Vintages amigos & cia al 09/9/08

The vintage Tudor watch (1946) is a product of it's parent company ROLEX. It is made of the highest quality components assembled, tested, and installed by ROLEX. The main difference between a Tudor watch and a ROLEX watch such as the DateJust is the movement itself. ROLEX watches use the high grade in-house ROLEX movement while Tudor brand watches utilized the highest grade 17-25 jewel (+/-) Swiss ETA (Ebauche) movement (per ROLEX specifications) inspected and installed by ROLEX technicians at the factory. ROLEXswitched from their own in-house movement to ETA to supply the movements for their Tudor watches in the 1960's. The Tudor ETA movement is considered by many experts to have the same accuracy and reliability as the comparitable in-house produced ROLEX movements; consider that the ROLEX Daytona used an ETA movement up until 2002. All other components including the crown, case, dial, hands and crystal were manufactured by ROLEX.
The California Dial Tudor watch in most cases has had it's dial refinished, not an uncommon practice with vintage watches (including vintage ROLEXes) and has the ROLEX name prominently added to the face of the dial, something that wasn't there when it left the factory. To a ROLEX/Tudor purist this practice has caused much heated debate both pro and con. Unlike ROLEXwatches which have an unmarked case back, most vintage Tudor watches have the ROLEX name and the ROLEX logo clearly embossed on the Tudor case back at the ROLEX factory!
This begs the question; is a vintage Tudor a ROLEX? Of course it is (IMHO)! It's a watch that was assembled at the ROLEXplant by ROLEX employees according to ROLEX specifications under ROLEX supervision and founded by the same ROLEX founder, Hans Wilsdorf. A more accurate statement might be that the vintage Tudor represents a different ROLEX model (like the DateJust or Submariner) manufactured by ROLEX. Aspects of a vintage Tudor wrist watch are found in other vintage ROLEX watches such as a Swiss ETA movement (Daytona), a chronometer version, a diamond bezel version and of course the famous ROLEX Oyster case and 2.5 magnification cyclops. The vintage Tudor was NEVER manufactured to be inferior to other ROLEX models but rather to be less "pricey" (reduced markup NOT reduced quality or performance) in order to appeal to a broader market and increase overall company sales. This common marketing tactic accounts for why ROLEX and Tudor watches were most often displayed side by side in the same display case by authorized ROLEX vendors. Some may have felt that the presence of the ROLEX made line of Tudor watches undercut sales of the other ROLEX models.​

What is the value of a vintageCalifornia Dial Tudor? As with ALL watches what the market will bear which all to often is influenced by the amount of advertising dollars spent. Consider that the best watches cost the manufacturer about $200 to produce (plus or minus). This of course does not reflect the incorporation of any precious metal or precious gems such as a diamond bezel (jewels for the watch movement are most often man-made and are relatively inexpensive). ROLEX stopped distribution of the Tudor line of watches into the United States around 2002 although they are readily available to the rest of the world. Tudor quality and the prestige associated with ROLEX name accounts for Tudor's popularity and maybe it's these qualities plus the varied and unique appearance of the California Dialed Tudor that explains its popularity .
Thanks to the premium grade Swiss Ebauche ETA movement (accurate to within 5 seconds per 24 hours of daily wear) I paid less than $75 for a complete overhaul of my vintage California Dial Tudor. Try pricing an overhaul for a ROLEX DateJust.

Vintage"California Dial" Tudor watch
Tudor case back is marked ROLEX Oyster case at the factory
Vintage 1940's ROLEX watch with factory original dial​

The Oyster case was instrumental to ROLEX's rise to fame​

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