Tudor Ranger Review: This Field Watch Is More Explorer, Less Luxe

Along with their more refined timepieces, Swiss luxury brands have staked their claim in the field watch space as well. Tudor’s offering in the category is the contemporary 39mm Ranger, a name that features prominently throughout the brand's history. Descended from the 1950s Tudor Oyster Prince Reference 7909, Tudor introduced the 34mm Ranger Reference 7995 in 1965, with the model name remaining in the lineup all the way through the 1980s. It was the 7995 that established the Ranger’s design language, with its 12-3- 6-9 dial layout and iconic spade hour hand, all of which later made a comeback in 2014 in a somewhat oversized 41mm version. The Ranger got a reboot in 2022 as a 39mm model, with a fully brushed case and COSC-certified MT5402 movement, and it serves as not only a nod to Tudor field watches of yore, but also as a throwback to the tool-watch aesthetics of the Rolex Explorer 1016 from Tudor's parent brand.

Released in July of 2022 to mark the 70th anniversary of the British North Greenland Expedition, the modern Ranger 79950 is a welcome update from that discontinued 41mm model of 2014. With a versatile 39mm case and a COSC-certified manufacture movement, the Ranger is a strong value play, hovering around $3,500 on the bracelet. Much like the vintage Ranger (and the original Rolex Explorer that provided much of its DNA), it’s a fantastic daily driver, with a fully satin-brushed finish and 100 meters of water resistance. And if you crave a more authentic tool-watch experience than the luxe-leaning Explorer of today, it’s a no-brainer.

Tudor Ranger Case & Wear

It seems as if Tudor has found its footing with the 39mm Ranger in terms of dimensions. While the previous 41mm version may have seemed a bit oversized, vintage 34mm models are a bit anachronistic for most contemporary tastes, so splitting the difference was a smart play. This is a field watch, elevated but not going so far as to employ glitzy polished elements. This is still a tool, albeit an extremely competent Swiss tool that just so happens to hit all the right notes in regard to its adventurous raison d'être. Finishing on the stainless case is outdoor-ready, with satin brushing as far as the eye can see.

The aesthetic calls back to the Ranger's roots, and evokes the Rolex 1016 Explorer as well, a far cry from the modern Explorer’s polished presentation and white-gold applied dial furniture. Along with the 39mm diameter, the case offers a trim, 47mm lug-to-lug measurement and a relatively slim 12mm thickness. That case height includes a nicely domed sapphire crystal, which, interestingly, does not feature an antireflective coating, a deliberate choice from the brand. It’s ostensibly because the case finishing and dial both offer low reflectivity, reducing glare over a more polished execution, but your preferences may differ from those who happen to love the look. 

The Ranger is most definitely a tool watch, with a GADA-worthy 100 meters of water resistance, abetted by the screw-down crown, which features an engraved signature in the form of the beloved Tudor rose. While not oversized, it’s girthy and grippy enough to excel in its functionality, and a delight to use. Continuing with the tool-watch theme, the solid caseback screws in, a not-so-subtle callback to the halcyon days of midcentury watch design, when a watch like the Ranger (or the 1016 Explorer) was more likely to be found on the wrists of pioneering expeditionists than desk-bound cosplayers (raises hand). 

One detail I would have loved to see is drilled lugs, which I find utterly useful in practice as a degenerate strap swapper. On the plus side, the 20mm lug width allows for nearly limitless options in this regard, and I’ll just say that the Ranger looks great on almost any non-flashy strap option, but especially vintage-look two-stitch leather, khaki or olive canvas, regimental pull-through fabric options, or anything of a rugged nature. The Ranger can be specified on a few of these options, including an OD green fabric with red and beige striping, or a hybrid, fabric-textured rubber and leather strap, featuring a folding clasp and steel safety catch.

Both are fine choices, but don’t discount the visual and literal weight of the three-link bracelet, a 1016-leaning choice which works perfectly in both durability and visual impact. It’s fully brushed, natch, and boasts a signed folding clasp with the highly-regarded Tudor “T-fit” safety catch. It offers on-the-fly fine adjustment, a must for those like myself whose wrist tends to swell and contract with activity and temperature fluctuations. Just get it, you’ll thank me.

Tudor Ranger Dial

Happily, the Ranger’s dial stays true to its instrument-like roots, and the domed black dial is another point of differentiation from dressed-up alternatives like the modern Explorer’s more polished rendition. The black backdrop gets a finely grained matte texture, which allows the printed elements to pop that much harder. Text is blissfully minimal, with the Tudor shield, wordmark, and “Geneve” sitting below 12 o'clock, while the text above 6 o'clock simply declares “Ranger” — which, in my opinion, offers more than enough statement of purpose. While retro enthusiasts may long for a Tudor rose and some curved text, the execution is sufficient callback to the golden age of tool watches, while unmistakably marking the Ranger as a modern Tudor. 

