BY JOVAN K
If you’ve been around watches for a while, you’ll probably remember the original North Flag from 2015. It was a bit of an oddball in the Tudor catalogue, especially at a time when the brand was leaning heavily into vintage-inspired designs. It had a more modern look, an integrated bracelet and that distinctive power-reserve indicator on the dial. Tudor eventually discontinued it, but now the Northflag returns with a completely different trick up its sleeve.
The new model comes in stainless steel case that measures 40mm × 12.7mm, and a lug-to-lug of 48.8mm. It keeps the angular, slightly industrial character of the original version, but the overall design has been cleaned up.
The case combines brushed and polished surfaces and features a fixed bezel, sapphire crystal, screw-down crown and 100 meters of water resistance. It’s still clearly a Northflag, but the proportions and finishing make it feel more refined than the original.
The black dial keeps the high-contrast personality of the old model, but the power-reserve display is gone, replaced by a GMT indicator.
A white and yellow 24-hour scale runs around the dial, while the large hour monobloc ceramic markers are applied and filled with blue Super-LumiNova.
The yellow accents remain, most noticeably on the GMT and seconds hands, adding a nice bit of colour without going overboard. There’s also a date at 3 o’clock, where you’d expect it.
Despite adding a GMT function, Tudor has actually managed to make the dial feel cleaner than the original. It still looks like a Northflag, but the design has been moved forward rather than simply reproduced.
Inside is Tudor’s Manufacture Calibre MT5652-U, an automatic GMT movement that carries both COSC and METAS certification. It beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz) and provides around 65 hours of power reserve. The movement also uses a silicon balance spring and gives you an independently adjustable local-hour hand, making it much easier to use when travelling. That last part is important. This is a proper flyer-style GMT, so you can jump the local hour hand forward or backward without stopping the movement or disturbing the other functions. For a watch designed around travelling, that’s exactly how a GMT should work. You can land in a new time zone, adjust the local hour and keep the home time and GMT indication where they are.
The movement is also visible through the sapphire caseback, which is a nice change from the more closed-off caseback of the original North Flag. It’s not necessarily the reason you’re buying this watch, but being able to see the movement adds something to extra to the package. The finishing isn’t trying to turn this into a haute horlogerie piece, but it gives the Northflag a little more mechanical interest when you turn it over.
The integrated steel bracelet remains a big part of the Northflag’s personality. It flows directly into the case and uses broad links that give the watch a proper sports-watch feel. Tudor also fits its T-Fit clasp, allowing quick, tool-free adjustments when your wrist expands or contracts during the day.
It’s one of those things that sounds pretty boring until you’ve actually used it. There isn’t a leather or fabric option, but I don’t think that’s a problem as the bracelet is a big part of what makes this watch what it is.
The new Tudor Northflag (ref. 9140G1A0U) is priced at $5,525/£4,310/€4,810, and honestly, I think it’s a pretty interesting package for that money, especially if you’re after a proper GMT and want something that feels a little different from the usual sports watches that seem to all follow the same formula these days.
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