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In 2010, Tudor introduced a watch called “The Heritage Chronograph” (inspired by this chronograph from the early 1970s) that, in the eyes of many (including us), unofficially, but dramatically relaunched the brand that few here in the US of A ever saw and those in the remainder of the world thought of as anything more than “the poor man’s Rolex”. 

You see, Tudor was designed to be just that – it was created in the 1946 to be a less expensive Rolex, and through most of its history, employed half of its parent company’s genius (the Rolex Oyster case, but not the Rolex in-house calibers) and sold for about 2/3 the price.  It made perfect sense from a commercial stand point, but it was always an afterthought to most watch guys (with the exception of a few vintage sport models.)

But, with the Heritage Chrono, Tudor began to attract fans of its own, and the coolness to price ratio on this chronograph had even the mightiest of vintage Rolex collectors clamoring to get their hands on one.  Two years later, we’re told the Heritage Chrono is now the iconic Tudor model.   Last year, Tudor released another tribute to an old ticker, the Heritage Advisor alarm (based on this guy from the 1950s).  For an alarm watch, it’s priced well and has a following all its own. 

Now just last week Tudor brought back a third heritage piece, one that completes its line-up – they started with a chronograph, then went to an alarm watch, and now they have the Heritage Black Bay, a nod to the Tudor dive watches of yesteryear.  But, when the Heritage Black Bay was leaked online a short time before Basel World 2012, the purists lambasted it as a mish-mash of historical reference – a gilt, rose dial and big crown with snowflake hands?  That doesn’t make sense.  Except, it does.

Click through for in-depth analysis, specs, pricing, and lots of live photographs.

From:HODINKEE

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Basel 2012 officially opens today but we are already getting some exciting announcements from the show floor. Yesterday, Tudor (sibling brand of Rolex) announced the new Pelagos and Heritage Black Bay divers. The titanium-cased Pelagos looks amazing as it features a snow-flake hour hand (a nod to Tudor’s past), is completely satin finished (Rolex got all the bling in this family) and the Pelagos shows its Submariner roots without simply being an ETA powered Rolex clone. The Heritage Black Bay is a continuation of the successful Heritage line which Tudor launched in 2010. This new 41 mm diver is a modern look at a nearly fifty year old design from Rolex and Tudor. Both of these divers offer a glimpse into two different sides of Tudor, a company that has the unfavorable position of having to continually prove its relevance and find its groove while often seeing much of the spotlight go to Rolex.

All references to Rolex aside, you can see from the specifications listed in the above photo that Tudor is not messing and around with the Pelagos. This modern diver has a lumed ceramic bezel insert, an automatic helium escape valve and is powered by the bland yet reliable ETA 2824 automatic movement. The titanium bracelet has a stainless steel clasp that features a unique extension system which incorporates a spring-loaded mechanism with three fine adjustment points and an active setting that can tighten the clasp on its own as a wrist and wetsuit compresses at greater depths. We love the ability to adjust a bracelet in warmer weather so this system looks to be very practical for either diving or daily use scenarios. Hodinkee.com has reported the price to be 3950 CHF (~$ 4300 USD) which is a competitive price given the Tudor name and technology incorporated in the Pelagos.

In contrast to the Pelagos, the lovely-looking Tudor Heritage Black Bay incorporates a gilt dial and handset while offering a 41 mm stainless steel case, domed sapphire crystal and 200m water resistance. Just like the Pelagos, the Black Bay is powered by an ETA 2824 but can be had with either a bracelet or an aged leather strap. Pricing is rumored to be in the range of 5000 CHF (~$ 5450 USD) which is rather expensive for an ETA 2824 based dive watch.

The Pelagos looks like an instant winner in terms of design and the Black Bay looks lovely and should play well given the increased interest in vintage inspired models. The $ 4000-$ 6000 price range will see heated competition from Omega, Bremont, IWC and Breiting but US buyers will have to travel north to Canada to see these models as Tudor does not retail in the US. We think the Pelagos is the more attrative of the two and looks to be a no-nonsense translation of the modern Submariner styling that Tudor should be very proud of. Seeing as WatchReport.com has Canadian representation, we will do what we can to get some hands-on time with the Pelagos and Black Bay divers in the coming months. Until then, be sure to check out Tudor’s Basel 2012 page for more information on these new models.

