Did David Beckham accidentally just leak a new dateless Tudor Pelagos?

Zach Blass

The Wilsdorf group are generally very secretive about their upcoming projects, so when a potential leak makes its way onto the internet all our hearts skip a beat with excitement. Sometimes we see unconfirmed catalogue pages that can be photoshopped by trolls looking to cause a stir, but lately it seems that if you want a potential glimpse into the future of Rolex or Tudor releases you should keep an eye on their ambassadors’ wrists. We recently covered how Sir Ben Ainslie was spotted wearing a titanium Yachtmaster 42 without a cyclops date, and today David Beckham caught the attention of watch enthusiasts posting a picture of what appears to be a potentially new prototype of a dateless Tudor Pelagos.

Nick Gould, a.k.a @niccoloy on Instagram, is well-known in the watch community for his eagle-eyed watch sleuthing and he fortunately re-shared Beckham’s story post on his own profile. In the image we see a Tudor Pelagos timely shared to note how Beckham is counting down before game time. But this isn’t just any Pelagos watch – there are very notable differences. Firstly, the Pelagos (note the Pelagos dial text at 6′) has a full 60-minute hashed countdown bezel instead of the usual 15 minutes conveyed by hashes. Secondly, unless it is an instance of colour skew due to camera and lighting, the watch appears to have a dark blue bezel and dial – a colour not previously used in the collection. Thirdly, while a pixelated image it appears to be clear that the hour indices are not recessed within framed stepped borders. The indices also appear to be fully printed versus being applied to the dial Last but definitely not the least, the most important change up is the presence of a third hour index instead of a date complication.

So what do I make of this? Well, this may very well be in line with my dream for the modern Tudor x Marine Nationale dive watch. This no-frills take on the Pelagos watch definitely has a utility-driven and militaristic vibe to its look, stripped down to the essentials for daily use. The rehaut and its stepped inner bezel appears to be much more narrow in width, and this gets me really excited. Why? Well in my Tudor x Marine Nationale prediction article, I expressed that an unlikely and watch internet-breaking scenario would be to release a Pelagos in 40mm versus 42mm. This narrowed inner bezel, among other details, makes this a tangible possibility. Even the lugs of the watch appear to have a narrower profile. Whether a special commission, prototype, or otherwise, we should all definitely keep an eye out for what Tudor brings to market in the coming year and cross our fingers that this is it.