Vintage Tudor art deco watch

I don't have a Rolex but could afford to get an old one if I wanted to. I tend to identify the brand to corrupt officials though so I have resisted getting one for myself even though I like some models, particularly the simpler ones. No bling for me. Tudor is owned by Rolex and sort of their next tier line. It does have its own history and distinguishes itself from its mother brand. Last year, I had the opportunity to get one that I really liked. It seemed to be out of the radar so I got it for what I thought was much lower than its value. I have yet to determine the approximate date of manufacture but judging from the design, this is art deco, pre-WW2, perhaps between the 1920s and 1940s. Tudor was established in 1926 so it cannot be older than that year. The rose emblem probably gives a clue on when this watch came out? A quick research from the official Tudor site shows that the rose logo appeared from 1936.

The rectangular dial features Roman numeral hour markers and a sub-dial.

Close-up of the dial showing the lugs and framing

An even closer look at the dial and sub-dial showing Tudor's rose logo and the raised roman numeral hour markers

Side view showing the crown

The other side view

Case back stating this to be of stainless steel and showing what appears as a serial number

The dial, movement and case back can be detached first from the frame.

The inside of the case back bears the abbreviated RWCLtd that stands for the Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. Rolex, after all, owns Tudor.

The signed movement bears the Tudor brand. I still have to research on the caliber of the movement.

Wrist shot. This wears like a big watch because of the 20mm lugs and the long case from lug to lug that's like my Baume Hampton.

Though the watch was packaged well, it arrived with the second hand of the sub-dial detached. I inspected the watch and found the case back to be somewhat loose. So I quickly got some bubble wrap and ziplock bag as preventive measure. And I brought the watch to my watch guy for it to be serviced the first chance I had.

I had the watch checked and it is a legit piece with a legit movement from Rolex, which probably produced this as an in-house movement. This is definitely another keeper and one that the wife also borrows occasionally. The watch also keeps time and I only have to adjust it after winding every third day. Not bad for a 80+ year old time piece. :)

-