History of the Tudor brand

The History of Tudor

The Tudor brand was founded in 1926 by Hans Wilsdorf, the man that was also responsible for creating the now infamous Rolex watch brand. Wilsdorf had already successfully placed Rolex as a front runner in the watch industry, yet he had the desire to create a ‘sister’ company that would bring his watches to a wider audience that would offer the quality, reliability and craftsmanship for which Rolex had become renowned, but at a more ‘modest’ price.

The name Tudor took inspiration from the Tudor Era, a significant time in English & Welsh history, a period that saw huge change, exploration and innovation.  It also introduced some of the most renowned literary & artistic greats, their works having withstood the test of time. It is clear to see why Hans Wilsdorf took the ‘Tudor’ rose as his emblem and the Tudor name for his new brand, he too wanted to create a place in time that would symbolise change and carve his own distinctive path in the watch world.

In its initial introduction to market in 1932, Tudor watches were made for and exclusively sold in Australia, the watches were distributed to only the finest jewellers.

In 1936 Hans Wilsdorf takes back control of the brand and we begin to see signs of the brand that we know today appearing. The founder chose the Tudor rose sitting within a shield as the brands logo, to represent not only the strength and durability that the watch brand offers, but also the intricacy in the design.

In 1946 the founder created ‘Montres TUDOR SA’. The company will develop its wristwatches with strong influence and collaboration from the already established and well regarded Rolex, who go on to ensure that the highest standards are met, all after care and distribution is handled by Rolex at this time. The founder was eager maintain his vision for Tudor, to create exquisite wrist watches in both ladies & gent’s styles that carry the same prestige of Rolex but with a price tag that will appeal more widely. The first advertisements for Tudor watches cleverly spoke of the brands connection to Rolex. This clever marketing tactic imbedded the assurance of quality into the minds of the consumer, and created a desire for a watch that offered the craftmanship of a Rolex but with an attainable price tag.

Following from the successful development of the Rolex Oyster case, Tudor launched the Oyster Prince. Wilsdorf declared that the Tudor watch ‘deserved’ to share the Oyster case and the Self-winding perpetual mechanism, he stated that this was proof of his faith in the new watch. This move really intended reinforce that Tudor was equipped with all of the durability and innovative features that Rolex was privy to and that its quality was not inferior to its predecessor.

Despite its connections with Rolex, Tudor drove its way into the watch market with similarities to some of the Rolex pieces of its time, but always with its own identity. These design features created a pathway to Tudor becoming a highly popular brand in its own right.

In the early 1950’s Tudor hopped aboard the increasing trend for divers watches by releasing the Tudor Submariner, securing its place amongst some of the most revered divers and performance watches on the market. The brand worked closely with the French Navy to put their performance watches to the ultimate test of endurance. The Tudor submariner was created to those that valued a great divers watch but it appealed equally to those that appreciated the craftsmanship and to those that wanted their watch to stand out as a bold timepiece for everyday wear. The brand has maintained this desire amongst enthusiasts with their current ranges.

The next 10 years saw the brand release a number of groundbreaking wrist watches. Amongst them, an alarm watch in the form of the Tudor Advisor,  a classical watch with a sleek red alarm hand & jubilee style bracelet and the Tudor Oyster Thin 7960, which broke records at the time for the slimmest waterproof Tudor watch at just 6mm thick.

The 1960’s brought a time of change for the brand, with the introduction in the earlier part of the decade of fine ladies’ styles with delicate bracelets which lent itself to a piece of jewellery rather than just the functionality of a wristwatch. In 1969 added an Oyster Prince Day-Date which was then a consistent feature in the brands collection until the late 1980’s. In 1969 Tudor also released watches with a simplified logo. The Oyster Prince Day-Date, along with the Oyster prince submariner were the first Tudor pieces to be released with the new shield logo which no longer featured the rose emblem, the shield has been the brands logo since, adorning all current models. It was during this time that we saw the introduction of the ‘snowflake’ hands that were a new feature of the submariner models that were made for the French Navy. Despite them being designed to improve legibility whilst wearing the watches underwater, these distinctive square shaped hands went on to become a long standing and signature feature for the brand.

Whilst staying true to its origins, Tudor remains to be a constantly evolving brand and, in keeping with the desire to be amongst the best in the field the brand released its first chronograph. The brand then went on to release its first chronograph with a bi-directional bezel and aluminium bezel insert. The development of the brands Divers and chronograph models continued through the 1970’s and beyond, with changes from the self-winding calibre 390 was replaced by ETA self-winding movements, sapphire crystal replaced Plexiglass, we saw the introduction of the cyclops lens over the date window and the introduction of the unidirectional bezel. Despite being a integral part of the brands catalogue for 30 years, the Tudor Submariner was discontinued in 1999.

It was around this time in the late 1990’s and into the new millennium that Tudor stepped back from the UK and American markets, this meant that a whole new generation of watch enthusiasts had entered the market with little or no knowledge of the brand and its history.

Upon the brands relaunch more than 10 years after its withdrawal from the UK, the logo was a simple shield that maintained its foot in the door of the brands heritage but now, along with new striking models and a ‘Born to Dare’ mantra, Tudor were making the statement that the brand was now a stronger, bolder and a more independent version of its former self. Despite the ‘new’ Tudor launch, it was clear that the brand would always maintain the connection with its deep-rooted history and innovation that had built the foundations.

The Tudor Black Bay and Pelagos are now amongst the brands most popular and desirable watches, recognised, in their own right as a luxury Swiss watch maker. The brand has made a huge impact on the modern watch market and has succeeded in making its history known, without dwelling on its past.

Needless to say some of the die-hard watch fans that took a little convincing that Tudor was no longer living in the shadows of Rolex and was not a ‘poor mans Rolex’ as it has been cruelly labelled by many, this was now a ‘new’ yet deep rooted Swiss brand that had been striving for its independence for many decades and has more than succeeded to do so in today’s market.