Tudor Watch Company

"For some years now, I have been considering the idea of making a watch that our agents could sell at a more modest price than our Rolex watches, and yet one that would attain the standard of dependability for which Rolex is famous. I decided to form a seperate company, with the object of making and marketing this new watch. It is called the Tudor Watch Company." - Hans Wilsdorf

Ad for Tudor Oyster Prince from 1952 (source: Tudor)

Tudor Watch Company was officially founded in 1946, taking its name from the Tudor dynasty of England. The original logo that appeared on their wristwatches until 1969 was the Tudor Rose, which was replaced by the shield logo that the watchmaker uses to this day. Although Rolex makes no mention of the Tudor brand on any of their current media platforms, Hans Wilsdorf granted the company the right to use Rolex's Oyster Case and Perpetual rotor technology in their timepieces.

The Oyster Prince model was released in 1952 with an advertising approach meant to show that the modestly priced wristwatch could withstand extreme conditions. The 'Trial of Destruction' as it is referred to in the ad shown above, placed an Oyster Prince on the wrist of a laborer operating a pneumatic drill. After one million shocks, the watch was still ticking.

A couple years later, Tudor released their first of many dive watches, the Oyster Prince Submariner. Water resistant up to 100 meters, it featured a bidirectional rotating bezel with five minute intervals to time dives and decompressions. The photo below shows the Tudor Museum Display from Baselworld 2016, with the 1954 Submariner model at the top.

Tudor Museum Display at Baselworld 2016

The current Heritage Black Bay model synthesizes the featured of Tudor's historical dive watches, including the Snowflake hour hand that was introduced in 1969 and became a signature design feature. The photo below shows the current Heritage Black Bay model with a burgundy disc and aged leather strap.

Tudor Heritage Black Bay with Burgundy Disc and Aged Leather Strap

The Tudor brand gives consumers a good value proposition. Their timepieces offer the durability and reliability of a Rolex with varied modern design configurations and a smaller price tag. They recently updated their official website, giving it a very millennial-friendly vibe.

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