The Rise of Tudor

PAST AND PRESENT

Tudor Watches. The rebellious and edgier little brother of Rolex was created by Rolex founder Hans Wildorf in 1926 as a more affordable alternative but with the same focus on quality, reliability, and precision.

Initially, they used off-the-shelf pieces, but watch cases and straps from Rolex, often with Rolex branding, to achieve reliability and quality while still maintaining their price targets.

In the fashion industry, it’s now common for big brands to create a more affordable “junior brand” with strong ties to the parent brand. Often, it’s to attract a younger, more daring audience that may eventually grow mature (and wealthy?) enough to become a loyal consumer of the parent brand. Think of Ralph Lauren’s “Polo Ralph Lauren” or Giorgio Armani’s “Emporio Armani,” and it might all make sense. Hans Wildorf noticed the same thing nearly a century ago.

Tudor really found its identity in the mid-20th century. In 1954, with the help of Rolex, it launched its first waterproof watch, the Oyster Prince Submariner, and in 1956 it sent two models, ref. 7922 and 7923, for testing at the G.E.R.S. research institute in Toulon. After thorough underwater and pressure testing, the result was that the water resistance was “perfect,” and the watches functioned ” completely and correctly.” This led to the development of ref. 7924 “Big Crown” watertight to 200m, and in 1959, an Oyster Prince Submariner was fitted with crown guards, ref. 7928, issued to divers in the French Navy, Marine Nationale.

The watch became an essential tool for French divers and special forces, who needed a reliable tool to show their time underwater and to time and coordinate attacks and deployments. The Tudor Submariner Marine Nationale watches had distinctive features, marked with MN (Marine Nationale) and the year each watch was issued. Tudor supplied the watches without straps, and the French Navy equipped them with straps that could be used with wet and dry suits. Tudor provided watches to the Marine Nationale right up until the 1980s, and today, the watches are highly sought after by collectors. The US Navy was also among the customers of Tudor’s Submariner.

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

Why is all this interesting almost three-quarters of a century later? The truth is that the story of Tudor and the Marine Nationale still informs Tudor, their watches, and their design language. There are still elements like the “snowflake hands” (the distinctive hour hands with the square on the tip to make them easier to distinguish from the minute hand) and the exposed crown that can be found in their current watches. At Watches & Wonders in Geneva in the spring of 2023, Tudor rubbed shoulders with superstars like Patek Philippe, Panerai, and Jaeger LeCoultre. Together with IWC, who presented a relaunched Ingenieur, with its Black Bay 54 paying homage to the first Oyster Prince Submariner from 1954, they were, in our opinion, candidates for the star of the show.

The IWC Ingenieur and Tudor Black Bay 54 made our own COO and watch geek, Søren Søltoft Holmboe, weak in the knees. This has resulted in a few videos on urhandleren.dk, which you can watch here (in Danish): IWC Ingenieur – Tudor Black Bay 54.

When Tudor chooses to embrace its history as a supplier of professional diving watches – genuine tool watches – to such an extent and is positioning itself in 2023 as a manufacturer of accessible, relatively speaking, modern versions of tool watches, we applaud. Tudor is stepping out of its big brother Rolex’s shadow, and with brand ambassadors such as style icon and former footballer David Beckham and cycling star Fabian Cancellara and major sponsorships in freediving, rugby, and surfing, it makes a clear statement that it is now its own brand and knows its target audience.
Tudor has really started to find its own identity, and this is creating a significant appeal among watch enthusiasts. In particular, Tudor manages to capture a unique segment of watch enthusiasts who seek both style and adventure.

Where in the past, a Tudor has often been seen as a cheaper Rolex that was in no way surrounded by prestige to wear, this is now slowly starting to change. Wearing a Tudor can now suddenly be seen as a statement that “at least I don’t have a Rolex Submariner like everyone else”, a way to stand out. Their strategy of positioning themselves as a brand that dares to stand out shows their deep understanding of their target audience. This increasing popularity and recognition will inevitably lead to increased demand for Tudor watches, thus increasing their value. Well done, Tudor.

But it’s not just in branding and marketing that Tudor is following in its own footsteps now. Almost 100 years would pass before Tudor phased out the use of modifications of other manufacturers’ works in the 2023 lineup and only used its own in-house works. In fact, Tudor is now so confident in its own work that it is not only COSC-certified but also METAS-certified.

What is METAS?

METAS is the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology, headquartered in Bern, Switzerland. METAS defines itself as “the federal competence center for all issues related to measurement and for measuring equipment and measuring procedures,” – and this can often include a wide range of different topics and devices, including wristwatches, which, of course, measure time.

The METAS certification is a new, even more stringent certification jointly created by Omega and Metas. The certification consists of 8 tests, including waterproofness, sensitivity to temperature fluctuations, and accuracy. Where a COSC-certified chronometer is allowed to oscillate -4/+6 seconds per day, a METAS-certified chronometer is only allowed to oscillate 0/+5 seconds. At the same time, the anti-magnetism requirement is 15 times higher than it would otherwise be.

It might seem like overkill in 2023, when we all have our iPhones on us 24/7 anyway, or slightly irrelevant from an investment perspective. We believe that it absolutely is not!
It’s a clear strategy for Tudor to go the Meta’s route to place at least Omega level or above. And we think that’s brilliant. Suppose you want to position yourself as a watch manufacturer in the luxury segment and guarantee high quality. In that case, you can’t use mechanisms in your watches that are also found in much cheaper competitors. We believe that this will help make Tudor attractive to an even wider audience and thus increase the demand for Tudor watches in the future.

We can’t forget the point that Tudor watches have suddenly appeared that no longer exist. Previously, the text “SELF WINDING” at 6 o’clock on the dial could recognize Tudor watches with ETA mechanisms. We have previously written about Rolex Milgaus, which was removed from the product catalog under Watches & Wonders, and the effect it has already had on prices a few weeks later. We expect to see something similar with Tudor’s ETA watches.

So, even though Tudor, on the one hand, is distancing itself increasingly from Rolex, you could argue that Tudor is actually getting closer to Rolex.

Tudor’s rebellious and bold positioning, and now even higher quality, maybe why Tudor is making its way onto the wish lists of watch geeks everywhere. I know it’s on my own. Tudor Black Bay 54 with Oyster steel strap. Yes, please.