From:WatchReport.com

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While you may have seen the Heritage Black Bay Diver already (here, for example), we thought you’d show you the other Tudor dive watch of Basel World 2012.  Called the Pelagos, this is a new take on divers for the Rolex family and while it may look a bit like a Submariner, it’s arguably far more advanced than that.

First, the entire case and bracelet are satin-finished titanium, and the bezel is ceramic.  It take cues from Tudors of the past with Snowflake hands and pointed crown guards.  It is rated to 500 meters, and the application of the lume is expertly done and very generous, for optimal visibility.  Plus, the dial has a double-bevelled flange around it that cleverly incorporates the triangular, rectangular or square hour marker appliques.  The Pelagos also has a helium escape valve.

But, on top of all that, what could be the most impressive part of thie already impressive timepiece is the  titanium bracelet with a folding steel clasp fitted with a unique spring-loaded self-adjusting mechanism’ developed and patented by TUDOR.  This “floating” clasp adjust to the changing thickness of the human wrist as you descend deeper and deeper – you see, your wrist will actually get thinner the deeper you go, and a watch can often become loose under water – here, the Tudor automatically gets tighter on you based on the pressure it senses around you.  The clasp also offers a three fine adjustment points for the best fit possible.

The Tudor Pelagos is sized at 42mm and comes with both a titanium bracelet and rubber dive strap with divers extension clasp.  Price will be 3950 CHF (inc VAT), which is a very reasonable price considering what this watch offers – though, unfortunately, as with all Tudors, it will not be available on US soil.

Live pictures to follow + video on “floating” clasp below.

From:HODINKEE

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The subject of today’s lens work is a very rare (and also well-worn with lovely patina) Tudor Submariner model 7016/0; the serial number dates it from the early 1970s.

However, I was told that this particular watch was actually purchased as part of a bulk lot by the French navy for their divers – hence the ‘Marine Nationale MN’ stamp on the case back. Unlike other military forces, the French bought off the shelf watches instead of commissioning a special batch – presumably to keep the costs down.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that this is not the original dial. Instead it’s a replacement ‘snowflake’ – and there’s a good reason for this, too. Once again, to save costs, the MN employed their own in-house watchmakers whose objective was to keep the watches useable and running, not pretty; they simply swapped out whatever spare parts they had to hand to make a working piece and rotate it back into service as fast as possible. This has created a number of very interesting and unique pieces for the collector, especially an example like this – which has full decommissioning papers and accompanying photographs to authenticate that this was the exact condition it left the Navy in.

Enjoy the photos! As usual, a click on any one takes you to a larger version. MT

From:FratelloWatches RSS

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There is tropical, and then there is just downright ridiculous. As we’ve told you before, serious vintage Rolex collectors love it when the black part of a dial turns brown – they call it “chocolate” or “tropical.”  In many cases, people will pay a large premium for tropical dials.

The watch we spotted today over on VRF goes beyond chocolate and beyond tropical – in fact the damn dial is so faded it’s illegible to the naked eye.

What it is is a vintage Tudor Submariner Ref 7298 with pointed crown guards – a pretty cool and valuable piece.  But, the dial on this one is, well, really, really ridiculously faded.

Besides the incredibly faded dial (seller claims you can read it with a loupe), the watch looks OK.  What’s funny is, we bet there are some guys out there that are salivating at the chance to own a vintage Sub this tropical. 

This vintage 7298 Tudor Sub is listed over at VRF for $ 13,500 here.

Editor’s Note: This post should read neither as an endorsement or criticism of this seller’s listing.  It is up to any individual buyer to do all reasonable due diligence when making a purchase.

From:HODINKEE

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Answer by Kathryn M
No kidding. If you can get to the Broadwalk in Atlantic City, the Pawn shops there have everything, and I mean everything. From Presidential Rolex to 8 carat daimonds. It is the best place to buy , because those gamblers sell their stuff so they can continue playing at the casino. You should check it out if you get the chance.

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The guys over at Watches In Movies spotted Mr. Tom Cruise wearing one of our favorite watches of last year, the Tudor Heritage Chronograph, in the new Mission Impossible flick.  Yup, Ethan Hunt himself is wearing a black dial Heritage Chrono ref 70330N.  Pretty, pretty cool.

