked fine. I am sure men’s fashion purists would flip their lid over wearing this with a suit, but these people have too much time on their hands. Sometimes, we wear what we have, and style can take a hike. I loved how it looked with my white shirt and cufflinks. It will always be a special piece in my collection. I have not worn it once since moving back to Idaho because I have other watches I need to review, but after a long archaeology trip yesterday, I found myself wishing for the lightweight of the FXD. Once my month on the wrist is done with my Grand Seiko, I will throw the FXD on and take it outside.
I did have a few issues with it that I wanted to bring up. The first is the comfort of the single-pass rubber strap, or, I should say, how uncomfortable it is. I like how it looks, but it is unpleasant to wear all day. The second issue I had was with the velcro on the nylon strap. It is great for sizing the strap, but it gets caught on gear and clothing and can unfasten the strap when walking or doing other activities. I put it on a Chevron strap or an OEM Tudor green strap when I go out to do more strenuous activities. Hopefully, Tudor can get both these strap issues worked out in time.
Ultimately, it is one of the better watches I have ever owned. It fills the role of a tool watch perfectly. It is durable, easy to wear, comfortable, accurate, and good-looking. It has none of the baggage associated with other watches like Rolex, and it sure appears to be made with function as its first goal. While it is not a new release, it is worth looking for if you are interested. I will continue to wear it over the coming years and write stories about it as appropriate. This one will stay with me for a long time. Right now, it retails for $4,100.
EscapementSV 