Straightforward hashes mark the minutes at the perimeter, and further inward, you’ll find the hours marked with large Arabics at the cardinal points, joined by rectangles at the stops in between. The hour markers have a light beige "fauxtina" cast to them, hinting at the lume that appears when the lights go down. It offers a greenish glow that recalls vintage tritium, and while not exactly blinding, the lume plots give off more than adequate brightness. The hands offer a similar glow, with the characteristic Ranger hour hand taking the form of a spade, and the minute hand as a pointed baton.

The second hand also gets lume within the trapezoid that smartly meets the hour markers, finished with a red syringe tip that just kisses the minute hashmarks. It’s a simple, yet highly functional design that just plain works. I’m grateful there wasn’t a corporate focus group lobbying for the inclusion of a date window on this dial: in a watch like this, it would destroy the lovely symmetry prized by enthusiasts. Tudor got it right in allowing the Ranger to remain a pure, purpose-built tool, and it’s a better design for it, free of visual distraction, and clunky “features” that the majority of field-watch fans neither want nor care about.  

MT5402 Movement

Time was when Tudor, as the junior sibling to Rolex, relied on outside movement providers such as ETA, but that’s no longer the case. The brand now has Kenissi as the movement manufacturer for the majority of its calibers, and Kenissi also supplies movements to several other watch brands, including Chanel (which owns a stake in Kenissi), as well as Breitling, TAG Heuer, and Norqain. Kenissi was set up as a separate entity from the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation (the owner of Tudor and Rolex), allowing it to sell its movements to other companies. The Kenissi production facility is located in the same building as Tudor's headquarters in Le Locle, Switzerland, but in its own dedicated wing. 

The Ranger utilizes the manufacture Caliber MT5402, a COSC-certified chronometer, and the state-of-the-art movement maker has paid dividends in terms of consistency and quality control. The same caliber found in the Black Bay 58, the MT5402 features hacking and hand-winding, 27 jewels, and a beat rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour, or 4 Hertz. It has a variable inertia balance and a silicon balance spring, which improves resistance to magnetism. It’s a true three-hand caliber, too, with no date complication, and offers a robust 70-hour power reserve. Its accuracy actually exceeds that of COSC specs, with its rate of -2/+4 seconds per day besting the COSC standard of -4/+6. Decoration is simple and industrial, but well-executed, with radial brushing and a smattering of machined engraving, but only your watchmaker will see it, given the solid caseback. Like the Ranger itself, the MT5402 sticks to the tool-watch script, a competent and confident movement that does the job without any unnecessary drama.

Final Thoughts

In summing up the modern Ranger, we just need to ask the question: does the watch carry out its assigned mission? The answer is a resounding yes, and the pros far outweigh the cons when considering this basic yet badass contemporary rendition of the classic field watch. As far as possible negatives go, some might pine for a smaller case size, say 36mm, just for a more vintage-correct vibe, but for such aesthetes, there are plenty of fish in the sea that meet that criteria. For the bulk of the watch-wearing public, 39mm is the sweet spot, and the rest of the dimensions make for an easy fit. Then there are collectors that may want something extra — say, a date window, applied indices, polished case elements, or a display caseback — but again, I think that misses the point of the Ranger. As a wise old Jedi might say, “This isn’t the watch you’re looking for.”

The Tudor Ranger is a watch with a very specific set of skills, and in my estimation, they’re executed rather flawlessly. The plus column fills up pretty quickly when talking about today’s Ranger, including the Goldilocks size, the balanced simplicity and fantastic legibility of the dial, and the absence of polished frippery in the finishing. Sentimental types might want more vintage-correct styling cues on the dial, but I happen to appreciate the Spartan implementation of the text. 

Visually, this is a clean, lean, and mean machine, one that has no time for excess. The movement does its business without fuss, ticking away mile after mile, doing its work out of sight. The bracelet has the old-school three-link Explorer formula down pat, while offering the functionality of the category-leading T-Fit adjustment system. Finally, at a shade over $3.5K on the bracelet, the modern Ranger is a good value, one of the best in Tudor’s current catalog. To put a bow on things: Ranger, I like the cut of your jib. You may not be the flashiest or most feature-stuffed field watch out there, but for the intended mission, nobody does it better. You can learn more at tudorwatch.com.