Where's all the Tudor research info?

I've taken an interest to the older Tudor "Datejust". To talk reference numbers, it would be a 2783 or 9080 or 7025. I'm wondering where all the research info is on these models. For those of us that need pictures, here is what I think is a 2783



I cut my vintage teeth (if you can call it that) on the Constellation and Speedmaster. One of the first things I found was Desmond's blog on Constellations. It is so much easier to evaluate a prospect when that kind of reference material is available. With that kind of research already done, all one really has to do is read. Then of course there is plenty on the Speedmaster too, like speedmaster101.com and such.

I realize now that I was spoiled with the Omegas. Those are so popular that lots of people are writing and discussing them. There's even a day of the week for Speedies. I might guess that there is a comparable amount of info on the Rolex Submariners, if that was what I was looking for. I like the Rolex 1601 and 1603 Datejust. I could probably find info on those too; I just haven't tried. The Tudors have caught my eye instead.

I expected there would be less info on the Tudors, and so far that is true. I just didn't expect the shortage I've experienced so far though. I figured since they are owned by Rolex, some of that popularity would have rubbed off. So far I can't say that is the case. I've found tudorcollector.net. There have some info on the Submariners and early chronographs (roulette dial for example). That's really about it.

The history section of Tudor's own website is a nice read. However, there is one - just one - mention of a "Datejust" style watch. That's it; no more. I looked around the two Rolex forums some too. I didn't find anything much in depth there either.

I even looked at Wikipedia. A search on Tudor links to one paragraph in the larger Rolex article. Tudor doesn't even have it's own entry. That's really bad. Is Tudor that small that they don't even get their own entry in Wikipedia? Wow, you know you're small when...

I've started gathering pictures of ones I like that have open casebacks to reveal the reference number inside. However, I can't be sure if that number is 100% correct. Some case backs don't even have a number. Maybe those are service replacements?? I don't know.

It would be nice to find a list of reference numbers and production years. The Tudor Serial Number Project is minimal at best. It appears to be a link to an online spreadsheet that is truly lacking in detail. I don't know if it could even provide the right decade for a reference.

Here's the question: is there a secret cache of Tudor "Datejust" info that I can get liked into? I keep putting quotes around Datejust because I don't even know what to call them other than a reference number. And that is hard considering I don't know what they all are yet. It seems they don't even have a nickname like Sub or Chrono-Time or Snowflake or Roulette or Home Plate. That's really too bad. You can't call them a Prince Oysterdate; almost every Tudor model has those characteristics.

Maybe Tudor will be where I get my first experience of buying something, only to find out later that it is not what I thought it was. Maybe I should consider myself lucky so far. 😀

https://tudorcollector.com/

But focuses on the sport models.

"Oyster" = Manual
"Oyster Prince" = Auto
"Date" (w/date)
"Date + Day" = Day-Date

So "Oyster Prince Date" = Automatic w/Date

I'm glad you responded. I saw another post of yours that you really liked Tudors. I think it was the "What brand other than Omega do you like" thread. I'd hoped you could provide some insight.

I've looked around tudorcollector and as you say, they focus more on the sports watches. Maybe it was there it was stated that Prince = Auto wind. That's a nice tip.

As for the name, almost everything is a Prince Date. If a search is done for "Prince Date", the results contain Submariners, Rangers, Chrono Time / Tiger, everything. That's the frustrating part. You have to sift through a bunch of stuff to find the one or two listings that may be interesting. Those who know will include in the listing or description Tiger or Hydronaut or Chrono Time. Those who don't will put Prince Date because that is what it has on the dial. Yeah, it's definitely a first-world type problem. 😀

What do you guys think, why are there so many Prince Dates in Hong Kong? Surely not all of them are fakes are they? That's why one needs to know what hands are original, what the dial printing should look like, should there be lume or not, etc. I saw that @Mr.Cairo picked up 2 from HK. I wanted to hear from him who the seller was and what was the experience like? There's really 2 sellers I've noticed over there that have a lot of stock.

I thought "Oyster" was the type of case. 😕

Thanks for the book tip. I'd hoped you would also respond. I've seen some other posts of yours on Tudors.

So how about you and @WatchVaultNYC and anyone else post some pictures. 😀 I'd trust your examples more than random stuff on the internet. I'd expect you guys have vetted the pieces well.

"Oyster" is indeed the type of case - in the context above, I was just saying that "Oyster" without "Prince" means handwind. Come to think of it, in Tudor-speak, "Price" = (Rolex) "Perpetual"

HK is a huge watch market. So lots of real stuff there. But that said I scope out Ebay HK every now and then, and the fake Omegas, Rolex and Tudors.. its a minefield. Vintage Prince Dates and Date+Day are pretty a good buy, probably 50% of a comparable Rolex. If I can make space for one in my watch box I'd pick one up.

Here's my 7016 Blue Flake and 76100 (non-lollipop) Subs - already shared before but hey, I like em


and my Big Blocks:

(above sold but I wish it were still mine)

Was Tudor always owned by Rolex?

When did Tudor use a big rose as opposed to the shield they currently use ?


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Tudor was started by Rolex' founder
http://www.tudorwatch.com/magazine/article/tudor-history-origins-1926-to-1949

Transition from rose to shield was around 1967.

I agree that there is a paucity of information in relation to Tudor watches and I have been thinking about purchasing the Tudor Anthology book but its difficult to find any online reviews of the publicaiton. @CdnWatchDoc perhaps you could advise whether it covers the development of the Tudor Submariner series & the association with the French Navy or whether it is more of a collector's catalogue to assist with photo identification of various models?

@Commander D - it's really a catalog, but it glosses over (just picks representative models) for models that aren't sport watches. For example, OPs watch won't have a descriptive page, you'll see it in tudor product catalog scans - so just the image. Between this and the Tudorcollector website, you'll have to fill in the holes. Much better than nothing, but this aint Moonwatch Only.