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Welcome to Brand Breakdown, a series of comprehensive yet easy-to-digest guides to your favorite companies, with insights and information you won’t find on the average About page.
Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf created Tudor as a more affordable brand, one which initially housed third-party movements inside Rolex cases. Tudor’s relationship to Rolex has always lent the sub-brand serious credibility, but that relationship had also trapped Tudor under Rolex’s shadow. It didn’t help that the brand also completely disappeared from the U.S. market from 1996 through 2013.
However, beginning in 2012, Tudor thrilled fans of tool watches with the release of the Black Bay, a modern iteration of the now highly collectible Tudor Submariner, produced from 1954 until the 1990s. The Black Bay was an instant hit, and it allowed Tudor to step out from under Rolex’s shadow and beam its own identity more boldly. Since the Black Bay’s release, certain vintage Tudor Submariners have fetched over $100,000, which has also elevated the brand.
The Tudor Black Bay 54 goes for authenticity with a 37mm case and other nods to the 1954 model it’s based on. Zen Love
This isn’t to say that Tudor has left its strong ties to Rolex behind, and more than a few of today’s Tudor models are derivative of Rolex models: The Pepsi (red and blue) Black Bay GMT is a direct nod to Rolex’s GMT Master, while Tudor’s Style and Glamour lines are alternatives to the Rolex Datejust and Day-Date.
Tudor also offers a number of less Rolex-esque models. The Black Bay’s signature “snowflake” hours hand (actually more of a diamond shape) is such a bold feature that all Black Bay and Pelagos models look rather unique. Tudor’s Heritage Chrono (which references vintage Tudor models) looks nothing like a Rolex Daytona, and their feminine-leaning Clair de Rose lineup looks more like a Cartier than anything Rolex ever released.
These variations within the Tudor catalog make it difficult to pinpoint a Tudor aesthetic, but there are overarching features that unite all the watches in Tudor’s catalog, elements worth noting before getting into the watches themselves.
What Makes Tudor Watches Good
Mechanical Movements
Every Tudor is a mechanical watch. Since 2015 with the release of the North Flag, Tudor has offered in-house movements in some of their watches, while others use modified ETA movements.
Rugged Construction
All Tudor watches are tough, even their dress watches. Water resistance ratings are 100 meters or better. Highly regarded KIF anti-shock systems replace the standard Incabloc systems typically used in ETA movements. Sapphire crystals are a given.
Minimal Precious Metals
Other than the gold used on their two-tone models (and this 2021 anomaly), Tudor uses few precious metals for their watch cases. Steel is the main metal, with other materials like bronze and carbon offered on select models.
High-End Straps and Bracelets
Tudor’s bracelets are supple yet robust, and their leather and fabric straps are proprietary high-end offerings that cost over $100.
Reasonable Prices
Though there is some overlap, Tudor’s prices stop in the vicinity where Rolex’s begin, at right around $7,000.
Movement: In-house manufacture calibre MT5602 (COSC) (Note: before 2016, ETA movements were used) (Master Chronometer certification for some models)
Water Resistance: 200m
Case Diameter: 41mm
Price: $3,575–$5,400 (price depends on materials and strap/bracelet choice)
Easily Tudor’s most popular watch, the 41mm Black Bay dive watches are available in a number of colorways. Currently, the Black Bay Ceramic and the 2023 red-bezeled reference M7941A1A0RU also feature METAS Master Chronometer certifications.
Price: $3,475 (strap); $3,800 (bracelet); more for special materials
Instantly sold out internationally upon its debut in 2018, the Black Bay Fifty-Eight (reviewed here) thrilled hip watch enthusiasts who prefer vintage sizes. More variations have steadily been added to the collection.
The Fifty-Eight is highly popular for its smaller diameter, and the Black Bay 54 Tudor introduced in 2023 doubled down on the popularity of vintage sizes. It’s only 37mm, true to the original watch from 1954, and with some more touches to further help it stand out within the Black Bay family — and feel authentic.
The matte gray fade on the dial, gilt accents and soft tones of bronze lend this model a certain warmth. Not just a bronze version of the regular Black Bay, the Bronze is 2mm wider in diameter. The Black Bay Fifty-Eight is also available in a bronze version with a full bronze bracelet.
The people wanted a Black Bay Fifty-Eight GMT, but that would’ve been too obvious. Instead, they got something like a Tudorized version of the vintage Rolex Explorer II reference 1655 with a fixed bezel and everything in the Black Bay Pro (reviewed here). Well, you know what? It’s still very Tudor and a damn great GMT watch with a wearable 39mm diameter.
The oddball that shocked watch nerds around the world in 2019, the P01 has a unique bezel locking mechanism built into the strap connectors, a crown at 4-o’clock, and comes with a waterproof rubberized leather strap.
