Tudor

Tudor was founded in 1926 by Hans Wilsdorf, the same man who created Rolex, with the explicit goal of offering Swiss precision watchmaking at a lower price than his flagship brand. Wilsdorf registered the Tudor brand name in 1926 and began producing watches under it in 1946, using Rolex cases and bracelets with movements sourced from established Swiss ébauche suppliers. The arrangement allowed Tudor to use Rolex's distribution network and quality standards while maintaining an independent identity - an approach that Tudor uses to this day as part of the Rolex SA corporate family.

The brand's relationship with the French Marine Nationale is one of the most celebrated in watchmaking history. From 1956 to the early 1980s, French naval divers were issued Tudor Submariners modified with snowflake hands, cathedral hands, and larger crowns for use with diving gloves. These military-issued Tudor references are among the most collectible vintage watches on the market today, and their aesthetic - particularly the snowflake handset - is the single most distinctive design feature of the modern Black Bay line.

After a period in the 1990s and 2000s when Tudor retrenched to a lower-cost position, the brand underwent a dramatic reinvention beginning around 2012 with the introduction of the Black Bay. Drawing directly on the French Navy heritage, the Black Bay combined vintage-inspired aesthetics with modern case construction and - crucially - in-house movements, starting with the MT5602 automatic in 2015. Today Tudor is considered one of the best value propositions in Swiss watchmaking: offering similar quality to Rolex in most respects at roughly half the price, with a design language that many collectors prefer for its honesty and tool-watch heritage.