Tudor North Flag is back with a 40mm GMT, and the move is sharper than the 2015 version. The new Tudor North Flag pairs the revived name with a Master Chronometer-certified MT5652-U movement, turning a once-idiosyncratic sports watch into something much easier to read as an everyday travel piece.
The Northflag name first appeared in 2015, just before Baselworld, and Tudor says the watch is based on the 1973 Ranger II. This new Northflag GMT keeps that lineage visible but adds the functionality buyers actually use: a separate 24-hour hand, a date at 3 o’clock, and 100m water resistance in a 40mm stainless steel case.
MT5652-U in a 40mm case
The MT5652-U is an in-house-developed automatic GMT movement that runs at 4 Hz, or 28,800 vph, and offers a 65-hour power reserve. It uses a variable-inertia balance and a silicon balance spring, while COSC and METAS certification places it in the tighter end of the sports-watch field. METAS specifies accuracy at 0/+5 seconds per day and resistance to magnetic fields up to 15,000 gauss.
The case measures 12.7mm thick and 48.8mm lug-to-lug, numbers that matter more than the brochure language does. On wrist, that should read as a compact but not undersized sports watch, especially with the fixed stainless steel bezel, the integrated H-link bracelet, and Tudor’s T-fit clasp with five adjustment positions across an 8mm range without tools.
Northflag, then and now
The black dial brings a sunburst finish, large luminous ceramic hour markers, and a 24-hour rehaut, while the central seconds hand and GMT hand are bright yellow. A screw-down crown, screw-in case back, and domed sapphire crystal complete a case built for hard wear rather than display-case drama.
The complication here is that this is a comeback with a correction. The 2015 Northflag was notable for introducing Tudor’s first in-house-developed movement, but the new version looks better balanced because it drops the power reserve indicator that once crowded the dial. I think that is the right call: the watch gains clarity without losing the Northflag’s oddball edge.
What buyers still need
Tudor has not given the retail price in the material provided, so anyone weighing the Northflag GMT still has one essential buying question left. For readers who wanted a GADA watch with GMT functionality and a certified movement, the practical answer today is simple: the watch exists, the spec sheet is unusually strong, and the only missing piece is what it costs.