Movement: In-house manufacture calibre MT5652 (COSC) with second time zone.
Water Resistance: 200m
Case Diameter: 41mm
Price: $3,850–$5,550 (price depends on strap/bracelet choice)
This watch shares a lot of obvious traits with the Rolex GMT Master. It can also be similarly hard to get your hands on. Available in several colorways, it’s been received with great hype, but also calls for a version in dimensions like the smaller Black Bay 58 which Tudor has yet to deliver.
Price: $5,000–$7,250 (price depends on materials and strap/bracelet choice)
Obviously the Rolex Daytona is the big brother to the Black Bay Chrono (reviewed here), but these watches feature snowflake hands, two sub-dials (rather than three), a date window at 6 o’clock and round markers, all of which set the Tudor apart from the Rolex. Getting a chronograph with an in-house movement starting just north of $5,000 represents awesome value.
A time-only timepiece with bold legibility, snowflake hands and robust construction, these “field watches” (Tudor doesn’t call them that) offer a daily wear option somewhere between its Black Bay dive watches and Ranger field watch. Available with blue, silver or black dials, it comes in four different sizes, one for any wrist.
There was a brief void in the Tudor catalog when its dedicated field/adventure watch (and Rolex Explorer alternative) disappeared temporarily. It returned with all the features fans had wanted, from a new case size to an in-house movement. It’s a pure, stripped-down tool watch, lacking even a date display, but of course retains the brand’s famous build quality and finish.
Made from titanium, the Pelagos (reviewed here) is Tudor’s serious diver, with robust specifications, a scratch-proof ceramic bezel insert and blocky markers that pair beautifully with the signature snowflake hour hand. The LHD model is for lefty-handed folks, but more than a few righties have opted for this unique model, even finding that the crown position adds a bit of comfort for active use. It’s available with a black or blue dial.
Just like the Fifty-Eight offers a smaller version of the Black Bay, the 39 serves the same purpose for the Pelagos. But the differences are more than three shaved millimeters. Notably, it’s rated to 200m of water resistance and lacks a helium escape valve, but those changes won’t affect most people’s experience with the watch — whereas significantly increased wearability will.
In 2023, the Pelagos collection got its first chronograph, and Tudor got its first watches with cases made of carbon fiber. These are the FXD Chrono and a Pelagos FXD dive watch, both made with a sailing theme and in cooperation with the Alinghi Red Bull yacht racing team. FXD refers to “fixed,” meaning the lugs don’t feature a spring bar which can be removed and you’ll only be wearing these watches on single pass straps like NATOs — just like the military submariners of yore.
Movement: 28mm: self-winding mechanical movement calibre 2671; 34mm, 38mm and 41mm: self-winding mechanical movement calibre 2824-2
Water Resistance: 100m
Case Diameter: 28mm; 34mm; 38mm; 41mm
Price: $2,200–$3,925
The Royal name, which was first used on Tudor watches in the 1950s, now adorns a collection of “sport chic” watches in myriad configurations and sizes — nine dials and four sizes, to be exact. Produced in 28, 34, 38 and 41mm cases in 316L stainless steel or steel and yellow gold, the watches come in different sunray satin-finished dials with applied Roman numerals or diamond indices as well as Super-LumiNova-coated baton hands.
Movement: Self-winding mechanical movement calibre 2824 with date
Water Resistance: 100m
Case Diameter: 28mm; 36mm; 39mm; 41mm
Price: $1,750–$3,525
It’s best to think of the 1926 Series as a modular system. You can choose between any of the four sizes, between all steel or two-tone, between diamonds or not, and between silver, black or opaline dials. Add up all the combinations, and you can go from a sporty 41mm field watch that’s similar to the Rolex Explorer down to a 28mm steel and gold, diamond-studded dressy piece for Mom.
Movement: Manufacture calibre MT5641 (COSC) self-winding mechanical movement with day-date; Calibre 2834 with date (depending on size and function)
Water Resistance: 100m
Case Diameter: 28mm; 31mm; 36mm; 39mm; 41mm
Price: $2,225–$5,250
This series feels quite Rolex-y, and as such is quintessentially Tudor in the old-school sense of the brand as an affordable alternative to some of Rolex’s most iconic watches. The 42mm Double Date features a dual-aperture “big date” complication, while the 39mm Date+Day and the 28mm/31mm/36mm Date models resemble watches straight out of the Rolex catalogue.
Movement: 34mm: self-winding mechanical movement calibre 2824-2; 26mm and 30mm: self-winding mechanical movement calibre 2671
Water Resistance: 100m
Case Diameter: 26mm; 30mm; 34mm
Price: $2,225–$2,950
These watches are decidedly aimed at women, available only in steel, and available on either a bracelet or a strap. Dial variants are limited to opaline with or without diamonds.