Tudor – The Making of an Icon

On the 19th of September 2014 Laings of Glasgow were delighted to welcome another prestigious brand into their unrivalled portfolio of luxury watches. Here we will discover more about this iconic brand.

In 1905 Rolex was launched by founder Hans Wilsdorf who, not content with one iconic watch brand, began to think about how to make quality watches more accessible to a wider audience. As early as 1926 Wilsdorf was contemplating the idea of The Tudor Watch Company, and, in 1946 Montres TUDOR S.A. was born. Under this company Rolex would take care of the technical and functional characteristics along with the distribution and after-sales.

The name Tudor was chosen to honour the Tudor period of English history and for many years the brand used the Tudor rose on the dial of their watches until it was replaced by the now iconic Tudor Shield. As part of the brand's modus operandi to make high quality, dependable timepieces more accessible to a wide audience the watches used bought-in Valjoux movements rather than the specially designed in-house Rolex movements to help keep the costs down.

Although initially sent to market clutching onto the apron strings of its mother brand, Tudor quickly separated completely from Rolex, and throughout the latter half of the 20th Century distinguished itself as an icon in its own right becoming renowned as a brand focusing on reliability and uncompromising quality. This of course would not have been possible without some of the seminal models produced by Tudor from the 1950's onwards.

1952 - This special year saw the launch of the Tudor Oyster Prince which was catapulted into the market with a powerful advertising campaign that focused on the reflection of the brand's quality and strength. The ads showcased hard-working men in extreme conditions and served to give the watches style and personality while reflecting the brand values of modernity and reliability.

1954 - This was another important year for the brand which launched the first diver's watch - The Oyster Prince Submariner ref: 7922. The Submariner was designed to fulfil a gap in the market for a diver's watch that was durable, reliable, precise and waterproof but at a moderate price. This particular model became one of the first Tudor watches to be described as an "Instrument of Choice for Professionals". The first Oyster Prince Submariner was self-winding with a screw down case back and 100m waterproof screw in crown. The dial had large hour markers and a bi-directional rotating bezel graduated in 5 minute intervals to precisely measure dive-time. Over the years various interpretations of the Oyster Prince Submariner were designed. The 1969 model was nick-named "Snowflake" for it's highly recognisable dial and hands. This model became fiercely sought after among collectors as it also saw the Tudor Rose replaced with the Tudor Shield we know and love today.

1957 - Tudor launched the Tudor Advisor alarm watch - the only model in the range to offer an alarm function. Three versions of the watch were designed between 1957 and 1977. In 2011 the watch was re-designed with a 42mm case. The current Tudor Heritage Advisor still includes an alarm function, making this an enduringly unique model as the alarm is one function not yet offered by Rolex.

1974 - One of Tudor's most popular chronograph models was the 1974 Monte-Carlo. This colourful and exotic dialled sports driver's watch had a distinct advantage over the Rolex Daytona at the time in the form of a date function. In 2010 Tudor re-issued the Monte-Carlo as the Heritage Chronograph. This is still considered to be Tudor's comparable model to the iconic Rolex Daytona.

1977 - This was the year Tudor introduced the Oyster prince Submariner Military Diver's Watch. These watches were considered to be so reliable and of such high quality that they were adopted by several military operations including the Marine Nationale Francaise and the US Navy amongst others. The watches delivered to these divisions were not custom designed or specially adapted - the only special indication was an engraving on the case back with the initials of the organisation and the year in which they were delivered. Such endorsements served to add value to the brand qualities of reliability and quality.

Following a successful re-launch in 2013 Tudor have carved a niche for themselves in the luxury watch market. Backed by powerful advertising campaigns and slogans - "Tudor, Watch Your Style" - Tudor have capitalised on a brand partnership with Ducati since 2011 focusing on the brands' common values, kindred spirits and shared stylistic approach.

Tudor's continuing focus on quality and reliability ensure that long time fans of the brand have reason to return time and time again. It is this focus on core values that make Tudor such a resilient, and indeed, iconic brand.