Vintage Tudor by Rolex
The history and collectability
Rolex SA and its subsidiary Montres Tudor SA design, manufacture, distribute and service high-quality wristwatches sold under the Rolex and Tudor brands. Founded by Hans Wildorf and Alfred Davis in London, England in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis, Rolex moved its base of operations to Geneva, Switzerland in 1919.
These watches where even back then to be the finest of timepieces. Today, Rolex watches are popularly considered status symbols.
Its also amazing to think that the Tudor Oyster Prince was worn & included in the gear of the 1952 scientific research to Greenland conducted by the British Navy. I wonder what they could have been researching? This is a picture of that particular watch I found on ebay so you can see how practical and modern these watches where. Lovely and elegant really! They where marketed to a more modest and humble customer! Something Wildorf had a bit of intuition about. Depicting the watches being worn in very stressful environments such as mines and other blue color jobs. The hardworking men of the era that demanded the reliably & accuracy that only a company like Rolex at the time could provide! This is what convinced people in my option of the quality they could expect from this watch!
What a status symbol walking into the mine with this watch!
Make the boys at work jealous!
On march 6th 1946 Tudor what company was born! "For some years now I have been considering the idea of making a watch our agents could sell at a more modest price than our Rolex watches, and yet one that will attain the standards of dependability that Rolex is famous. I have decided to form a separate company with the intention to make and market this new watch. Its called the Tudor Watch Company!"
Through 1947-1953 Tudor devoted its self to this line and the watches that came are still very sought after and valuable today!
A little known piece of Rolex History. You can find a great selection of these examples on several auction sites!
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