It was on the 8th July 1952, that the British North Greenland Expedition left Deptford on the banks of the Thames in London, for a two-year scientific mission studying ice sheets in Greenland. Equipped with the brand-new Oyster Prince model, Tudor's first watch that was both automatic and waterproof, the members of the expedition, mainly British scientists and sailors, conducted in-depth glaciological and seismic surveys at several sites. Tudor also asked them to gather performance data for the 30 Oyster Prince watches that would be worn under extreme conditions. It is the adventurous spirit of these pioneers of arctic exploration that the latest addition to the Tudor Ranger line celebrates, offering an affordable combination of state-of-the-art watchmaking technology and historic aesthetics.
The Tudor Ranger available in three strap options - Image credit Tudor.
The history of the Ranger name dates back much further than the British North Greenland Expedition. Although the Tudor watches used by its members from 1952 to 1954 never bore this inscription on their dials, subsequent Ranger models have perpetuated the concept of the expedition watch, a robust, practical, and affordable instrument.
The origins of the Tudor Ranger family trace back to 1929. This was the year when Hans Wilsdorf registered the “Ranger” name, three years after registering the “The Tudor” trademark. At the time, the name was not used to indicate the model specifically, but instead to add an adventurous aspect to certain watches in the Tudor collection. The aesthetics that we now recognise as the Ranger didn’t appear until the 1960s, with its large Arabic numerals, generously coated with luminescent material at 3 (for models without the date), 6, 9, and 12 o’clock, as well as its uniquely designed hands.
Offered in a number of variations over the course of its history, examples existed with and without the date, with automatic or manual winding and initially with the Tudor rose logo followed by the shield on its dial. As early as 1973, a version of the Ranger was made with an integrated bracelet under the name “Ranger II”.
The Tudor Ranger - Image credit Tudor.
The new Tudor Ranger
The new Tudor Ranger model respects the aesthetic standards established in the course of its history, especially its dial with Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock, whilst incorporating new state-of-the-art technical elements, in particular, a high-performance Manufacture Calibre and a Tudor “T-fit” clasp with rapid adjustment system. It continues, within the Tudor collection, the tradition of the expedition watch, born with the Oyster Prince watches used by the members of the British North Greenland Expedition. The tradition of a robust, practical, and affordable instrument.
To echo this functional heritage, the 39-millimetre case and the bracelet of the Ranger are satin-brushed, creating an overall matt finish, in the purest spirit of a “tool watch”. Some elements, however, are polished to strengthen the lines of the case, including the inner edge of the bezel. As for the dial, the hour markers are painted in luminescent Swiss-Super-LumiNova®. Beige in colour, they perfectly contrast with the grained, matt black dial and match the tone of the Tudor shield logo and inscriptions. The arrow-shaped hands, rounded for the hours hand and angular for the seconds hand, are characteristic of Ranger aesthetics, with a novel touch, the tip of the seconds hand in burgundy.
The Tudor Ranger - Image credit Tudor.
A powerful movement
The Ranger model is powered by the Manufacture Calibre MT5402. Its construction has been designed to ensure robustness, longevity, reliability and precision due to its variable-inertia balance, which is held in place by a sturdy traversing bridge with two points of fixation. Thanks to this balance and the non-magnetic silicon balance spring, the Manufacture Calibre MT5402 has been certified as a chronometer by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), with its performance going beyond the standards set by this independent institute. In fact, where COSC allows an average variation in the daily running of a watch of between -4 and +6 seconds in relation to absolute time in a single movement, Tudor insists on between -2 and +4 seconds’ variation in its running when it is completely assembled.
Another notable feature is that the power reserve of the Manufacture Calibre MT5402 is “weekend-proof”; that is to say about 70 hours, which enables the wearer to take the watch off on a Friday evening and put it back on again on Monday morning without needing to wind it.
A choice of watch straps
For the Ranger model, Tudor chose an olive-green bracelet with two red stripes and one beige stripe woven by the craftsmen. The Ranger is also offered with an entirely satin-brushed steel bracelet, with the Tudor “T-fit” clasp equipped with a system for rapid length adjustment. Easy to use, requiring no tools and offering five positions, this practical system allows wearers of the Tudor Ranger to carry out a fine, instant adjustment of the total length of the bracelet along an adjustment window of 8 mm. Finally, a third bracelet option is offered, in natural rubber and fabric-like textured black leather, with beige topstitching and a folding clasp.
The Tudor Ranger - Image credit Tudor.
Price and specifications
The Tudor Ranger is currently available from the Tudor website, priced at £2,170 on either the rubber or fabric strap and £2,420 on the steel bracelet.
- Satin-brushed case in 316L steel, 39 mm in diameter, with a fixed bezel
- Grained, matt black domed dial featuring hour markers painted with grade A Swiss Super-LumiNova®
- “Ranger” hands with grade A Swiss Super-LumiNova®
- Manufacture Calibre MT5402, certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), with a silicon balance spring and a 70-hour power reserve
- Three bracelet options: olive-green Jacquard fabric with red and beige stripes, hybrid rubber and leather or 316L steel with Tudor “T-fit” rapid-adjustment clasp.
- Five-year transferable guarantee with no registration or periodic maintenance checks required
