15 Things You Didn't Know About TUDOR
This is Fashion Fridays! Every Friday, we present you with a fashion icon or topic. Today, we're looking at 15 things you didn't know about Tudor. Welcome to a Luxe.com, the place where future billionaires come to get inspired!
Hello, Aluxers! We are here today to talk about Rolex's little sister, Tudor. The Tudor line epitomizes desirable timekeeping in a luxury setting. The Swiss watchmaker Tudor was founded by Rolex luxury watch designer Hans Wilsdorf. Hans had previously established Rolex in 1905. While traveling to England as a businessman, he founded Tudor to offer a more affordable alternative to Rolex. His creative influence has led to many special edition timepieces that fill an expensive luxury buying market. As a highly successful brand, Tudor is loved by watch enthusiasts all around the world.
Tudor watches feature luxurious styles, top functionality, and excellent quality that we would expect from high-end watchmakers like Tudor and Rolex. Tudor's parent company, Rolex, reports a revenue of over four billion dollars every year. Together, these two powerhouse companies have designed their incredible collections to forever influence the expectations of luxury watch enthusiasts. If you are new here, welcome! Be sure to subscribe and follow us on Instagram at Alux.
With all that said, let's take a closer look now at this successful company with the 15 things you didn't know about Tudor.
Number one: Tudor has provided high-quality watches from Switzerland since 1926. Hans Wilsdorf established the Tudor line of watches in Switzerland in 1926. This young enterprising businessman became the leading visionary of creating customized luxury watches all throughout the 1900s. Ever since then, Tudor and Rolex have developed many successful watch lines, allowing this company to further excite a wider range of clientele after over 100 years of business.
Number two: Tudor's first diving watch was field-tested by the French Navy. The French Navy played a vital role in the development of Tudor's very first diving watch in the early 1950s. Prototypes would be passed along to the Navy and field-tested in all different types of diving conditions, and then the Navy would report back what worked and what didn't, allowing Tudor to make the proper adjustments for the best possible diving watch. In 1954, their design was complete, and they introduced their first diving watch, the Oyster Prince Submariner, which could be used at depths of over 300 feet.
Number three: The Marine Nationale Snowflake Submariner is one of the most rare Tudor watches. Vying demand for vintage Tudors has increased quite a bit lately, and it seems like one of the watches that every collector wants to get their hands on is the Marine Nationale Snowflake Submariner. This diving watch was produced from 1976 to 1980. They featured a new generation blue dial, blue bezels, a classic snowflake design, and a square minute hand. These watches were used by navies in Argentina, Africa, Jamaica, the US, and France, but not many of the watches survived in excellent condition. This makes the watch a rare find among collectors today, who are willing to pay up to five thousand dollars on the open market.
Number four: Tudor watches and Rolex watches were once made with the exact same materials. Tudor was created to offer high-end watches that could sell at slightly more modest prices than the top-of-the-line Rolexes. These watches were originally constructed with the same parts and features as the Big Brother Rolex. Tudor watches incorporated many of the same cases, crowns, hands, dials, and crystals as Rolex watches. For most of the 20th century, Rolex and Tudor components were made by the same people and machinery, and although it's less prevalent today, there's definitely still some overlap between the companies.
Number five: The company is owned by a private family trust. Both Tudor and Rolex are still owned by the Wilsdorf family today under a private family trust called the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation. In 1944, when the wife of Hans died, he established the foundation as the family trust. He left all of his shares in Rolex to the trust and designated that a certain amount of the revenues would go to charity every single year. Today the foundation is registered as a charity and therefore does not have to pay taxes. However, a spokesperson for the trust declined to provide evidence of any charitable giving.
Number six: The first major ad campaign featured a watch that had been worn by a coal miner for 252 hours. Tudor may be considered a luxury watch company, but in the early days, they put much more emphasis on durability and practical use. Their first ad campaign featured watches that had been worn in conditions a Rolex would surely never be exposed to. They showed one watch that had been worn by a coal miner for 252 hours of grueling hand excavation. They had another watch that was worn by a stonecutter who regularly operated pneumatic drills with high vibrations for three months. Another watch was worn for one month by a construction worker who was riveting metal girders, and the final watch featured was worn by a motorbike racer who covered 1,000 miles.
Number seven: A vintage Tudor Submariner sold for $99,999 at auction. In late March 2017, a collector's Tudor Submariner went up for auction with a winning bid of ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars. The watch sold was of special interest to the diving community, being the first and only manually wound edition ever made by Rolex and Tudor. It was not even the nicest model they made. All editions of Tudor Submariners are regarded as highly collectible, and they are prized by watch enthusiasts because so few excellent condition models have survived until today.
