To mark the 70th anniversary of the British North Greenland Expedition, TUDOR is presenting the Ranger model, a tool watch celebrating the spirit of this daring adventure, complete with Manufacture Calibre MT5402, a 39-millimetre case and a clasp with rapid adjustment system.
It was on 8th July 1952, that the British North Greenland Expedition left Deptford, an area on the banks of the Thames in London, for a two-year scientific mission studying ice sheets in Greenland. Equipped with the brand-new Oyster Prince model, TUDOR’s first watch that was both automatic and waterproof, the members of the expedition, mainly British scientists and sailors, conducted in-depth glaciological and seismic surveys at several sites. TUDOR also asked them to gather performance data for the 30 Oyster Prince watches that would be worn under extreme conditions. It is the adventurous spirit of these pioneers of arctic exploration that the latest addition to the Ranger line celebrates, offering an affordable combination of state-of-the-art watchmaking technology and historic aesthetics.
The history of the Ranger name dates back much further than the British North Greenland Expedition. Although the TUDOR watches used by its members from 1952 to 1954 never bore this inscription on their dials, subsequent Ranger models have perpetuated the concept of the expedition watch born at TUDOR during this time. That of a robust, practical, and affordable instrument
The origins of the TUDOR Ranger family date back to 1929. This was the year when Hans Wilsdorf registered the “Ranger” name, just three years after registering the “The TUDOR” trademark. At the time, the name was not used to indicate the model specifically, but instead to add an adventurous aspect to certain watches in the TUDOR collection. The aesthetics that we now recognise as the Ranger didn’t appear until the 1960s, with its large Arabic numerals, generously coated with luminescent material at 3 (for models without the date), 6, 9, and 12 o’clock, as well as its uniquely designed hands.
Offered in a number of variations over the course of its history, examples existed with and without the date, with automatic or manual winding and initially with the TUDOR rose logo followed by the shield on its dial. As early as 1973, a version of the Ranger was made with an integrated bracelet under the name “Ranger II”.