Tudor releases two new royal watches, salmon brown and two-tone chocolate brown Continuing Tudor's trend of revamping flagship models in the Watches and Wonders 2023 collection, the brand has released two new colorways of the Tudor Royal - Orange Red and Chocolate Brown. The Royal collection dates back to the 1950s, but has been underdog in the Tudor collection in recent years, thanks in large part to the popularity of the Black Bay and Pelagos collections. However, for those looking for a watch that leans more towards classic and dressy rather than sporty, the Royal is the best choice in the Tudor catalogue.
The new Tudor Royals retain all the signature features of the rest of the collection, including the integrated five-link bracelet and notched bezel. Tudor Royal is available in four case sizes (41, 38, 34 and 28mm) for both men and women, and comes in colors ranging from masculine to feminine. The size range is something we've seen elsewhere in the Tudor line, such as the smooth-rimmed Black Bay line, and we hope to see this trend continue across the industry.
The Royal's case and bracelet are made of stainless steel with a satin finish throughout, with a choice of polished or yellow gold highlights depending on the color scheme. While the bracelet is one piece, unfortunately you won't find the T-Fit clasp on the new Royals.
The new dials are the main talking point of these new Royals, available in orange-red and brown, each with a deep sunburst finish. Although a bit late to the show with salmon dials, the colorway is still very much in vogue, and the hue works equally well on the smaller gem-set 28mm version and the larger version with Roman numerals – the dial 41mm version.
For brown dials, Tudor leans towards a two-tone revival, adding gold to both the case/bracelet and the dial itself. Here, the applied hour markers and baton hands are crafted in gold—a color combination that definitely works, giving the watch a nostalgic, mid-century feel.
The new Black Bay models may have received the in-house movement treatment, but that's not the case for the Royal line. Here you can still find the T603 (41mm), T601 (38 and 34mm) or T201 (28mm) calibres, based on the ETA/Sellita movement, with a 38-hour power reserve. The movement is chronometer-certified, so accurate timekeeping shouldn't be a problem.
Although the Royal line leans more towards the classics in the classic-to-sport range, Tudor has ensured that the watch is water resistant to 100 meters, with its notched bezel and Roman numeral dial.
In some ways, it’s a bit surprising that the Royal hasn’t been as popular as other watches in the Tudor collection, given the popularity of integrated bracelet sports watches. The Royal may still be the quieter sibling in the Tudor family, but these new colorways offer warm and nostalgic tones that may appeal to many looking for an integrated bracelet watch that's more dressy than sporty and far from rugged, A masculine aesthetic is often found in the sports watch category.