Tudor Monarch

TUDOR MONARCH

A finely faceted case with razor-sharp lines and a bracelet to match, an enigmatic dial with distinctive applied hour markers, and a Manufacture Calibre with time-honoured finishing that stands apart. This is a new watch with a name that carries a century-old legacy. All hail the new TUDOR Monarch!

A pure approach to watchmaking is king at TUDOR, and horological tradition reigns supreme. The core mission has always been to build the best possible watch at the best possible price for a century now; the only thing that’s changed is the approach TUDOR takes to meet this goal. In the beginning, long ago in 1926, the brand relied exclusively on independent suppliers. In recent times, TUDOR has built its own industrial network that has aided in achieving the Master Chronometer certification by METAS, the most demanding standard in the industry.

The new Monarch is testament to just how far TUDOR has come; it encapsulates a century’s worth of progress. Using the highest-grade components developed from the brand’s network of in-house and independent suppliers, TUDOR is revisiting one of its historical lines and imbuing it with a century’s worth of savoir-faire. While the aesthetic of this new Monarch is reminiscent of TUDOR’s early days, with its signature finely faceted case and matching bracelet and papyrus-toned dial with distinctive applied hour markers, its execution and level of performance is only possible today using the incredibly high precision production process that TUDOR has created within its Le Locle Manufacture.

TUDOR QUALITY

With the introduction of this brand-new Monarch, 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, METAS, requires a substantial number of changes to a regular TUDOR Manufacture Calibre and 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 less than the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) (-4/+6) carried out on a single movement and a second less than TUDOR's internal standard (-2/+4), which is applied to the brand's models with a Manufacture Calibre.

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

Finally, it also guarantees 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: Swiss 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 METAS CERTIFICATION

All the tests and prerequisites leading to the Master Chronometer certification, which the TUDOR Monarch 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
▸ Waterproof to 100m (330 ft)
▸ 65-hour power reserve

TIME-HONOURED LOOK

The Monarch points to early TUDOR visual execution, with a distinctive Error-Proof-style dial that incorporates two different styles of numerals: Roman from 10 to 2 and Arabic from 4 to 8. The hue and texture of the dial is akin to papyrus, the ancient material made from processed pith that was used throughout Egypt and the Classical world. In this case, it lends a classical aesthetic to the Monarch. The distinctive faceted stainless steel case and the sharp bracelet all bring the centenary aesthetic language of TUDOR into the modern era. The unusual nature of the Monarch, a mainstay in TUDOR’s line up for half a century, is exactly what makes it stand out in TUDOR’s range.

THE MANUFACTURE CALIBRE MT5662-2U

A full display case back frames a movement unique to the TUDOR Monarch. The Manufacture Calibre MT5662-2U displays centre hours and minutes, small seconds at 6 o’clock. All the finishing hallmarks of traditional watchmaking are present, like perlage on the mainplate, Côtes de Genève on the bridges, and an 18ct gold inlay on the rotor.

The build of the Manufacture Calibre MT5662-2U is designed to ensure robustness and precision. To do this, the variable inertia balance wheel is maintained by a sturdy traversing bridge with 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 MT5662-2U 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 MT5662-2U is "weekend-proof"; that is to say, it has been certified for 65 hours by METAS, which 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. Even if you need a weekend away, your watch does not.

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 after three years of construction.

All decked out in TUDOR red, the Manufacture spans over four levels totalling 5,500m² 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.