Review: Tudor North Flag

There’s big talk about Tudor right now. Ten years ago, people would have assumed you were talking about the 16th century royal family after which this watch brand is named, but since something of an almost miraculous resurgence, Tudor—the watches, not Henry—has become a household name once again. At least within watch-y households, anyway. But just because there’s a waiting list for the much-coveted Black Bay 58, doesn’t mean every Tudor watch has had its fair share of the limelight, and here’s one that seems to have been a little bit forgotten, the North Flag—and it’s a bit of a bargain.

Given how slow watchmaking is as an industry, it’s amazing how fast the landscape has changed in recent years. Ten years ago, if I’d have asked you about Tudor watches, you would more than likely have had no idea what I was talking about. Aside from a few odd pieces in various markets, it was a name that existed in vintage form only. Believe it or not—and don’t let your wallet hear this—but vintage Tudor Submariners were so low in demand that they could be had for four-digit figures starting with a one. I know, right?

But the past is the past, and in 2010, Tudor was looking to the future, because with a big cash injection from Rolex—whose own focus was on taking the five-pointed crown up a rung or two on the luxury ladder—it made a comeback to rival Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation of Mimi. Hey, don’t judge.

And what a comeback. I mean, textbook. The Heritage Chrono was the flagship of the collection, a vintage throwback with a glorious colour scheme and Rolex build quality for a surprisingly affordable price. It had just enough to tickle the head and the heart, making it the compromise that wasn’t really a compromise after all. And, just like that, it was as though Tudor had never been gone.

But this was no one hit wonder, no short-lived return to form, because two years later the follow-up Black Bay was announced. Oh yes, this was the big one. Anybody with one eye on the Rolex Submariner suddenly had a very difficult decision to make—or an easy one depending on how you look at it. A Rolex product that looks almost the same—and actually, maybe slightly better—for way less cash? Yes please.

Tudor is the sister company to Rolex. It offers Rolex quality watches at more affordable prices

Meanwhile, however, something was changing. For decades—in fact, since the wristwatch first hit the scene—no one had really given much of a stuff about in-house. In-house movements, in-house balance springs, in-house designs—none of it ever really came up in watch-based conversation. That is, until it did. I don’t know what happened or how, but out from the woodwork the idea of an in-house movement being superior started to appear.

And it wasn’t just smaller brands that were left in the lurch. Even Patek Philippe had to abandon its trusty Lemania-based chronograph in favour of a new, in-house job. Tudor was not immune to this evolution in customer demand, and so it went back to Rolex, cap in hand, for some budget to build a movement of its very own.

Remember when TAG Heuer—then Heuer—introduced the Calibre 11, the first automatic chronograph? It did it in style with the other-worldly Monaco. Same with Breitling and the Chronomat. It seems that bold steps in the journey of a watchmaker need bold watches to celebrate them with, and for Tudor, this was more true than ever before. And so, for the 2015 release of Tudor’s first in-house calibre, the MT5621, it was dressed in something rather special: the North Flag.

It’s not just the celebration of a new movement that causes watchmakers to go a little bit off-piste with their designs. Think of the 1970s, when quartz watches threatened to destroy the Swiss watch trade entirely; the result was things like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Patek Philippe Nautilus and Vacheron Constantin 222.

Tudor's most popular watch is the Black Bay

There must be something about change that gives designers a boost of creativity. I would imagine that designing watches for a traditional brand could get a bit … repetitive to say the least. The opportunity to do something new for something new is probably rare. For a brand like Tudor, approaching a century old, the launch of its first ever in-house movement comes … well, it comes once. Worth putting on a bit of a show for, then.

And the North Flag is that bit of a show. No more obvious is this than on the back, where you’ll find Tudor’s first and only exhibition case back through which to view the calibre MT5621, and let me tell you, it’s a bit of a powerhouse. It’s chronometer certified for a start, has a screwed, variable inertia balance wheel, winds both ways, has an instant date that can be set at any time, power reserve of seventy hours with a display to prove it, hacking seconds and a silicon balance spring.

That sounds like the spec list of a movement you’d expect to see in something far pricier than a Tudor. If the intention was to enter the in-house game with a bang, the MT5621 nuked its competitors from space. Perhaps it was the only way to be sure.

As if the calibre isn’t unexpected enough, the watch itself is a whole other ball game. Worried about your Tudor being confused for a Rolex? Not with this. The integrated case and bracelet exude Royal Oak-designer Gérald Genta vibes, hewn from steel with the precision and solidity you’d expect from a post-rattly bracelet Rolex company. The clasp is so solid it feels like it could secure a ship, and the lume from the chunky hands and numerals is so bright you might need to consider wearing sunglasses after dark. There’s even a strip of matte ceramic seating the brushed stainless-steel fascia of the bezel, a combination we’re familiar with, but not usually in that order.

The Rolex logo can be found on some vintage Tudor models such as the Submariner

It’s a watch that surprises on every level, not least because of its price. Tudor watches pre-calibre MT5621 were around the mid two thousands, so you’d expect the North Flag to be, well, north of that. Very north of that. But it’s not. Somehow Tudor found a way to sell this for just a few hundred more, and the same goes for the re-releases of the Black Bay with their own variations of this in-house movement.

And since the Black Bay did get the in-house calibre, the North Flag’s sort of faded out of people’s minds. It’s understandable that the Black Bay is popular, tracing its history all the way back to the origins of the Submariner itself, but the North Flag is equally as special, a completely independent design from Tudor that demonstrates exactly how it’s managed to orchestrate such a monumental turnaround in such a short time.

If you’ve had a hankering for something Tudor-y and you just can’t stomach the idea of being called out on your “Rolex”, look no further. The North Flag packs an enormous punch inside that brushed steel case, looks every bit as special as a watch marking such an important moment in the brand’s history should, and—perhaps most importantly—in a sea of Black Bays and Submariners, you’ll be the only one wearing one.

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