Needed Perspective: How Serious are the Tudor Quality Issues?

[padi56]

Originally Posted by kieselguhr

Yep. Mostly from folks who wear really really thick Rolex tinted lenses...

Have to agree and many forget the early problems with the Rolex cal 3035 cal 3135 and 3186 and even the new 32 series when first introduced.

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by Ian Macdermott

I currently own 5 Tudors and have had no issues with any of them, Rolex seem to have their own problems. I dive with both the Pelagos and Blackbay with no problems at all.

If your worried buy new with a 5 year warranty.

I've had the same flawless experience w/ my Tudors.

Originally Posted by padi56

Have to agree and many forget the early problems with the Rolex cal 3035 cal 3135 and 3186 and even the new 32 series when first introduced.

Easier to kick the poorer cousin than insult the club you're so desperately trying to impress.
dP

[fskywalker]

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

Easier to kick the poorer cousin than insult the club you're so desperately trying to impress.

dP

Agree Dan!


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[Lamontsanders]

My BB GMT developed the date issue (skips a day entirely with date change). Time has been accurate always. My Pelagos LHD has been great since I got it. As good as the GMT is I would recommend the LHD (specifically that one compared to the other Pelagos) as the Tudor to get unless you really need the GMT. The left hand thing is easy to adapt to, the extra pops of red (roulette date wheel!) look good and the fake patina looks good (not omega level over the top).

[Nikrnic]

I love both of mine. I have the Ranger and a BB41eta blue. I'd go back for more. Thinking of a BB58 black and still pondering on a first chrono so Tudor is also in the running for that.

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[Aberdein]

I don't own a Tudor but have to say the Blue Pelagos is a mighty fine looking watch. One day perhaps...

[214270Explorer]

I have some Tudor. My Pelagos LHD is a fantastic watch, for one example.

But I steered away from the Tudor GMT after the date wheel issues arose, and instead ended up with a Rolex Sky-Dweller GMT. So no more interest for me in the Tudor GMT.

The Tudor GMT just worried me too much to take a chance. Some "repaired" ones reportedly still have issues. And on occasion an 'old' one shows up that has not yet been addressed. I believe they may come from Gray's and owner/sellers of older ones.

[tudorbaja27]

My Black Bay Red has been great since I got it 2.5 years ago. My next watch will also be a Tudor, likely.
To me, it just gives me joy.

Different brands for different people. However - I'd stop short of saying that the date window issues should stop anyone from buying a watch. We have no way of objectively stating the % of watches affected.

[kieselguhr]

Originally Posted by Nikrnic

I love both of mine. I have the Ranger and a BB41eta blue. I'd go back for more. Thinking of a BB58 black and still pondering on a first chrono so Tudor is also in the running for that.

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I have the BBB eta like yours. My wife recently got a BB58N and wears it all the time. I tried it on the other day. Big mistake because now I want one

[Kevin of Larchmont]

I bought an ETA powered Pelagos new in 2016. A couple of days later the insert fell out of the bezel as I was simply walking, no impact whatsoever. I took it back to the AD and they gave me a new one: box, papers, fresh appraisal and all. They said they’d never seen or heard of such a thing before but the way they snapped to attention when I showed it to them lead me to believe they had; there was some chatter at the time on TRF about this happening. Nonetheless their service was flawless as has been my replacement. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Tudor if there was one I wanted.

[WatchThinker]

I'm the OP on this thread. I've started thinking, again, to the days when we can vacation easily once more. The Pelagos blue really looks like a great vacation watch.

I've been searching and I didn't see many references to the Pelagos losing its lume in recent posts.

Do we think that the issue has gone away in the recent models?

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by WatchThinker

I'm the OP on this thread. I've started thinking, again, to the days when we can vacation easily once more. The Pelagos blue really looks like a great vacation watch.

I've been searching and I didn't see many references to the Pelagos losing its lume in recent posts.

Do we think that the issue has gone away in the recent models?

Just buy the damn thing already and enjoy the snot out of it. Wasting time worrying about what ifs gets you nowhere.

The blue Pelagos is an amazing watch and it will exceed your expectations.
dP

[Kevin of Larchmont]

.

[puppet]

I have one of the very early blue Pelagos releases and have not had any problems with it. The lume is still amazing and it keeps great time. In fact, it will be going on my wrist when I get dressed today.

I agree with you about a vacation/beach watch. Mine goes on the rubber strap for a lot of summer.

[unknown]

Originally Posted by outdoors_guy

The complaint I hear about Tudor most commonly is not about quality but about brand prestige.

Seriously???
I mean .... WTF


And to answer the question
I own just over 20 modern tudors and never had a problem with any of them

[Lac Lemon]

I wouldn't necessarily drop the whole brand due to the GMT issue....but I think many Tudor purchases are simply because one can't source the Rolex they really want. Just be sure your'e not settling. Those awful snowflake hands, too thick cases, and sub par bracelets aren't going away.

Otherwise stop worrying and enjoy the watch, it's just a watch!

[goliat]

So far the problems I've had with my Pelagos:

- Stiff bezel when wet (this is actually a design flaw in the bezel itself, not due to gunk)
- Lume partially fallen out from the number "2" in the bezel

That's pretty much it. I've had a loose ball bearing on the rotor once, but that's due to my own stupidity for dropping it.. guh

[whattimeyougot]

I’ve had my GMT for 2 years. No problems. The issues you read about may seem like widespread ones but I’d bet money it’s a small % of total units produced.

