The Tudor Big Block chrono really looks like a fantastic watch in my estimation. Poor mans Rolex Daytona. The 7750 is used is several medium high end big chrono watches. Breitling and Panerai to name a couple if I am not mistaken. Have seen a few on the WRUW. A tank of a movement according to reads I have looked at. A plus is that I really enjoy Tudor bracelets. Prices reasonable, anyone care to share their views on this movement and or the Tudor big block chrono.

 

Im a big fan of Tudor chronos. I have had a couple of the bigs in the past (mid 90's) trading off Ebay around the $1200 mark, wish I would have kept them, substantially higher now.

I currently have Tiger chrono 79280 on sharkskin with full sets, will be offing it here at some point as I have never wore it out of the house.

 

Can't comment on Tudor really, but I have one Tissot PRC100 with a Valjoux 7750 and an Omega Mark 40th with a cal 1151 (a 7751 really) and got no complains.

Unlike the Speedmaster reduced with a Dubois-Depraz add-on, the Valjoux is a movement with a chronograph as part of its original design. It is a reliable workhorse, easy to service, easy to find watchmakers that know it and can be pretty precise too! My Tissot runs -1s/day while the Omega runs reliably +3s/day.

The wobble (i.e. rotor winds only in one direction and spins freely on the other) is kirky and funny, remembering you that your watch is 'alive'.


Some people though criticize it for being 'industrial' and common.

I see it as reliable, simple, cheap and versatile (i.e. can have complications as moonphase and triple calendar). A really nice automatic chronograph movement.

For some information on the Valjoux 7750:
https://medium.com/@morningtundra/the-not-cheap-and-not-nasty-valjoux-7750-b3cb559a0e8f
https://quillandpad.com/2018/09/22/...ph-movement-by-far-by-popularity-and-numbers/

 

I own a Heuer Pasadena powered by the movement. It seems fine and has been easy to find competent watchmakers to service.

It's a bit noisy, but at least you know it is working.

 

I have had a couple of Val7750 chronographs and I haven't been impressed. Noisy, thick, and inefficient. A utilitarian movement that isn't particularly high quality.

 

I’d say Workman not, not high quality... although high quality versions exist. I’ve seen some with high finishings.

For me 90% or so bug me from the layout. Some do make it work well though.

 

The traditional V7750 sub-dial layout looks out of balance. That said, I am attracted to the utilitarian aspects of the movement. They made a ton, and parts are plentiful. Most watchmakers have a lot of experience servicing them. You will probably be able to keep it running for the foreseeable future. My experience with other movements (I’m talking about you, Excelsior Park EP40) make me appreciate that greatly.

 

Thanks for the helpful thread and replies. As a new collector I've been searching watches with Valjoux guts because my Heuer has them and I noticed a lot of chronos with the 7750. Seems like a decent early acquisition for me. If anyone has any favorites or watches to avoid, it would be nice to hear about them.

 

Yes, parts are available, and watchmakers know how to service it, but that doesn't make it a good movement. We see similar phenomena in many industries, where a dominant company foists its cheap, mediocre components onto the market. Just because they are common doesn't mean they are well-made, sturdy, robust, etc., and we should make the distinction clear.

Good automatic chronograph movements do exist (e.g. Zenith 3019), and I think it is unfortunate that the most common automatic chronograph movement in 2019 (even in decent brands) is so heavy, clunky, thick, and noisy ... and inefficient because of unidirectional winding. If your autowinder doesn't have a unidirectional mode, your 7750 will eventually run down while sitting on the winder. Just an unsophisticated movement IMO.

 

The unidirectional mode and winder makes little sense...

I’m with you 99% of the time but unidirectional means the winder mode doesn’t matter.

 

I get that it’s not a 3019, or CH27, but for the price it’s a very solid movement. Anecdotally, my experience is that they function as designed, rather well. It’s a bonus that you can get parts, have them serviced most anywhere, and thus keep them running with less effort and expense. The comparison to a 3019 is a bit unfair. I’d personally take a V775X over most Dubois Dépraz module chronographs (I know this has been debated extensively). The 7750 is a good movement for someone who wants a reliable chrono but doesn't have the budget for one with a sophisticated, thin, column wheel, and unidirectional winding movement.

 

If it was labeled a Rolex 7750 it would be the best chronograph movement ever.

 

Most decent winders are programmed to rotate enough to keep the watch fully wound, and not more. If you put a 7750 on a bidirectional winder, it will only be winding half as much as it should, and will gradually lose power. I have experienced this personally and my friend also had the same problem with a modern Breitling that has a 7750-based movement. Fortunately, my winder had unidirectional modes, but his did not, and he was really pissed off.

 

Sounds like more of a judgment on the winder than the watch.

I agree they are quite agricultural movements and the thickness and winder noise/vibration bother me.
They have been used by many high end makers though and modified and decorated accordingly. IWC and it’s elaborate ratropante version spring to mind.
I have always preferred the Lemania 5100 for its lay out and feel, but that is a real tractor in comparison when you get under the bonnet.

I think when it comes to the Tudors, now they are so expensive, the rotor vibration would make me hesitate on parting with my cash.

 

Yes, that's true. Frankly, my main point was that the auto-winding is inefficient. There is a reason that manufacturers worked so hard in the mid-20th century to develop efficient bidirectional auto-winding mechanisms.

 

There are a lot of watches there are cw or ccw only...

 

I love those Tudor chronos but not much else they make (modern anyway). I have a 40 year old Tissot chrono with the older Valjoux 7734 manual wind movement, I just had the watch completely rebuilt/remanufactured by our own Al at Archer Watches, and while the 7734/7750 may be considered "working man's movements" they are very good quality. After Al worked his magic my Tissot (I paid SFr 175 in Lausanne in 1976) runs to better-than-COSC specs, like no detectable deviation. Amazing.



I also own a Speedy Reduced, given to me when I worked for Omega as a timekeeper at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, this watch has been more problematic with its Dubois-Depraz sandwich. It was in for service at Swatch Canada last year and they couldn't solve the issues so they just put in a whole new movement (score!). Love the watch but it is notoriously tough to work on, and can be a problematic movement.



Sorry to hijack the thread, I love these Tudor chronos!!!

 

Don't mind the thick and clunky, since I have a Tudor Pelagos and I like this watch. But, noisy? You can really hear the thing running?
Since I have a constant ringing in my ears this shouldn't be a problem if I ever acquire one.

 

Adding photos of my Valjoux-based chronographs:

 

7750 based.

have fun
kfw