David Beckham wearing a Tudor Pelagos with custom dial bearing the crest of Inter Miami CF, the team he both co-owns and serves as president for
As Tudor return in force to the realm of custom timepieces, we look at some of the best modern interpretations
Rolex and Tudor founder, Hans Wilsdorf, understood the emotional power of a watch unusually well. Long before “collaboration” became a marketing term, Tudor – and, of course, Rolex – watches were being presented to employees for decades of service, awarded to athletes, commissioned by military organisations and gifted as marks of achievement or loyalty. These were not limited editions in the modern sense. Most were never advertised and many existed only within tightly defined circles. Their appeal today comes as much from the stories behind them as the watches themselves.
From the 1950s through to the 90s, Wilsdorf family watches were commissioned for oil companies, military units, retailers, sports teams, governments and royal courts. Some carried engraved case backs, others featured entirely bespoke dials bearing logos, crests or emblems that transformed ordinary production watches into deeply personal objects. Today, many of those pieces sit within some of the most fascinating corners of vintage collecting, not necessarily because they are rare, but because they captured a specific relationship between watchmaking and institutional identity.
Two of the most well known in vintage collecting circles are the Cotton Bowl and Philippine Airlines watches. The latter were given to pilots and staff of the airline to recognise long service. Featuring the company’s logo on the dial, they have long been a curiosity amongst Tudor collectors.
The Cotton Bowl in Dallas is one of the great historic stadiums of American football, serving as the home of the Dallas Cowboys during the 1960s and hosting generations of major college football games, including the famous Cotton Bowl Classic. While Europeans often underestimate the scale of college football, these games regularly drew crowds of around 70,000 spectators, comparable to a sold-out match at Old Trafford. The winning team were awarded Tudor Oysterdate watches with individual names on the reverse and the Cotton Bowl Classic logo and year on the dial. It’s a horological slice of sporting history.
Over the past decade, however, something interesting has happened. While Rolex has gradually stepped away from customised commissions, Tudor has quietly revived the tradition. The brand has produced small batches of watches for military units, police forces, sports teams, corporations, creative partners and even touring musicians, often in extremely limited numbers and almost always unavailable to the public.
What makes these watches compelling is that they rarely feel like marketing exercises. Tudor’s history has always been closely tied to utilitarian applications, from Marine Nationale Submariners to watches supplied to diving units and professional organisations around the world. In many ways, modern Tudor special editions feel like a continuation of that history rather than a departure from it.
Some are subtle; others verge on eccentricity. A few have already become highly collectible. Together, they form one of the most interesting and under-discussed areas of contemporary watch culture, Tudor or otherwise. And here are ten of the best:
1)
CNC 100th Edition
The Commando Hubert Black Bay 54 was created to commemorate the 100th Cours des Nageurs de Combat, the notoriously demanding combat swimmer programme that qualifies operators for France’s elite naval special forces unit. Stripped back to a stark military aesthetic with only a red “200m” line of text and individual CNC markings on the dial, it feels less like a commercial special edition and more like a genuine continuation of Tudor’s historic relationship with the Marine Nationale.
2)
Five Decades of the UAE
The Black Bay Chrono UAE Edition is one of the most visually stunning modern Tudor special editions, produced in a run of just 50 pieces with striking Arabic-Indic numerals across the dial, sub-registers and date wheel. Created with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons to celebrate 50 years of the United Arab Emirates, the watch carries clear echoes of the legendary “Arabian Knight” Rolex Daytona and has already become one of the most sought-after contemporary Tudors among collectors.
3)
Something Fishy Here
Perhaps the most leftfield Tudor special edition I’ve encountered is the blue Pelagos created in 2018 to commemorate the 65th International Billfish Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Little is known about production numbers, but each watch features a jumping marlin on the dial alongside an engraved “IBT65 2018” case back, giving one of Tudor’s most serious modern tool watches an unexpectedly playful and niche twist.
4)
In The Army Now
The Royal Engineers Commando Pelagos is exactly the kind of Tudor special edition that collectors dream about; military-issued in spirit, genuinely obscure and produced in a tiny run of just 59 pieces for serving members of one of Britain’s elite Commando units. Featuring the Royal Engineers Commando insignia on the dial and the motto “United We Conquer” engraved on the case back alongside individual service numbers, it feels like a direct continuation of the great military Tudor lineage.
5)
By Royal Appointment
The Metropolitan Police RaSP Black Bay might be one of the most famous modern Tudors to surface in recent years, having appeared at and sold for staggering sums in UK auctions. Produced in just 75 examples for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Unit, the watch replaces the standard dial text with the unit insignia and features individually engraved case backs.
6)
Chrome Dino
One of the quirkiest Tudor collaborations of recent years is the Pelagos 39 created for Watches@, the watch collector group made up of Google employees. Featuring the famous “Chrome Dino” from Google Chrome’s hidden offline game at six o’clock on the dial, it transforms one of Tudor’s most serious modern dive watches into something inarguably fun.
7)
Dutch Courage
The Pelagos FXD Heineken x GASSAN is one of the most unexpected Tudor commissions of recent years, produced in a run of just 50 examples for Heineken in partnership with the Amsterdam jeweller Gassan. Based on the black Pelagos FXD, the watch features the famous Heineken star in the lower half of the dial alongside individually engraved case backs. The standout detail, however, might be the special presentation box, triple-signed by Tudor, Heineken and GASSAN and decorated with a line drawing of the historic Heineken brewery.
8)
Plus Minus Multiply Divide
Following the earlier Black Bay 41 created for Ed Sheeran’s Divide Tour, Tudor returned with an even cooler commission for the musician’s Mathematics world tour, this time based on the Black Bay 58 and produced in 130 examples for tour personnel. The watch retains the understated black dial of the standard model but replaces the lower dial text with Sheeran’s now instantly recognisable “+ − = ÷ ×” symbols, repeated again on the engraved case back alongside a personal “from Ed” message thanking the crew for their work on the tour.
9)
Crowned In Blue
Among the most elusive modern Middle Eastern Tudor commissions is the Royal “Jordanian Crown,” produced in 2022 in a reported batch of just 25 examples for members of King Abdullah II’s Royal Guards. Based on the elegant Tudor Royal Date and Day, the watch features the Jordanian Hashemite Crown printed above six o’clock on a deep blue Roman numeral dial, creating a configuration that feels unmistakably rooted in the long tradition of Middle Eastern presentation watches.
10)
Carmel’s Easter Egg
Created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of California retailer Fourtané, the Black Bay 54 Fourtané Edition, at first glance, resembles a beautifully restrained vintage Submariner 7922 from 1954, complete with gilt chapter ring dial, riveted bracelet and minimalist bezel insert free from hash marks. Closer inspection reveals a subtle silver Fourtané signature on the dial and an engraved case back depicting the retailer’s iconic Carmel storefront. The best detail, however, is almost invisible. Hidden within the tiny clock on the engraved shop façade sits a miniature Rolex coronet and logo, a wonderfully self-aware nod to Fourtané’s long relationship with the Crown.