Our friend Mark has mined many good Tudor stuff from Japan. And, he is speeding up the process. Here are the items he mined in Japan this summer.
Tudor 79260
More pictures here
Tudor BOX (more pictures)
Tudor 79090 (more pictures)
He also has interest in Omega speedmaster 3570.50. Note that his speedy has the newest version of the caseback which has anti-fake mark. more pictures
Some Tudors are coming next week. Let's see
Monologue by Mark from NewZealand
Tudor.
Tudor is the sister company of Rolex. Until the early 2000s Tudor used many similar components and the watch designs were not dissimilar from Rolex. The key distinguishing feature between the two brands is that Rolex use in house movements and Tudor use Valjoux and ETA movements often modified for their purposes. Tudors choice in movements have been used the world over by many prestigious manufacturers in the last 40 years, they are well made, reliable, robust and easy serviced and should not be seen as a weakness. Bracelets, crystals and cases are almost identical in many respects to similar Rolex products and all Tudor watches are serviced and supported by Rolex Official Service Centres. The volume of Tudors sold worldwide since the 50s is a fraction of Rolex production. Tudor were also slow to introduce changes in design that made Rolex models more contemporary and thus in some peoples eyes less collectable. This includes the use of plexi crystals which were used in Tudor watches until the m id 1990s (Rolex changed to Sapphire across their range almost a decade earlier!).
Rolex pulled Tudor out of a number of key markets in the 1990s (the USA being one) thus further restricting the volume of sales and again creating a product that is now getting more difficult to find on the used market. Japan was and is one of the few markets that continue to range and sell a reasonable volume of Tudor product this making Japan one of the best places to find a wide range of pre loved Tudor watches for the collector. Rest assured though even in Japan where Rolex is also very popular and collectable prices are rising. The Japanese market is no longer a cheap place to source your Tudor vintage collectable, however the volume and range available means that for a fair price you can get a very desirable model in good condition without loosing time as the prices continue to rise.
For the Rolex vintage collector Tudor presents an opportunity to acquire low volume vintage watches in very similar style to many now famous collectable Rolexes that few can afford, for a fraction of the price. The most collectable models are the Tudor Chronographs and Submariners. These chare many resemblances to the much cherished Daytona (Newman vintage), early Submariner, Comex and Sea Dweller watches. Another example of design differences include the Lume (use of Tritrium) and the dial hour markers on the submariner (these are large round “dots” not contained within a white gold frame like Rolex Submariners from the last 15 years). Infact a standard full size Tudor Submariner from 1997 has a Dial looking very similar to a vintage 1655 Sea Dweller or early 1980s – lovely large and easy to read with matt black dial background (or in rare occasions deep blue with a more satin finish).
My interest in Tudor started many years ago. I only wish I had purchased the models I coveted at that time! I was luck enough to acquire a Rolex SS Daytona (2002) and though I loved the watch I realised that to be worn every day the lack of a date was a disadvantage. After some research I found that Tudor by Rolex made a Tudor Chronograph with very similar aesthetics, an Oyster bracelet identical to Rolex with more interesting and attractive dial combinations and with a date function! Not only this but with a triplock oversize crown and water resistant too to 100m!The price at that time for a good example complete with box and papers was $2000 USD. Things have changes a lot – now you will pay between $4000-6000 USD for the best examples. Don’t think the watches are over priced however, the collectors market for early and even recent Daytona’s are driving Tudor Chrono prices upwards. A lack of understanding about Tudor or even knowledge of the existence of these models is the only thing that is slowing down the rise. When you consider the volumes manufactured, how well build the models were up until the mid 1990s, the style and homage to the “Newman” style Daytona dials and the Rolex history these watches are sure to be a great medium term investment while being practical, robust, easy to service and maintain and downright attractive.
