If you’re a watch enthusiast who also happens to be a southpaw, you may often feel “left” behind by watch brands, the vast majority of whose products are designed to be worn by righties. Here’s the good news: Tudor, maker of several affordably priced Swiss-made dive watches, has just launched a left-handed version of its Pelagos model, the Tudor Pelagos LHD.
Like several other watches in Tudor’s portfolio, this one has its roots in the brand’s history — specifically, in the relative handful of now-rare left-handed models produced for professional French Navy divers by special request during the latter half of the 20th century. Tudor addressed the need for watches with winding stems on the left of the case, meant to be worn on the right wrist, after discovering that left-handed divers at the time were wearing dive watches (such as the brand’s own Tudor Submariner) upside down on their right wrist — leaving their dominant hand free to access the winding crown but able to use only the watch’s elapsed dive-time calculating function rather than also using it to keep track of the time.
The Tudor Pelagos LHD (the initials stand for “Left Hand Drive,” which presumably refers to the reversed position of the winding mechanism) carries on many of the hallmarks of the right-handed Pelagos models, but adds some of its own distinctive touches as well. It is, for example, the first Tudor watch offered in a numbered edition, with each model’s production number engraved on its solid steel caseback in larghe Arabic numerals. The dial has been reworked with beige luminescent markers (which glow bright blue in the dark) and the model name “PELAGOS” in red above the 6 o’clock position. The date disk at 3 o’clock, also in beige, features another callback to vintage Tudor dive watches: red text for even numerals, black for odd numerals, an alternating style that collectors have nicknamed “roulette.”
The 42-mm case is made from lightweight, corrosion-resistant titanium and has an entirely satin-brushed finish (only the caseback is in steel). As with other Pelagos watches, it has an automatic helium-release valve (a crucial element for “saturation” diving) — here moved to the right-hand side of the case middle to accommodate the left-handed crown. The unidirectional divers’ bezel has a matte black ceramic disk that matches the dial color and features graduations with beige luminescent coating. As one would expect from Tudor’s most professional-grade divers’ watch, it has an impressive water resistance of 500 meters (1,640 feet).
Inside the case is a Tudor in-house movement, self-winding Caliber MT5612-LHD. A variant of the brand’s first in-house movement, introduced in 2015, it has been reworked to include the left-side winding stem. Otherwise, it features all of the same features of its predecessor: a bidirectional rotor; a 70-hour power reserve; a frequency of 28,800 vph (4 Hz); a regulating system with variable inertia oscillator and silicon balance spring, held in place by a traversing bridge; and a COSC chronometer certification, in this case, obtained through testing the watch in different positions that simulate its being worn on the left hand.
The watch comes on a titanium bracelet, with a steel folding clasp equipped with a sprung self-adjustment mechanism developed and patented by Tudor. The system enables the bracelet to be expanded and/or contracted while diving by responding to external pressures as the diver reaches lower depths or rises toward the surface. Each watch also comes with an additional black rubber strap with an extension link enabling the watch to be worn over any type of diving suit. The Tudor Pelagos LHD is available at select retailers now, priced at $4,400.
