Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Tudor · Pelagos
Tudor Pelagos 39 mm Salmon 18k
Reference 53981OR.58
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Tudor
- Collection
- Pelagos
- Model
- Tudor Pelagos 39 mm Salmon 18k
- Reference number
- 53981OR.58
- Year / era
- 1978 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Perpetual calendar
- Movement
- Spring Drive
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Salmon
- Strap / bracelet
- Jubilee bracelet
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 39 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Octagonal with 8 hexagonal screws
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Salmon
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- Jubilee bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 16C — Spring Drive
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 65 hours
- Number of jewels
- 37 jewels
- Complications
- Perpetual calendar
- Functions
- Annual calendar, moon phase
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1978 – 1985
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Tudor Pelagos 39 mm Salmon 18k sits within Tudor's Pelagos line, introduced in 1978. It carries the house codes established since 1926 — 18k white gold case, salmon dial and spring drive — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
Tudor
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1926
- Founder
- Hans Wilsdorf
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Premium
- Major collections
- Black Bay, Pelagos, Ranger, Royal, Glamour, 1926
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Anti-magnetic silicon escapement
- Famous movements
- Spring Drive · High-beat automatic · Automatic, Swiss lever escapement · Automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Tudor Black Bay 41 mm Ice Grade (1984) · Tudor Black Bay 39 mm Meteorite 18k (1951) · Tudor Black Bay 43 mm Meteorite 18k (1954) · Tudor Pelagos 39 mm Blue 18k (1997)
Brand history
Tudor has spent more than 100 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Black Bay, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Hans Wilsdorf established Tudor in 1926, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Tudor calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1926
Hans Wilsdorf founds Tudor in Switzerland.
1969
The quartz era forces Tudor to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Tudor enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Tudor continues to produce Black Bay, Pelagos, Ranger and other icons in limited numbers.