My collection of these watches was compiled over an 8 week period. I purchased watches from Australia and Japan. My key requirements were condition, originality, completeness (boxed set with papers) and of course models I believe are future investments and most importantly that I found attractive and would be please to wear. Budget is important too. Some models such as the early Tudor Chronographs (known as the Monte Carlo because of the fancy dial that looks like a roulette table – made from the late 70s to late 80s) are now beyond the reach of many of us (me included) fetching prices of $20,000 USD and above for complete sets with matching numbers. I will not mention those here, nor the very early Tudor Submariners and Military watches which are also increasing commanding big prices. The watch models listed below are what I have purchased and what i would recommend to anyone interested in this brand that wants to spend between $2500-$5000 USD per piece. Rest assured you will be thankful in 5 years when these watches have doubled in price!
Tudor Chronotime Oysterdate Chronograph:
Please note the “60”, “70”, and “80” suffixes in the chrono models below refer to the bezel ring configuration. “60” is a black tachometer insert on fixed bezel. “70” is a uni directional scallop edged beze with a 12 hour insert allowing for setting GMT calculations or longer timing sequences. “80” is an engraved tachometer on settle bezel with black ink in fill.
Models 79160 – 79170-79180.
These are affectionately known as “Big Block” models. The case is deep (14.5mm), they have plexi acrylic plastic crystals with Cyclops date magnifier (2.5x loupe), Oyster style bracelets and clasps. The have a Rolex insignia on the crown (Trip lock) and say made for Tudor by Rolex on the back case. Dial combos are white with black sub dial, Black with white, Silver with black and silver with white sub dials. Water proof to 50m. These are the most collectable of the recent vintage chronographs and most date from the late 1980 to around 1997. Expect to pay between 5-6000 USD for a complete box set/papers with a watch that has recently undergone a full service. It should look just like new after the service!
Models 79260-79270-79280 TRANSITIONAL
In the mid 1990s Tudor replaced the Big Block case with is straighter sides and thicker profile with a more rounded case very similar to the Rolex Daytona of that vintage. The case is not as thick and the plastic crystal was replaced with a sapphire crystal further bringing the thickness of the watch down to approximately 13mm. For approximately 2.5 years (1995,1996,early 1997) Tudor supplied these watches on an Oyster bracelet and continued with the Rolex crown and case back. However in 1997 Tudor signed a deal with Tiger Woods and started to put the word “Tiger” on the dial. At this time they replaced the Rolex insignia on the crown (but still trip lock)with a Tudor one and removed the word “Rolex” from the case back. These are now known as “Transitional” models. I personally believe these are highly undervalued – they typically can be found for around $3-4000 USD but were made in much lower volumes than the Big Block model. They don’t appear on the market frequently and finding a good one can be hard. Although there is a trend to larger watches these days I personally feel that the 792XX series case with the flatter sapphire crystal is the more attractive watch and more comfortable to wear. Dial combinations are the same as before but water proof now to 100m.
Models 79260-79270-79280 Model year 1997-2007 (now discontinued)
These models follow on from the above. The Tiger sponsorship lasted three years and in 2000 the dials started to revert to before without “Tiger” written on them. Tudor introduced their own bracelet style around 2001 to replace the Oyster and it has both advantages and disadvantages to its predecessor. For the vintage collector it is perhaps
too contemporary. It is attractive (in similar style to the Rolex Jubilee) and arguably heavier and better constructed than the Oyster with its flip lock clasp making for a more secure watch when swimming or diving. However some feel that it can be less comfortable and it certainly isn’t as classic as the Oyster which dates back on the Tudor Chrono to the mid 1970s....Towards the end of production Tudor limited the models to the 79260 and 79280 and also introduced polished lugs with a “P” at the end of the model designation. There were a variety of coloured dials in the Tiger and post Tiger era but the classic choice is still the black and white and black and silver combinations true to the earlier 1980s “Big block” and older Daytona “Newman” designs. Production stopped in 2007 never to return. Even today you can still buy one of these new at auction sites and a few stores in Japan. The new price now is more than it was a year ago when still in production – you may want to get one quick as I suspect they will enjoy a following in 10 years time J
Tudor Prince Date Submariner
Here we discuss “Full Size” Tudor dive watches – these continue to be the only real collectable option for Tudor Submariner even though a mid size 36mm (popular in Asia) and Mini-Sub 33mm version was available and reasonably easy to come by.
