Each of the past few years Tudor has given us something new in the Heritage collection. It all started with the Heritage Chronograph, then the Heritage Black Bay came along, and last year we got the Heritage Chrono Blue. Today we're happy to present to you the latest Heritage watch, the much-desired Ranger. This time-only watch is Tudor's take on the classic military or adventurer's watch – it's sturdy, highly legible, and has a classic look that's tough to argue with. Here we look at the history of the Ranger and what you can expect from the new Heritage Ranger.
The Ranger is Tudor's take on the basic 3-6-9-12 dial watch probably best known from Rolex's Explorer. While Tudor and Rolex both made watches with the Submariner name, Tudor did not use the Explorer moniker, instead adopting Ranger as the name for this family of Oysters and Oysterdates. There were a variety of different Rangers made over the years including models with a date window at 3 o'clock, and there was no singular reference number used across the board.
The Ranger then disappeared and a totally different watch emerged under the name Ranger II. Until today, that is. The new Tudor Heritage Ranger takes many of the distinctive traits of the original Ranger while updating the watch for today. As with the Heritage Black Bay and the Heritage Chronograph, this is not a faux vintage piece; it's vintage-inspired but a thoroughly modern piece.
The Heritage Ranger starts with a 41mm brushed stainless steel case with no crown guards and a smooth thin bezel. The dial is the classic 3-6-9-12 dial (without a date window) and between the luminous numerals are long luminous bars set against the lightly textured matte black dial. The hands are the familiar combination, with the arrow-shaped hours hand and the paddle seconds hand, though here the seconds hand is bright red, adding a little color to the mix.
There is the option of either a tan leather "Bund"-style strap or a steel bracelet, though both options come with a camouflage fabric strap as well. Yes, a camo strap straight from the factory.
And the best part is that the Heritage Ranger will be priced at 2,800 CHF on the bracelet and 2,700 on the leather strap.