Number eight: Tudor and Rolex created a new Heritage line in 2011. In 2011, Tudor increased their collection with new releases of the Tudor Heritage Advisor alarm watch, the Fast Rider chronograph, and the Claire de Rose collection for women. Newer Heritage Black Bay Editions have become very popular as well. They began as a playback on the early Tudor Submariner models that were considered to be highly collectible. These Heritage models mirror watches of the past with added elements of color and creativity. Tudor Heritage watch designs are brighter and chunkier than more conservative offerings, which has made Tudor a more attractive option for younger and thriftier audiences.
Number nine: Tudor released a new Black Bay S&G special edition watch. Tudor introduced a new dial variation for the Black Bay S&G that features a rich gold and champagne confection. The Tudor Black Bay S&G doubles down on our expectations of luxury watches with a rotating bezel in yellow gold, a 60-minute graduated black matte finish, and gold markings. Previously, the S&G had been offered in a standard black for many years until the Black Bay S&G special edition release. The watch sells for about four thousand dollars.
Number ten: David Beckham was named as a Tudor global ambassador in 2017. As Tudor has made a big push in worldwide markets since 2012, a wide variety of Tudor wearers have been spotted. The list of people who wear Tudors extends far beyond just watch enthusiasts and collectors. Around the world, many celebrities have been seen wearing Tudors. In 2017, David Beckham was actually selected as a Tudor global ambassador, and his watch of choice is now the Heritage Black Bay S&G that we mentioned in the previous fact. We talk much more about Beckham's luxury lifestyle in our video "The 15 Things You Didn't Know About David Beckham." Just click in the top right corner to check it out.
Number eleven: The brand didn't achieve widespread success until the 2000s. Apart from being used regularly by military members and a considerable market in China, which used to be 95 percent of its business, Tudor struggled to establish itself as a brand and gained widespread success throughout most of its history. The brand really didn't start to thrive until after Philippe Farrelly became CEO in 2009. His vision was to create a unique brand identity for Tudor so they could stop being thought of as the cheaper Rolex. He helped to achieve this through his launch of the heritage line, including the Heritage Chrono, the Heritage Black Bay, the Chrono Blue, and the Ranger.
Number twelve: Tudor sells approximately 250,000 watches per year. We mentioned earlier that 95% of Tudor watches were sold in China before the 2000s, but now the market for Tudor has expanded considerably, with a strong presence in the US and Europe, as well as Asia. Approximately 250,000 Tudor watches are sold each year. By comparison, Rolex produces and sells around one million watches per year.
Number thirteen: Tudor diving watches are used by the elite US Navy SEALs. Drawing attention worldwide with its incredible precision and dependability, the Tudor diving watch has attracted many military customers. Several countries have purchased their watches, including the French, Canadian, and British navies. The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land teams, commonly referred to as Navy SEALs, rely on Tudor watches during critical missions as the US Navy's most elite group of forces.
Number fourteen: A special version of the Pelagos diver watch was designed specifically for left-handed divers. The special new edition of the Tudor line of Pelagos diver watches features a waterproof depth rating of up to 500 meters, or 1640 feet. The Pelagos is recognized as an impressive addition to the world of mechanical diving watches. In 2015, the Pelagos won the Best Sports Watch award; in 2016, Tudor came out with a new version called the Pelagos LHD, which stands for Left-Hand Dive. This model was designed specifically for left-handed people who preferred to wear their watch on the right wrist. This watch costs about four thousand four hundred dollars.
Number fifteen: Tudor partnered with Ducati to create their Fast Rider Black Shield watch. Tudor has an ongoing partnership with Italian motorcycle brand Ducati since 2011, which has led to some truly inspired designs. In 2015, Tudor introduced a new special edition Fast Rider Black Shield watch that's the essence of virility and strength. It was inspired by Ducati's Diavel, which was marketed as a cruiser with the spirit of a superbike. Fast Rider lines of watches are dedicated to speed, performance, and precision. It comes complete with a scratch-proof face and a black matte finish over the ceramic case and bezels. The watch is available by special order only for about $5,000.
Well, Aluxers, that sums up our 15 facts! We hope you've learned something and have been inspired along the way. Now that you're a little more familiar with the Tudor brand, we'd like to know: Do you still see Tudor as a cheap Rolex, or has the brand established its own reputation? Let us know what you think in the comments.
And of course, for sticking with us all the way to the end, you true Aluxers get a bonus fact! Here it is:
Number sixteen: Brisbane, Australia, is known as the Tudor capital of the world. Tudor watches have been sold in Australia almost since the company's inception. Tudor was popular in the country in its early years. The excitement for the brand faded away later in the 20th century. However, since the brand has been experiencing a new wave of popularity in the 21st century, Australia as a whole, and Brisbane in particular, have been buying Tudor watches in large numbers. Brisbane is now known as the Tudor capital of the world because Tudor watches outsell every other watch brand in the city.
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