(via WiM)

From:HODINKEE

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Tudor’s place is found. It will make the cheeky sport watches – that will sell well – that Rolex will never make. If Rolex is the staunch, unwavering meritocracy of tried and true design, then Tudor will be the ever-so-slightly rebellious younger brother that likes to have just a bit more fun – within the confines of “good taste” that is.

Tudor recently was announced as the “official timing partner’ of Ducati Motorcycles. I don’t know Ducati’s official timing partner will do, but you can sure they will make watches (that is for sure). Sounds a lot like a fancy marketing name. To begin this relationship Tudor has released the Fastrider watch. It is a sporty racing watch with a slightly retro feel and a healthy amount of personality. It also won’t be sold in the US (officially).

One thing the Fastrider watch lacks (at least on the dial) is any mention of Ducati. This is actually a good idea, as co-branding on watch dials is usually in poor taste. Save that for the caseback (if at all). With little design nods to motorcycles, the watch looks like a transformed Daytona made for a gear-head teenager.

The 42mm wide steel case is thick and conservative – but in that way you want it to be. From the side the details are a bit more modern while still being tasteful. The steel on steel tachymeter bezel is a nice touch. Tudor is very proud of the fact that the chronograph pushers look like engine pistons, and that the large crown looks like a gas cap. That has been done before, but never in such a stately timepieces such as a Tudor. A nice little detail is that the pusher housing is in PVD black – that is hard to tell in the images, but it loos nice and goes along with the black flange ring. Speaking of the flange ring, isn’t that tastefully done angled ring with lume coated hour and minute indicators look like something right off the Paul Newman Daytona? You know it is. Well done Tudor, and overall a nice case.

One strange element is the item on the left side of the case at 9 o’clock. It again has some PVD black and is meant to look like a gas cap over a triangular ring that resembles the Ducati logo. This is the date adjuster, and I am not sure why it is there. Inside the watch is a Swiss ETA Valjoux 7753 movement that has been customized by Tudor. The movement comes with the ability to change the date with the crown. Not sure why they took that function out and instead gave it a pusher. If the pusher needs a stylus to adjust the date, then it is much less convenient – and if you can press it with your finger, then you run the risk of hitting the watch on something and accidentally changing the date. While it does look cool, this design element confuses me.

The Valjoux 7753 automatic is inherently a reworked 7750 that sits on its side offering a trip-compax layout. This can also be achieved with the ETA 2894, but since the 7753 is easier to rework, I assume Tudor chose it for good reason. Tudor will offer the Fastrider with three strap and three dial options. I am amazing at how different the personality of the watch is based on the color scheme and strap. In red and black on the NATO strap it is super sporty, but with the while dial and brown leather strap it is much more conservative and help back. This watch has a very versatile design.

Hands down the best design element on the dial are the chronograph subdials. They are recessed a bit, very legible, and sporty. They also create a nice contrast wit the rest of the dial. The asymmetrical racing stripes are cool as well, especially when mixed with the matching NATO strap. I like how the colors alternate on the strap and dial. Another good design element is the healthy mixture between items on the dial and empty space. The dial does not feel crowded or bare. The Arabic hour numerals are nice, but in my opinion they don’t make or break the dial.

The Fastrider dial options are mostly black, red with black trim, and silver with black trim. All three are nice, but I think most passionate Ducati lovers will go for the red and black model. Straps include the nylon NATO strap with the racing stripes, a three-link metal bracelet, and a case fitted leather strap. I’d say overall the design of the watch no only fits with the Ducati aesthetic and persona, but could also equally have nothing officially to do with Ducati – a nice middle ground that I feel should be praised. Seriously, since Panerai’s failure with the Ferrari watches, the high-end watch world has learned so many lessons.

According to Tudor the Fastrider will be part of their permanent collection. So expect these pieces to evolve and be rather widely available (not the US). Prices aren’t too bad at between 3,300 and 3,500 Swiss Francs. Look for them soon.

See Tudor watches on eBay here.

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From:aBlogtoRead.com

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We were the first to show you the new Tudor Fastrider chronograph made specifically for Ducati last week, and you guys loved it.  Now, we have some of the first live photographs of this 3300CHF chronograph in the world.  We took them while enjoying some Ducati hospitality at the legendary Autodromo del Mugello outside of Florence, Italy and we have say the thing looks damn good. 

Click through for live photos of Tudor’s new Fastrider chronograph.  For more details on the Tudor Fastrider, click here.

HODINKEE

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