Tudor Relaunches The Cult Favorite Northflag, Now With GMT Complication And Master Chronometer Certification
The Northflag of your dreams awaits.
The original version of the Tudor North Flag was launched at Baselworld in 2015 as the first Tudor watch to feature an in-house movement. The caliber MT5621 with a 70-hour power reserve, was chronometer certified by the COSC and had a 70 hour power reserve, with an on-dial power reserve indication and could be had on a navy strap, or integrated bracelet, and it was 40mm x 13.3mm with a 50mm lug to lug size, and a 100 meter water resistance rating. It got a lot of ink thanks to the in-house movement debut (the in-house movement manufacture would be announced as Kenissi in 2016, which produces proprietary versions of its calibers for Tudor, and is also now a supplier to the industry) and also thanks to its design, which some folks loved right away, some folks did not (right away) and some folks grew to love over time.
Always something of an insider’s choice, the North Flag was discontinued in 2021, with regret expressed in some quarters by those who’d found the quirky design strangely compelling but had hesitated to buy one. Five years later, it’s back – released today as the Northflag, minus the power reserve indication but with a GMT function in the form of an independently settable hour hand, with slimmer hands, and a slightly slimmer case – still 40mm in diameter, but now 12.7mm thick, and a hair smaller lug to lug, at 48.8mm. Water resistance is still 100 meters.
The Northflag’s biggest upgrade technically is the Master Chronometer certification, which requires prior certification by the COSC, and also has a precision spec of 0-+5 seconds per day, and a requirement that the watch be able to tolerate magnetic fields of at least 15,000 gauss. Master Chronometer certification also tests the cased watch for water resistance, and for duration of the power reserve (among other things). The case now has curved and beveled top and bottom flanks, and the double bezel of the 2015 model, which consisted of a satin finished ring above a matte black ceramic bezel, has been replaced with a single satin finished bezel in the new release.
There’s also a new 24 hour rehaut, and of course the yellow and black color scheme of the original, which aside from the power reserve was one of its most recognizable design features.
The movement is a major update – caliber MT5652-U, which is the same movement used in the Pelagos GMT, has a 65 hour power reserve, with a freesprung balance with inertial weights for fine adjustment of the rate, and a silicon balance spring (which for one thing is necessary for the magnetic resistance requirements of the COSC). Visible through the domed sapphire crystal used for the caseback, it’s got a radial pattern on the bridges which adds some visual interest without seeming too decorative for what’s decidedly a tool watch.
Just to top off the wish list, the new Northflag now has a T-fit clasp as well.
Now, true confessions time, I was one of those who had doubts about the original North Flag but came to like it over time, although I never ended up pulling the trigger on one. I still think it has its appeal, although if you were feeling uncharitable you might call it a face-only-a-mother-could-love, AMC Gremlin kind of appeal. I thought it was an admirably blunt tool watch and I still do, but if I had to choose between the two, hands down it would be the new model. The power reserve indication was cool and idiosyncratic and all that but I don’t think there’s any disputing the fact that a flyer GMT complication is just a heck of a lot more useful; and all the other updates, including the Master Chronometer cert, and the T-fit rapid adjustment clasp, are just no brainers.
Now that the new model is out, the way of the world being what it is, there is little doubt that it will be compared here and there unfavorably to the original, but from where I’m sitting, the Northflag is just a higher spec, more usefully configured daily driver, and as a value proposition in this our modern watch world, it’s pretty tough to beat.
The Tudor Northflag ref. 9140G1A0U: case, 40mm x 12.7mm x 48.8mm lug to lug, 316L stainless steel, water resistance 100M, sapphire crystals front and back. Black dial with monobloc ceramic luminous markers; “Northflag” style hands with grade A Super-LumiNova. Movement, caliber MT5652-U, GMT function, Master Chronometer certified by METAS, chronometer certified by the COSC, freesprung adjustable mass balance with silicon balance spring, 31.8mm x 7.5mm, running in 32 jewels at 28,800 vph. Bracelet, 316L stainless steel, two-link, with T-fit rapid adjustment clasp. Five year transferable warranty, no registration necessary, no maintenance requirement. Price, $5525.
The 1916 Company is proud to be an authorized retailer for Tudor. The Northflag is available from The 1916 Company; contact us for current pricing and availability.