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Available in the Shop: The Perfect Modern Tudor
News
Available in the Shop: The Perfect Modern Tudor
What prompted Hans Wilsdorf, the legendary founder of Rolex, to create a second brand named Tudor during the late ’40s? While theories abound, the most cogent of these suggests that Wilsdorf was about to shepherd Rolex into what would be an enduring era of profound commercial success coinciding with his launch of the sports model, the Submariner, in 1953 and the GMT-Master in 1954. Ever the canny industrialist, it is highly conceivable that Wilsdorf realised that while he could produce his famous waterproof Oyster case and patented screw-down crown in abundance, he was limited in terms of capacity by the number of Rolex movements he could create.
To this day, Tudor has remained a brand for watches featuring all of Rolex’s iconic waterproof technology, in combination with some of the best-made, dependable movements in the industry. Over the years, because of their lower price, Tudor Submariners have become some of the most frequently adopted timepieces by armed forces around the world — in particular by France’s Marine Nationale — and there is documented evidence showing that the Argentine police have regularly issued Tudor Subs to their personnel.
One great advantage of their lower price point is this: While Rolex remained somewhat conservative in styling, and has been slow to evolve, the more youth-oriented Tudor has always been home to tremendous design innovation. From the famous ‘Home Plate’ chronographs to the iconic ‘Snowflake’ Submariners, Tudor has never been afraid to push watch designs forward, and in so doing has achieved some of the most memorable timepieces in history.
History of Tudor Submariners
The second famous Tudor, the ref. 7928 Submariner, emerged around 1960 and was produced until 1968. It was distinguished by crown guards similar to those found on the Rolex ref. 5512/5513 watches. Early models boasted both square and pointed crown guards, as well as gilt dials, and are breathtakingly beautiful. The earliest of the ref. 7928 pieces feature a unique combination of gilt chapter ring, gilt writing and square crown guards — they’re among the most collectible Tudor Submariners of all time.
This was resolved in 1975 with the introduction of the Tudor ref. 9401 and ref. 9411 models, which looked very similar to the previous incarnation of the Snowflake Submariner, only now with much more stable dials. Amongst the most collectible of these were the ref. 9401 Marine Nationale watches issued to the French navy, which are distinguished by quartermaster markings on their casebacks. Just to keep things interesting, all varieties of the Snowflake Submariners were available with either blue or black dials.
The Tudor Heritage Black Bay
The gilt (gold-printed) dial replete with Tudor rose motif, which in 2016 evolved into the Tudor shield, the case and the big crown of the Black Bay all come from the ref. 7922, the very first dive watch created by Tudor in 1954.
But the magic of the Black Bay is in the sensitive touches — things that the contemporary client will enjoy, but will resonate even more deeply with a vintage collector. For example, the particular color of the dials of the watch, which harkens to the naturally occurring discolouration of vintage black dials as their lacquer fades over time. The gilt on the dial has been especially enriched in colour to create a sense of vintage patina. Even the elements surrounding the luminous indices have been treated with rose gold to create the sense of warmth evocated by vintage watches.
The Snowflake hands of the Black Bay come from the ref. 7016 and ref. 9401 watches. With the use of similar hands on the Pelagos, it’s interesting to note, the majority of Tudor’s dive watches now bear these iconic Snowflake hands. The price of the Black Bay evokes the feeling that you’ve just been told something that’s too good to be true: The Black Bay starts at a mind boggling CHF3,200, and what with the watches now being fitted with Tudor’s own movement it makes the 41mm dive watch of such good value, it’s almost criminal.
The Black Bay is destined to become one of those watches whose desirability transcends its price becoming one of the most actively sourced timepieces, internationally. One can only imagine that Hans Wilsdorf would approve resoundingly.