In 2022, to mark the 70th anniversary of the British North Greenland Expedition, TUDOR is presenting the Ranger model, a tool watch celebrating the spirit of this daring adventure, complete with Manufacture Calibre MT5402, a 39-millimetre case and a clasp with rapid adjustment system.
The new Ranger 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.
The new 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. Vintage watches enthusiats will appreciate the hour markers painted in luminescent material. Beige in colour, they perfectly contrast with the grained, matt black dial and match the tone of the TUDOR shield logo and inscriptions. Also characteristic of Ranger aesthetics is the arrow-shaped hour hand.
To echo its 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.
An attentive eye will notice the return of a detail of historic importance, the Ranger mention at 6 o'clock on the dial. That and the tip of the angular seconds hand in burgundy, bring a novel touch to the characteristic Ranger aesthetics.
The fabric strap is one of the hallmarks of TUDOR, who, in 2010, became one of the first watchmaking brands to offer it with its products. Woven using a traditional method on 19th-century Jacquard looms by the Julien Faure company in the St-Étienne region of France, its manufacturing quality and comfort on the wrist are unique. In 2020, TUDOR celebrated ten years of collaboration with the hundred-and-fifty-year-old Julien Faure company. The partnership began with the launch of the Heritage Chrono, the first model fitted with a fabric strap created by the craftsmen, at Baselworld 2010.
For the Ranger model, TUDOR chose an olive-green bracelet with two red stripes and one beige stripe woven by the craftsmen.
Finally, a third bracelet option is offered, in natural rubber and fabric-like textured black leather, with beige topstitching and a folding clasp.
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.
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 having to wind it.
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, born at TUDOR during this time.
The origins of the TUDOR Ranger family date back to 1929. This was the year when Hans Wilsdorf registered the “Ranger” name, just three years after registering the “The TUDOR” trademark.
1929In the years following the registration of Ranger, the name was not used to indicate a model specifically, but instead to add an adventurous touch to certain watches in the TUDOR collection, like with this reference 279 made for the Indian market.
1943The Oyster Prince watches used by the members of the British North Greenland Expedition from 1952 to 1954 never bore the Ranger mention on their dials. Subsequent Ranger models however have perpetuated the concept of the expedition watch, a robust, practical, and affordable instrument, born at TUDOR during this time.
1952The Ranger aesthetic standards, Arabic luminescent numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 on black dial and arrow hour hand, were established in the 1960's.
1965Offered in a number of variations over the course of their history, Ranger models existed with or without date, initially with the TUDOR rose logo on their dials, later replaced with the TUDOR shield logo, from 1969 onwards.
1969As early as 1973, a version of the Ranger was made with an integrated bracelet under the name “Ranger II”.
1973Introduced in 2014, the Heritage Ranger was a 41 millimeter diameter self-winding watch featuring all the design elements characteristic of the Ranger aesthetics but the Ranger mention at 6 o'clock.
2014The latest Ranger model follows the aesthetic standards established in the course of the history of the model, whilst incorporating new state-of-the-art technical elements, including a high-performance Manufacture Calibre and a TUDOR “T-fit” clasp.
2022The British North Greenland Expedition represented a seminal moment for TUDOR and its tool watches. In fact, this was one of the very first long-term tests, under real-world extreme conditions, implemented by the brand.
The members of the expedition monitored variations in the precision of their Oyster Prince watches compared to the hourly signals emitted by the BBC, and recorded them in notebooks specifically provided for this purpose.
In light of the expected temperatures, the TUDOR watches sent for this project were specially lubricated with “arctic” oil and provided with bracelet extensions so the watches could be worn over the sleeves of the parkas.
Upon returning from Greenland, one of the members of the expedition wrote in a letter to TUDOR, which has been preserved in the brand’s archives, that his watch “maintained remarkable precision” and that “at no time did it need to be rewound by hand”.