I’d happily purchase another Tudor in the future. Great value for money.


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[CedCraig]

Originally Posted by Mick006

I figured they had it [GMT] sorted.

Not according to other threads here.

People returning their watch for service recently have been quoted a one-year wait to get their watch fixed. To make matters worse, Tudor apparently refuses to extend their warranty even if it takes a year to fix the watch.

Tudor’s service model is to simply take out your movement and replace it with a refurbished movement. Your movement is then refurbished and goes into someone else’s watch.

Seems like there’s been such a flood of GMT repairs that Tudor doesn’t have enough refurbished movements to pop into the lemon watches, hence the extremely long service wait time.

Given that the Kenissi MT5621 movement is based on the Rolex 3255, seems logical that the MT5652 (GMT) would have been based on a Rolex GMT movement. So, the design of the MT5652 is probably sound. That suggests QA/QC problems at the Kenissi factory. Or, in changing the design of the MT5652 to make it cheaper to produce, a design flaw was introduced. I don’t know what the fundamental problem is.

Since Tudor has tried to sweep the GMT problems under the rug, that indicates to me they’re not owning up to the problems with the Kenissi GMT movement. I’d run, not walk, away from a Tudor GMT.

[Mick006]

That’s. A shame. I’ve had one for over 15 months. I wear it in regular rotation with no issues.

[GBD]

I still like Tudor a lot, but I think they've slowly been crapping in their own bed.

1. Claims of in-house and/or proprietary movements. The Kenissi movements are neither of those.
2. Not acknowledging the GMT date issue.
3. Not acknowledging a movement swap out at service.
4. Switching to unmodified Sellita movements instead of ETA.

This wouldn't necessarily stop me from buying a Tudor I really liked, but the Tudor of today is less compelling than the Tudor of yesterday, imo.

[Brny11]

Originally Posted by WatchThinker

Hi Gang,

No sooner did I buy one watch, that I was thinking about a great watch for Summer. I had been taken by so many reviews of the Tudor Pelagos - and the blue looks great. Then I started reading about the detaching lumes. I had previously been looking at the GMT and had a line on one, but was put off but he date wheel.

I’m kind of thinking of dropping the whole brand from my brain. Am I over-reacting?

Can anyone out there give me some perspective?

Rolex date window mag, misaligned bezels, accuracy issues, misaligned rehaut, minute hand / hour hand not aligning, etc. Rolex taking 1-3 months to fix any of above at RSC if they even will fix... all brands have their issues. Not discounting the date wheel issue. But I do believe Tudor will fix issues with no problem. You like the watch, get it! Pelagos is amazing value for $.

[watchmavan]

Originally Posted by GBD

I still like Tudor a lot, but I think they've slowly been crapping in their own bed.

1. Claims of in-house and/or proprietary movements. The Kenissi movements are neither of those.
2. Not acknowledging the GMT date issue.
3. Not acknowledging a movement swap out at service.
4. Switching to unmodified Sellita movements instead of ETA.

This wouldn't necessarily stop me from buying a Tudor I really liked, but the Tudor of today is less compelling than the Tudor of yesterday, imo.

Kenissi... This is a Tudor company started by them, owned by them. They sold a 20% share to Chanel.


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[peterpl]

The only real issue is with the Tudor GMT movement.

Its a lemon and its been close to 3 years and Tudor still have not publically acknowledged it AND worst of all there are still new examples showing the issue.

The lume issue I think its not as wide spread as the GMT Date issue. That is just a big failure on Tudor.

[Alfredo.]

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

Just buy the damn thing already and enjoy the snot out of it. Wasting time worrying about what ifs gets you nowhere.

The blue Pelagos is an amazing watch and it will exceed your expectations.
dP

THIS! I've had both the ETA and In-House versions of the Pelagos; currently own the LHD. It's been nothing but perfect!

[breed]

I have both the BB GMT and the BB58 Blue. Both watches are perfect, no issues whatsoever.

[colonelpurple]

Anyone who has worn a Tudor GMT for more the a day will realise it’s a fantastically made watch with a superbly accurate and robust movement. A new movement designed with modern manufacturing in mind and Rolex expertise and precision. To me, Tudor signifies value. The GMT remains my favourite watch of any manufacturer below 7000. The normal BB is superb as are the 1926 watches I have had. Tudor, in both execution and detail, matches brands in the tier above, like Rolex, Omega and Zenith, etc.

[renato155]

Workhorse for me. Not a single complaint


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[Robert Bruce]

The issue I have with Tudor is that I want one that is 41-42mm, with the new in-house movement, but they are too fricken thick! The BB58 is a bit over 12mm thick with the same movement, so there is zero excuse for the BBB to be about 15mm thick and resemble a tuna can. Why?!

[Tommyk]

Originally Posted by Robert Bruce

The issue I have with Tudor is that I want one that is 41-42mm, with the new in-house movement, but they are too fricken thick! The BB58 is a bit over 12mm thick with the same movement, so there is zero excuse for the BBB to be about 15mm thick and resemble a tuna can. Why?!

For both Rolex and Tudor this decision was deliberate to make the watches bigger. I wouldnt be surprised if we see thinner BB's in the future but I wouldnt hold my breath for them. Both brands do well enough that they can afford to wait and let the market dictate what they should do next. All while we see prices increase year after year both for retail and used.