Tudor Royal Series M2840D1A0-0003 Watch
In recent years, when talking about Tudor, people seem to focus mainly on the Black Bay line. Dive watches, GMTs, chronographs, even special dials in pink or blue—the Black Bay has almost monopolised most of the conversation around Tudor. But today, I want to talk about the Tudor Royal series. With its integrated bracelet, fluted bezel, and traditional features like the day-date display, it’s neither as formal as a classic dress watch nor as tool-oriented as a professional sports watch.
Moreover, at this year’s Geneva Watches & Wonders exhibition, Tudor revamped the Royal series. This update goes beyond the exterior, extending to the movement as well. I attended the show in Geneva and got up close with all of Tudor’s new releases. The dial colours are incredibly varied, which makes for a visual treat when viewed together, and compared with other brands at the same price point, the value for money is outstanding.
In fact, Tudor has been using the Royal name since the 1950s, originally more to emphasise the quality and refinement of the watch itself. The modern Royal series that everyone recognises today really took shape in 2020. At that time, Tudor revived the Royal name and created a set of watches that epitomise 'sporty elegance'. The 2020 Royal range came in four sizes: 28, 34, 38, and 41mm, with the largest 41mm version featuring both day and date displays. However, there has always been one sticking point: the movement. The 41mm day-date model used the T603, while the 34 and 38mm models used the T601. These are all part of Tudor’s supplied movement line, with the T603 based on the Sellita SW240 and the T601 on the Sellita SW200. Considering the prices at the time, it was reasonable, but as Tudor has increasingly promoted its in-house MT movements over the past few years, the Royal series still using supplied automatic movements feels a bit behind the brand’s own product rhythm. So, the 2026 update focuses on this.
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The new generation of the Royal has resized the previous four sizes into three specs: 30, 36 and 40mm, while reorganising all the details of the case, bezel and bracelet connections. The largest 40mm still retains the day-date display, while the 36mm has a simpler date display.
Let's first look at this 36mm light blue dial. The entire case is made of stainless steel with both brushed and polished finishes. The 36mm case diameter paired with a 9.7mm thickness, and the Royal's integrated bracelet design, makes it look different from a traditional 36mm round watch. With the case naturally extending into the bracelet, the visual size doesn't appear particularly small; instead, it gives a compact, sporty feel.
Of course, the Royal's most iconic feature is the fluted bezel. The new generation has refined each groove, cutting deeper and sharper, creating a distinct contrast between the polished surface and the recesses. As you slightly rotate your wrist, the bezel constantly reflects light, and it's this bezel that gives the initially simple stainless steel round case enough presence. Tudor has also reworked the structure between the lugs and the end links, preventing the links from directly contacting the case, reducing friction from long-term wear.
The dial is also one of my favourite parts; it has a very low saturation, almost ice-blue colour, paired with blue baton-shaped 3D hour markers and hands, making the whole dial very clean. One of the most representative elements of the past Royal series was the Roman numerals, which gave a slightly old-school business watch vibe. Switching to baton markers on this light blue dial actually makes it feel closer to a modern integrated sports watch. The date window remains at 3 o’clock.
The bracelet is still one of the most recognisable parts of the series, a five-link integrated design. The outer and central links have a brushed finish, with two narrower polished links running through the centre. This year, the Royal line added the Tudor “T-fit” quick-adjust clasp, allowing you to fine-tune the bracelet length without tools; if your wrist swells a bit in summer, you can adjust it yourself, which is very convenient.
If the 36mm light blue dial represents the stylish and youthful side of this generation of Royals, then the 40mm green day-date is clearly still the “Royal” we are more familiar with.
It uses a 40mm stainless steel case with a thickness of 11.4mm. The dial is a deep green, and it reuses 3D Roman numeral hour markers, keeping a very classic layout. At the 12 o'clock position there is a full curved day display window, and the 3 o'clock position still shows the date. Since the modern version of the Royal was released in 2020, Tudor has always made the day calendar a feature of the larger models. Now that the size has been reduced from 41mm to 40mm, the dial still holds the same amount of information but looks more balanced. Also, in the past, the day window would cover some hour markers, but this year it has been readjusted so it no longer blocks any markers, only omitting the 12 o'clock marker.
Both models feature a screw-down crown, while the case back remains solid and they offer 100 metres of water resistance.
Of course, the most interesting thing this year is the movement. The 36mm model is equipped with the brand new MT5412 automatic in-house movement, while the 40mm day-date uses the larger MT5633, handling both day and date displays. Compared with the previous generation Royal which used Sellita or ETA base movements, this represents a true upgrade for the mechanical configuration of the series. Both the MT5412 and MT5633 are COSC-certified, and Tudor further regulates the watch once fully assembled to run within -2/+4 seconds per day, stricter than the base requirements for COSC-certified movements. Both movements offer around 70 hours of power reserve.
Although compared to the Black Bay, it doesn’t have as strong a storyline and won’t suddenly become Tudor’s most popular series, the Royal doesn’t need to turn into another Black Bay anyway. This year, Tudor not only adjusted the size and details but also switched to an in-house movement, improving power reserve, timekeeping standards and overall configuration. After this update, the Royal series has really filled its last gap and its place in Tudor’s current lineup has become much clearer.
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