Looking back at a time when Tudor utilised Rolex manufactured components, how did this 34mm Tudor Oyster-date find its way into my collection?
I was on the lookout for a simple, elegant timepiece that added some vintage diversity to my already heavily orientated sports collection. Sifting through endless pages on Chrono24 and eBay listings I came across this little gem. It was the dial that initially caught my eye, at first glance relatively modest however beautifully balanced with extraordinary depth with thanks to the raised hour markers and applied Tudor shield logo. The subtle tones of grey ever changing shade under different light sources really sang to me. However, the major draw back for me was its case size at 34mm, a conservative dimension at best given my sweet spot of 39mm.
I enquired further upon this eBay listing that was attracting a fair amount of attention given it had only been listed for a week or so. It just so happened that the gentleman selling this particular piece was located around a ten minute drive from my home at the time, what a prime opportunity to get a look at this watch and potentially settle a deal. A few hours later after contacting the owner I found myself in possession of my first vintage watch, upon inspection the seller had mentioned he purchased the watch while in South Africa around twenty years previously. To his knowledge it was keeping accurate time and he had never had it serviced, this chap was genuine and clearly had a good taste, he was sporting a Rolex Explorer ref.14270. After inspecting the watch a little closer, it all appeared original and was in fairly good condition all considering. He was happy to accept my offer and the rest is history.
A few weeks later I noticed when manually winding the watch there was a slight ''crunchy'' feel when rotating the crown, I thought to myself, here we go the dreaded vintage watch story was about to unfold. However I was aware of these snags appearing and had prepared myself to have to maybe spend a little on it to get it back into tip top function. Aesthetically there was nothing wrong, a few nicks on the case and a couple of scratches on the plexi. Inside however, was a slightly different story, I decided to take it to my local watchmaker at the time- He informed me that all parts were original and functioning however the main spring was showing some signs of neglect, so much so that we ended up replacing the spring as well as a complete overhaul of the movement. The watch maker did a fantastic job and I had piece of mind that the timepiece was performing to the best it could.
Specifics
My Tudor Oysterdate most likely dates back to the late 1960's to early 1970's, unfortunately the watch was not supplied with any paperwork or documentation so exact dates cannot be determined. The watch itself comes from a very interesting time in Rolex/Tudor history where the production at the time comprised of a mix of Rolex manufactured components housing an automatic calibre ETA 2784 movement- the movement being the major difference between Rolex watches and Tudor watches in that era along with the use of plexi-glass instead of sapphire crystal . Many view Tudor as the ''copy cat'' company to Rolex still to this day, however they must not forget that this watch among many others is truly a part of Rolex's manufacturing history, and therefore should ultimately be understood as the sister company to Rolex during this chapter in its existence.
As we can view here, the case back, crown, clasp and folded steel bracelet are all components that originally came from Rolex.
The dial itself, a subtle shade of grey, is comprised of raised hour markers and tritium lume plots placed on the tips of the indices, which have aged beautifully, adding character to the vintage characteristics of the watch. The diameter excluding the crown measures 34mm which to be quite honest is the limit on my 6.5'' wrist, although I still find its able to hold a valid presence when worn with the bracelet. The original bracelet, although a little loose and flimsy really proves the developments of how far the use of steel in watch design and manufacture has evolved over the decades. It is a joy to have on the wrist, the Oyster really has that vintage feel.
Tudor today
I vision Tudor today as a genuine breath of fresh air for the industry, recent releases have shown that the company truly listens to its followers. The BlackBay58, a classic example of how a company listens to feedback and produces a real game-changer. You could argue that less can be said for its big brother Rolex. When discussing Tudor today very few conversations fail to mention the value proposition, for many it can be seen as an achievable introduction to swiss made timepieces (this can only be seen as a positive for our community), offering fantastic value with true heritage. The current catalogue consists of a great variety of modern sports from the Pelagos to more dressier timepieces from the BlackBay collection, Tudor is really covering all the bases here.
It is also refreshing to see a company thats not afraid to push the boundaries, the P01, launched at Baselworld 2019 may have been overshadowed by other releases, however certainly did not go unnoticed. Its certainly an acquired taste, with unusual outside of the box ergonomics, however it really helps prove that Tudor are testing themselves and willing to explore unchartered waters- which from a collectors perspective is extremely exciting to see. Heres to the BlackBay58 with a range of different colour-ways, take my money!
Thank-you for taking the time to read this article.
All the best, Josh
Cover photo credit: Diogo Costa
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