Tudor revives the North Flag as the Northflag, swapping its power reserve for a GMT

Tudor has relaunched the North Flag as the Northflag, a single word replacing the space, and the changes go well beyond spelling. The 2015 original's rotating power reserve indicator is gone, replaced by a fourth GMT hand and a 24-hour bezel. The new watch is sold only in Tudor stores, priced at $5,525 in its one available specification.

What changed under the dial

The GMT function comes from the Tudor MT5652-U, a METAS and COSC-certified flyer GMT movement that has already proven itself elsewhere in the range. It replaces the MT5621, the caliber that debuted in the original 2015 North Flag as Tudor's first ever in-house movement, a genuine turning point for the brand at the time.

The 316L stainless steel case still measures 40mm across, unchanged from the original, but its proportions have been trimmed. Thickness drops from 13.3mm to 12.7mm and lug-to-lug shrinks from 50mm to 48.8mm, changes reviewers found made the watch wear noticeably sleeker on the wrist despite the identical diameter.

Fit still varies by wrist. On a 7.5 inch wrist the Northflag reportedly wears comfortably, while testers with 6.5 inch wrists found the case a little too expansive and less agreeable on the wrist. Because it shares an integrated bracelet design with the Ranger II, wrist size and shape matter more here than on most Tudor references.

How the design has been reworked

Tudor has dropped the black ceramic bezel ring that defined the original North Flag's look, a visual hallmark whose absence is notable even if it broadens the watch's appeal. In its place is a sunburst black dial with raised luminous markers and monobloc luminous ceramic numerals set in the same Explorer-like typeface as before.

The seconds hand has been redesigned to match the Ranger II's styling rather than the original Ranger-inspired hand used on the North Flag, keeping it visually distinct from the new bright yellow GMT hand. The Ranger II handset and the tapered crown, unique among Tudor watches, both carry over from the earlier generation.

The bracelet keeps a similar H-Link design to the original but now includes T-Fit, Tudor's on-the-fly micro-adjustment system introduced five years ago and now standard across a large part of the catalog. That single addition brings the Northflag's wearing comfort in line with the rest of the current lineup.

The rivals the Northflag now has to beat

The Northflag shares its movement with the Pelagos FXD GMT, though the two are unlikely to be cross-shopped. The more realistic comparison is internal: the Black Bay 58 GMT and, more pointedly, the Black Bay Pro, which costs $4,725 on a strap but gives up METAS certification, adds nearly 2mm of thickness and may skip the bracelet.

Outside Tudor, the Breitling Chronomat GMT offers a similar feature set at nearly $7,000 but is largely sold in team, club or athlete-branded configurations. The Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400 starts at $4,800 with a comparable case shape but has yet to be offered with a GMT function, leaving no direct match.

Longines has built a strong sub-$5,000 range aimed at Tudor's own audience, but none of its GMT models fill quite the same niche as the Northflag. That leaves the new watch with an uncontested position in its price band, at least among the comparisons available today, according to the hands-on account of the launch.

Tudor's bigger year and what we have covered

Tudor is marking what it frames as its 100th anniversary in 2026, a milestone tied to the year Hans Wilsdorf first filed paperwork for the Tudor name, though Montres Tudor S.A. as a company was not founded until 1946. The headline release for that anniversary was the Tudor Monarch, unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2026.

Tudor was once seen as little more than a budget alternative to Rolex, its sister brand, but the maker has spent the past decade building an identity of its own. Our guide to the best luxury watch brands names Tudor among the top attainable picks alongside Grand Seiko and NOMOS Glashutte for buyers chasing value retention and design.

Our coverage of watches jewelry has also tracked Tudor's tool watch lineage directly. In our look at Rolex Explorer alternatives, we named the Tudor Ranger, a 39mm no-date three-hander at about $4,025, as the closest match to the Explorer for roughly half its $7,900 retail price.

For GMT specifically, that same guide points to the Tudor Black Bay GMT from about $4,925 as the closer Explorer II alternative, underscoring how central GMT functions have become to Tudor's everyday adventure watches, the exact territory the Northflag now enters.

Some of that lineage traces back 11 years to the original North Flag, which was discontinued after six years without updates despite a loyal following drawn to its quirky power reserve disc, yellow accents and Ranger II inspired bracelet, features the new watch deliberately leaves behind.

What buyers are asking for next

Reviewers have already floated one open question: whether a titanium version could follow. A lighter case would separate the Northflag more clearly from the steel Black Bay Pro and give it a more singular place in Tudor's current catalog, though Tudor has not confirmed any such variant.

Tudor has not disclosed sales projections or production numbers for the Northflag, and unlike some recent references it carries no stated production limit. The in-store-only distribution model means prospective buyers cannot simply order online, and fit, given the integrated bracelet, is described as worth checking in person before any purchase.