The earliest Tudor logo is known among collectors as the Long T, for obvious reasons, and are quite collectible. Model reference 769.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
Tudor were launched by their parent company Rolex in 1926, and the long T logo was phased out in 1946. Given the size and design and materials of the case and hands we think this is a late WW2 period watch, which falls into the right logo timeframe too.
CONDITION
Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, was an Anglophile and even first registered his first watch selling business in London, not Geneva. So when looking for a name for the new company to produce good but cheaper watches than Rolex he chose Tudor, the name of the English ruling family between 1485 and 1603. Given that royal connection, it makes sense why Tudor now have a stylised Tudor Rose, the symbol of that dynasty, as their logo. But this earlier watch has the original logo, with that long T on the dial. The dial is all original and in good condition, with the radium lumed hands all in one piece. The Rolex made case has nice twisted lugs, is the perfect size for the time, and the parts of the case are numbers matched. The centre section of the case is not stainless steel, which isn’t an uncommon thing during World War 2 as supplies were prioritised to the military. The movement looks based off a FHF design – Rolex watches had Rolex movements, but Tudor watches until very recently had Rolex cases but nicely finished ‘off the shelf’ movements to keep the costs down. The leather strap is new, and could be swapped for a different colour or material if preferred. The watch is signed on the dial, case (for Rolex) and movement carries the Tudor calibre number 59.
This watch will be supplied with our branded and reusable zipped travel case and cleaning cloth, and our Certificate of Authenticity.
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SIZE
Width with crown 32.4 mm
Width without crown 30.8 mm
Between lugs 16 mm
Lug to lug length 40.1 mm
Case Thickness 10.7 mm
All sizes are approximate. The watch is photographed on a wrist of 190mm/7.5 inches.
Included with this watch is a 3 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us. Payment can be made by most credit or debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.
From 1st September 2021 we will be planting a tree for every watch we sell, working with the International Tree Foundation (Est 1922) to make this business positive on carbon. By buying anything pre owned you are effectively reusing what already exists, but this takes it further and makes us feel good.
