Tudor had a series of hits in recent years with watches inspired by its vintage timepieces, most notably with the Black Bay and Heritage Chronograph. Where the Black Bay is a diver’s watch and the Heritage Chrono a driver’s timepiece, the new Heritage Ranger is the modern take on the explorer’s watch.

The original Tudor Ranger was inspired by the Rolex Explorer, and the modern Heritage Ranger is in turn inspired by the original. So all three share the same dial with 3, 6, 9 and 12 in Arabic numerals, and the rest in baton markers. But like the other timepieces in the Heritage line, this is not a replica of the original. A particularly modern touch is the red seconds hand.

All the luminous material on the dial and hands is a subtle off-white, while the convex dial and domed sapphire crystal complete the vintage look. Underneath is an ETA 2824, reliable and robust, but with a short 38 hour power reserve.

The 41 mm case has a brushed finish, top and sides, and is water resistant to 150 m. Like the vintage Ranger, the modern version has drilled lug holes, which makes changing straps easier.

And on the topic of straps, the Heritage Ranger has four options available, a demonstration of how far Tudor has embraced contemporary watch collecting culture. The first is a steel bracelet with very quaint straight ends.

Two leather straps are available, the first in a Bund style with a pad underneath the watch. The other option is a darker brown stitched leather strap. Both leather straps come with a folding clasp.

On dark brown leather

On the Bund strap

All three options are supplied with an additional camouflage pattern canvas strap in a NATO style, except it is secured via spring bars instead of looping under them. The Heritage Ranger will retail for 2700 Swiss francs on strap (~US$3050), and 2800 Swiss francs on the bracelet.