Tudor Northflag

NORTHFLAG IS BACK

Almost as if rediscovered frozen in ice, the TUDOR Northflag is back. Imbued with the daring spirit of the pioneers and adventurers alike that wrote TUDOR’s history, from the ice sheet of North Greenland to the high skies of Europe and the depth of the seven seas, Northflag returns with a new design, a GMT-function and the Master Chronometer certification.

It was on the ice sheet of North Greenland, in the 1950s, that TUDOR cemented a "bullet-proof" tool watch reputation, being put to the ultimate test for two long and cold years on the wrists of daring adventurers as part of the equipment issued to the members of the British North Greenland Expedition. This was not the first time, much less the last, that TUDOR watches served their owners dependably, but this time it was all thoroughly documented.

The new TUDOR Northflag perpetuates the ice-cold legacy of these pioneers, adding a 24-hour hand to very robust mechanical timekeeping, a feature of particular interest in places where the polar night or midnight sun phenomenon respectively brings months of darkness or twilight to one’s life.

The planting of a flag oken marks firsts, and in the case of TUDOR, the aptly named Northflag – where "North" is a reference to the seminal British North Greenland Expedition – was the first watch of the brand, back in 2015, to be powered by a mechanical movement developed and manufactured in-house: the high-performance calibre MT5621. Now, in its second gen version, the Northflag retains the general lines and distinctive design elements of the historical TUDOR watch that inspired it in the first place, the 1973 Ranger II model. This includes an integrated bracelet design, where the bracelet connects to the case in a visually continuous effect. It also includes a very characteristic black dial with large Arabic hour markers, now rendered in monobloc luminous ceramic and paired with a rehaut sporting a 24-hour graduation angled at 45 degrees. Lastly, the arrow-shaped 24-hour and hours hands, coupled with an angular seconds hand and a baton-shaped minutes hand, complete the historical nod.

INTEGRATED DESIGN

Another defining characteristic of the Northflag is its integrated bracelet design. The Northflag comes fitted on a dedicated two-link, mostly brush-finished, 316L stainless steel integrated bracelet, with polished link chamfers and a TUDOR "T-fit" rapid adjustment clasp. Easy to use, requiring no tools and offering five positions, this practical system allows wearers to carry out fine, instant adjustments of the total length of the bracelet along an adjustment window of 8mm. The clasp also features ceramic ball bearings that ensure a smooth and secure closure in addition to adding a pleasing tactile element to the action of the clasp.

To achieve the visually continuous effect between the bracelet and case, matching design details have been conceived for the case, starting with the finish – in this case brushed – with various types of satin brushes depending on the part of the case in question. Mirroring the bracelet execution, polished chamfers highlight the top of the lugs and bezel respectively.

The subtly cone-shaped winding crown also is rendered in matt with a combination and brushing and bead-blasting. Finally, in true Northflag spirit, seeing that the Northflag back in 2015 was a watch of multiple TUDOR firsts, including first Manufacture Calibre and first open case back, the case back is open with a slightly domed sapphire crystal revealing the Master Chronometer-certified Manufacture Calibre MT5652-U.

THE GMT MANUFACTURE CALIBRE  MT5652-U

The Manufacture Calibre MT5652-U, which powers the Northflag, illustrates the technical development process signature of TUDOR, drawing on adaptable movement architecture capable of integrating new functions rather than resorting to additional modules. A minor detail for some, but a must for watchmaking purists.

Displaying hours, minutes, seconds, the date and GMT functions, it offers the general look and feel of TUDOR Manufacture Calibres with dedicated sun laser design and bears the words "Master Chronometer" on its bridges, emphasising its distinctive performance. Its rotor is fashioned in tungsten monobloc and is openworked. It also features the distinctive laser radial grooving with sand-blasted details. Its bridges and mainplate have alternating sand-blasted and polished surfaces and laser decorations.

The build of the Manufacture Calibre MT5652-U is designed to ensure robustness and precision. To do this, the variable inertia balance wheel is maintained by a sturdy traversing bridge with a two-point anchoring.

It is 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 rate of an uncased movement of between -4 and +6 seconds, and TUDOR applies a 6-second (-2/+4) variation standard on its fully assembled watches, METAS requires a Master Chronometer certified watch to run within a tolerance range of 5 seconds (0/+5). Not only is the Manufacture Calibre MT5652-U certified to be more accurate, it is also rated as anti-magnetic, making it impervious to magnetic fields below 15,000 gauss.

Another notable feature is that the power reserve of the Manufacture Calibre MT5652-U is "weekend-proof" with a METAS-guaranteed 65 hours running time when fully wound. This enables the wearer to take the watch off on a Friday evening and put it back on again on Monday morning without having to wind it.

TUDOR QUALITY

With the reintroduction of the Northflag, TUDOR has successfully submitted yet another model for tests to obtain the Master Chronometer certification. This is part of a constant bid to improve the quality of its products and another step towards a future where the entire TUDOR collection will be Master Chronometer certified. This certification, offered by a Swiss government body, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology or METAS, comes as an independent confirmation of the exceptional quality of TUDOR watches.

COMPREHENSIVE INDEPENDENT CERTIFICATION AND HIGH STANDARDS

The METAS Master Chronometer certification is comprehensive and covers the main functional characteristics of a watch including precision, resistance to magnetic fields, waterproofness and power reserve. Its standards are incredibly high, starting with precision.

In order to qualify, a watch must be able to function within a 5-second range of variation each day (0/+5), that is to say 5 seconds tighter than the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) (-4/+6) and a second tighter than TUDOR's internal standard (-2/+4), applied to the brand's models with a regular Manufacture Calibre.

The certification also guarantees the timekeeping accuracy of a watch subjected to magnetic fields of 15,000 gauss.

Finally, it also certifies the waterproofness claimed by the manufacturer as well as the power reserve.

It should also be noted that two prerequisites are necessary before the certification can be obtained: manufacturing must conform with the criteria of Swiss Made, and the movement must be certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).

CRITERIA AND TESTS FOR MASTER CHRONOMETER CERTIFICATION BY METAS

All the tests and prerequisites leading to the Master Chronometer certification, which the Northflag has achieved, are summarised below:

▸ Swiss made

▸ Certification by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC)

▸ Precision at two temperatures, in six positions and at two levels of power reserve: 100% and 33%

▸ Smooth functioning when exposed to a magnetic field of 15,000 gauss and precision following exposure

▸ Certified waterproofness to 100m

▸ Certified power reserve of 65 hours

THE TUDOR MANUFACTURE

Every TUDOR watch is assembled and fully tested to TUDOR’s superior standards at the new TUDOR Manufacture located in Le Locle, Switzerland. This new state-of-the-art facility, bringing together the know-how of watchmakers with the best in production management and automated testing systems, was completed in 2021 aker three years of construction.

All decked out in TUDOR red, the Manufacture spans over four levels totalling 5,500 square meters and is physically and visually connected to the neighbouring Kenissi Manufacture, the TUDOR movement production facility founded in 2016.

With Kenissi and a network of TUDOR-owned affiliates, the brand has been able to integrate the development and production of high-performance mechanical calibres. As a consequence, TUDOR now fully masters the manufacturing of strategic components and can guarantee their quality.