What can I say about the Tudor Hydro 1200? It’s
brutal and a goddamn beast that’s my best way of summarizing it. If I’m not mistaken I got this
one from Claus the Dane at CT Watches in October 2011. I like Claus because he, as well
as myself, goes for the funny dive watches and not the regular boring stuff. The
Tudor was delivered to me with the white dial but came with an extra black dial
that I had installed before even trying it on. I hate white dials. Unfortunately
I only got it on the rubber and not the bracelet. I’ve never got to try the
Hydro 1200 on the bracelet but from what I can tell by the pictures it looks
really cool and comfortable. The rubber on the other hand… How thick can you
make a rubber before it looks stupid? To me this is a good example of what's just about to
cross the border of being too thick. The rubber was almost as thick as the
actual watch itself. I'm guessing the Hydro 1200 is working best on its
bracelet but as I haven’t tried it I can’t say for sure. It looks better on the bracelet anyhow.
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| Borrowed product picture of the Tudor Hydro 1200 on the bracelet. |
The aesthetics
is really something. I’ve never seen anything looking like the Hydro 1200. It
got its own design for sure and it only delivers one message: “I’M A DIVE
WATCH!”. What else could it be? I love the fat hour markers and the hands are one
of a kind. The action of the bezel is so nice and smooth it makes you want to
sit around all day just turning it. I really did love this watch. The only
problem was its size. It’s at least 45mm wide without the crown. I had a really
hard time selling mine and finally got rid of it in a trade but I lost at least
$400.
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| #98 - The Tudor Hydro 1200. Here in its box. |
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| Look at the thickness of that rubber strap! |
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| I think the watchmaker who changed the dial scratched the case back. Amateur! |
If I would
have been a professional diver the Tudor Hydro 1200 is a watch that I really
would have liked to wear while working. I’m not sure at all if it's a good
watch for diving but it sure as hell plays the part of looking like it. It’s a
watch that never will go unnoticed and even if it might not go together with your
everyday suit at work it would serve perfectly as the weekend watch for the beach with a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I paid about $2700 back in 2011 for a full
set without the bracelet but with two dials and judging from the prices I see
today they doesn’t seem to have changed very much. I actually found a brand new
one with all the plastic and tags left and with the bracelet for $2300. That’s
great! It even made me considering getting one while they haven’t become rare
and expensive. I can only encourage all dive watch fanatics to try one if you
haven’t already done so. It’s a must!
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| Fishing for perch out on the Royal Djurgården in the middle of Stockholm city. This was the closest the watch got to water. |
©
All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.
