Tudor Ranger, the spirit of a tool watch
Fernando AldeaThis year, to mark the 70th anniversary of the British North Greenland Expedition, Tudor presents the Ranger, a tool watch that celebrates the spirit of this daring adventure, featuring a Manufacture Calibre MT5402, a 39-millimeter case, and a quick-release clasp.
On July 8, 1952, the British North Greenland Expedition departed from Deptford, an area on the banks of the Thames in London, on a two-year scientific mission to study Greenland's ice sheets. Equipped with the new Oyster Prince model, the first Tudor watch that was both self-winding and water-resistant, the expedition members, primarily British scientists and sailors, conducted in-depth glaciological and seismic studies at various locations. Tudor also asked them to collect performance data on the 30 Oyster Prince watches they would wear in extreme conditions. It is the adventurous spirit of these pioneers of Arctic exploration that the latest addition to the Ranger range celebrates, offering an affordable combination of cutting-edge watchmaking technology and historic aesthetics.
https://youtu.be/gCG7JHcqAyIThe Ranger Saga
The history of the Ranger name goes back far beyond the British North Greenland Expedition . Although the Tudor watches used by its members between 1952 and 1954 never bore this inscription on their dials, subsequent Ranger models have perpetuated the concept of the expedition watch, a rugged, practical, and affordable instrument, born at Tudor during this era.
The origins of Tudor's Ranger family date back to 1929. This was the year Hans Wilsdorf registered the name "Ranger," three years after registering the trademark "The Tudor." At that time, the name wasn't used to indicate the specific model, but to add an adventurous look to certain watches in the Tudor collection. The aesthetic we now recognize as Ranger didn't appear until the 1960s, with its large Arabic numerals, generously coated with luminescent material at 3 (for non-date models), 6, 9, and 12 o'clock, as well as its uniquely designed hands.
Throughout its history, various variants were offered, with or without a date, with automatic or manual winding, and initially featuring the Tudor rose logo followed by the coat of arms on the dial. In 1973, a version of the Ranger was released with an integrated bracelet, known as the "Ranger II."
The spirit of a tool watch
The new Ranger model respects the aesthetic standards established throughout its history, especially its dial with Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock, while incorporating new cutting-edge technical elements, notably a high-performance Manufacture Caliber and a Tudor "T-fit" quick-release clasp system. Within the Tudor collection, it continues the tradition of the expedition watch, born with the Oyster Prince watches used by members of the British North Greenland Expedition . The tradition of a robust, practical and affordable instrument.
To echo this functional heritage, the Ranger's 39-millimeter case and bracelet have a satin finish, creating an overall matte appearance, in the purest spirit of a "tool watch." However, some elements are polished to reinforce the lines of the case, including the inner axis of the bezel. As for the dial, a keen eye will notice a historically influenced detail: the luminescent-coated hour markers. Beige in color, they contrast perfectly with the domed dial with matte black graining and match the tone of the Tudor crest logo and inscriptions. The arrow-shaped hands—rounded for the hour hand and angular for the seconds hand—are characteristic of the Ranger aesthetic, with a novel twist: the burgundy-colored second hand tip.
Manufacture caliber MT5402
The Ranger model is equipped with the Manufacture Caliber MT5402. Its construction guarantees strength, longevity, reliability, and precision, thanks to its variable inertia balance, held by a robust cross-bridge with two fixing points. Thanks to this balance and the non-magnetic silicon hairspring, the Manufacture Caliber MT5402 is certified as a chronometer by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), and its performance exceeds the standards set by this independent institute. In fact, although the COSC allows an average variation in a watch's daily running time of between -4 and +6 seconds relative to absolute time in a single movement, Tudor insists on achieving a variation of -2 +4 seconds in its running time when fully assembled.
Another notable feature is that the power reserve of the Manufacture Calibre MT5402 can last through any weekend; at around 70 hours, it allows the wearer to take off the watch on a Friday afternoon and put it back on Monday morning without having to wind it.
Jacquard, steel or hybrid bracelet
The fabric strap is one of Tudor's distinctive features, and in 2010, it was one of the first watch brands to offer it with its products. This strap, which Julien Faure's company produces using a traditional method on 19th-century Jacquard looms in the Saint-Étienne region of France, offers extraordinary build quality and comfort. In 2020, Tudor celebrated the tenth anniversary of its collaboration with Julien Faure, a company with a 150-year tradition. The collaboration began with the launch of the Heritage Chrono at Baselworld 2010. It was the first model with a handcrafted fabric strap. For the Ranger model, Tudor chose an olive green bracelet with two red bands and one beige band crafted by artisans.
The Ranger offers another option with a fully satin-finished steel bracelet, featuring the Tudor "T-fit" clasp equipped with a quick-adjustment system. This practical and easy-to-use system, which offers five tool-free positions, allows Tudor Ranger wearers to precisely and instantly adjust the overall bracelet length up to 8 mm.
Finally, a third bracelet option is offered, made of natural rubber and black woven leather, with beige stitching and a folding clasp.
Field tests
The British North Greenland Expedition represented a momentous occasion for Tudor and its tool watches. In fact, this was one of the first long-term tests, under extreme real-world conditions, implemented by the brand. Expedition members monitored variations in the accuracy of their Oyster Prince watches compared to time signals broadcast by the BBC, and recorded them in specially designed notebooks. Considering the expected temperatures, the Tudor watches sent for this project were specially lubricated with "Arctic" oil and fitted with bracelet extensions so the watches could be worn over the sleeves of parkas. Upon returning from Greenland, one of the expedition members wrote in a letter to Tudor, which has been preserved in the brand's archives, that his watch "maintained exceptional accuracy" and that "at no time did it require hand-winding."
This so-called "destructive" approach to testing, in which the watch is evaluated in the field by professionals under extreme conditions, is reminiscent of the theme of Tudor's first large-scale advertising campaign launched in 1952. These tests guided the development of several of the brand's tool watches. This notion of robustness remained at the heart of Tudor's philosophy, as evidenced in particular by its brand promotion in the following decades, always focused on technical performance under difficult conditions rather than on issues of aesthetics or prestigious status. For example, in the early 1970s, in a Tudor catalog, the Ranger model was featured on the wrist of a logger who "chose his watch with the same care with which he chooses his chainsaw."
Specs
| TUDOR RANGER |
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REFERENCE : 79950 |
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MOVEMENT : Self-winding mechanical movement with bi-directional rotor, Manufacture Calibre MT5402, Swiss chronometer certified by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute), Micro-adjustment nut to vary the inertia of the balance wheel, Non-magnetic silicon balance spring, Frequency of 28,800 vibrations/hour (4 Hz), 27 jewels, Power reserve of approximately 70 hours |
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CASE : 39 mm satin-finished steel, Smooth satin-finished steel bezel, Steel screw-down crown with embossed Tudor rose, Domed sapphire crystal, Water-resistant to 100 m |
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DIAL/HANDS : Domed black, Hour, minute and second hands in the center |
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BRACELET : Steel bracelet with three links and a folding clasp with Tudor "T-fit" safety clasp, hybrid rubber and leather bracelet with folding clasp and steel safety clasp or green fabric bracelet with red and beige bands and buckle closure |
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FUNCTIONS : Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Stop-second function for precise time setting |