Tudor Submariner 79090
This is a full size (39mm) dive watch with trip lock crown rated at 200m. Almost identical case size to early vintage Rolex Submariner, complete with plexi plastic crystal and uni directional bezel. Dial and bezel choices were blue or black. Bracelet is early style Rolex Oyster with folded links and a special Tudor flip lock clasp similar to Rolex submariner. Large tritium dial indices with triangle markers for 6,9 an 12 o’clock positions make this one striking dial easy to ready at any time. Mercedes hands and illuminated sweep second hand add to the classic appeal. The case is fairly thin like an early vintage Rolex GMT2 but with the lovely “soft” looking plastic domed crystal total thickness is still around 13-14mm. This model was produced from mid 1970s until early 1990s. Finding one with full link bracelet (13 links) and boxes/papers can be hard but worth the energy. They have Rolex trip lock crown with Rolex insignia and also “Made for Tudor by Rolex” on the ca
se back. The blue dial/bezel model is made in far fewer numbers than the black so rarer still and due to total volumes produced I would estimate this watch will become a sought after collectors piece sooner than later. Already prices for a complete and excellent example range from $2500-3000 USD.
Tudor Submariner 79190
This model was the final Submariner style model for Tudor. It was made from around 1994 until 2001. Towards the end of this period (from around 1998) the model changed (discussed below). Our recommendation is on models made up until the change. Essentially this is the same watch as the 79090 – just a face lift to include a sapphire crystal and mono directional bezel. Thus being more contemporary these watches usually fetch around 10-15% less than a corresponding 79090, however due to the short production period and very limited volumes I expect over time
these to also be quite collectable. From 1998 Tudor replaced the Rolex crown with a Tudor crown (still trip lock) and on the case back the word Rolex was removed making this model less collectable. From 2000 a “Jubilee style” bracelet was fitted similar to the later Tudor Chrono 792XX series discussed above.
So what is the perfect later model semi vintage Tudor collection? Everyone will have their own opinion. My thoughts:
1). 1 x Tudor Chronograph 791XX series in the dial that you like the most with the bezel configuration that pleases you. Full box and papers please and a recent service
is nice to have although you can have this performed once you receive the watch for peace of mind.
2). 1 x Tudor Chronograph 792XX TRANSITIONAL series as above in the configuration of your choice and as complete as possible with not too much polishing to distort the case shape (very easily done to this model)
3). 1 x Tudor Submariner 79090 – Choice of bezel and dial is personal but I think the blue is striking, different from Rolex and more collectable. I started with the blue and then found a MINT watch in Australia in black so now I have two! Complete links, box, warranty papers etc again very desirable. Watch this one go up in value.
4). 1 x Tudor Submariner 79190 – Again same as above although I believe almost none were made with the blue option so you almost certainly have to settle for black here. This is a watch you can still buy today and wear every day as they are only 10 years old. Price guide approximately 2500 USD for a good complete example. Maybe wear it for a few years, have it professionally serviced and polished then put down like a good wine!
My collection is as above. I did also add a contemporary 2007 Tudor Chronograph 79260 (bought brand new). This is the last of the breed and not as collectable as the others but I wanted a watch to wear every day that I had owned from new and that I don’t “worry about” when I do my daily chores. One day I will put it in the collection to use on occasion and hope the value rises too!
A note for collectors. It seems very ha
rd to find Tudor with all the boxes, anchor, booklet, tags, inner and outer boxes and original warranty certificate. I have managed to get complete sets on my watches but in a few cases I had to buy separately boxes, anchors, catalogue etc to complete. Don’t worry though as these sell often on ebay and the price is not too high.
Lastly I must thank my new friend Augsix in Japan for his help with my collection. Augsix helped me collect the majority of my pieces. He is polite, has excellent English and is 100% trustworthy with your money. He can find watches on Japanese auction sites and at the stores and help remove the issue of language and culture. He’s a top bloke and now a good friend of mine and someone I highly recommend. You need to do your own research on what model you wish to buy and how much you wish to spend but when you give him this information he will be faithful to find you a good watch!
More watches 79280 pictures
79190 more pics