Hands-On Review of the Tudor Monarch
Anniversaries are a big deal in watchmaking. Brands throw themselves at every opportunity to celebrate milestones for their designs, technologies, and, more obviously, their own birthdays. Limited editions, celebratory dials, and even new models appear to mark the occasion—if we are celebrating all the time, are these watches actually memorable? In turn, this poses the question: how do you design a watch that can outlive the constant output of novelties?
To answer that question, I think we should look to the Tudor Monarch. This is neither a reissue nor a continuation of the watch released in the 1990s that bore the same name, just reuse. I would argue that the watches could not be more different. Founded in 1926, Tudor has, until recently, lived in the shadow of their sister brand Rolex. However, their history has been extremely rich, and this watch proves it with panache and class. Celebrating their centenary, Tudor has designed a watch that pays tribute to every era of their watchmaking. This has the potential to be an absolute monster of a franken-watch, but I will reassure you now, we couldn’t be further away from the truth.
Talking about the watch itself, it is both radically different and very similar to all the Tudors that have come before it. The reason for this, and this is quite possibly the coolest watch design anecdote, is that the team at Tudor has included design elements from every decade of their history. The small seconds layout comes from an early 1930s dress watch, the dial comes from the early 2000s, and the stylized Snowflake hands come from the 1970s. And that’s just scratching the surface. Aside from the big 100 celebration and associated regalia, there are quite a few significant arrivals here. Let’s get into it!
In my opinion, the case is where we need to start with this watch. This is a departure from all the Tudor cases we have seen since the 1940s, which is where the inspiration for it came from. At 39mm, it is right in that sweet spot that the brand has so brilliantly mastered over the years. The short lug-to-lug and integrated bracelet, which I’ll get into in a bit, make the Monarch wearable regardless of whether you tend to wear 44mm or 34mm pieces. The thing that really strikes me about this design is its simplicity: there are no redundant or excessive elements. The finishing is just right for an everyday wear without being too tool-like for a dressier watch. The final component that really seals the deal for me is the crown: we rarely see such fine and delicate crowns on modern watches, let alone on capable do-it-all watches.
As I previously mentioned, the dial comes from early 2000s Tudors. Known as a California or Error-Proof dial, the beloved combination of Roman and Arabic numerals could not work better for this watch. If there was any dial that could cement a watch as both a dress watch and a tool watch, this is it. Moving on from the layout, we have to address the most noticeable aspect of the watch: the champagne-bronze hue. Adorned with a vertical brushed finish, something that I frankly do not think we see on enough watches, the dial has tons of vintage charm without it feeling overdone, gimmicky, or just plain ridiculous. Paired with the small seconds, this could be the dressiest Tudor on the market. It is now time to address the metaphorical elephant in this metaphorical room: the handset. This is by far the most delicate part of this design. Based on the iconic, yet sometimes divisive, Snowflake hands, this new handset has taken the best parts and made them feel refined and tasteful. The only thing I am surprised to find missing is lume; however, it would have been a mistake to include it.
In most new time-only watches, the movement is usually a continuation of the same. Being a tool watch at heart, you get the same bomb-proof specs we have come to love Tudor for. That being said, it feels a little unsettling talking about a dress watch with METAS and COSC certifications, as well as an extra-antimagnetic hairspring. If Tudor hadn’t gone the extra mile on the movement specs, we would all be feeling thoroughly let down. Tudor, much like its big sister Rolex, tends to avoid display casebacks like the plague. Nothing wrong with that. Today, it has definitely become the norm, especially on dressier pieces, to open it up in the back. In previous iterations of Tudor’s display casebacks, the movement has been quite industrial and not particularly elegant in its presentation, with minimal finishing. We could not be further from that with the combination of Geneva stripes, perlage, and gold inlay that we see adorning the caliber. This marks somewhat of a turning point for the brand, and I hope they continue to produce watches with this level of finishing visible to us.
The bracelet is a departure from tradition. It is very different from everything we have seen from Tudor in recent years. The H-link pattern with its faceted and polished triangular center links is delightful. In the past, Tudor has made integrated bracelet watches, like the North Flag (one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated modern watches in my opinion!), but nothing with as much charm as this. I am extremely thankful that Tudor chose not to include any faux rivets because, like faux patina, it would definitely have lowered the tone. I hope that we see more Tudor watches with this style of bracelet because it is fabulous. Do you want to see it become a staple of the catalog?
Final thoughts
“So, what’s the verdict?” I hear you ask. If you couldn’t already tell, I am a big fan of this watch. I think from a technical perspective it is flawless, and I would even go so far as to say that you couldn’t improve it if you tried. As someone who likes very traditional dial colors (read black or white, and occasionally blue), I am pleasantly surprised by this deep champagne hue, but that’s not what I love the most about the Monarch. That would be the fact that Tudor has skillfully managed to pay tribute to and include components and elements from across the ages. The concept had such huge potential to go wrong or be underwhelming, but the result we have before us could not be any better in my opinion. Is it the best release in the sub-$10k category in 2026? I might be calling it a bit early, but I certainly think so.
Find out more about this watch here. It retails for $5,875 USD.
