Tudor Oyster Prince

The Tudor Oyster Prince is the low-key, humble king version of the Rolex ‘Presidential’ Day-Date. But first… did you know that Tudor is Rolex’s sister brand? I didn’t know this until I saw Tudor’s former brand ambassador, Lady Gaga, on a billboard on Houston Street in 2020. Then I looked up Tudor and discovered this fact, which “watch people” might think is common knowledge. Anyway, Rolex and Tudor are sisters, with the latter offering a more accessibly priced alternative to the crown. Within this relationship exist many similarities, and you’ll see that this Tudor Oyster Prince Date Day elegantly mirrors the more popular Rolex Day Date. The famous Day Date, aka the Presidential, only comes in precious metal – but the Tudor Date Day here is offered in steel. Instant price cut! Cheaper but not, you know, cheap. One of the main differences here is that this Tudor is fitted with a Swiss made ETA movement vs an in-house Rolex-made movement. Better than a quartz battery, I say! This 1982 Tudor beauty has a Rolex signed Jubilee bracelet and reads “case by Rolex” on the back… Tudors signed by Rolex were common in the vintage references; but now these are a bit more rare to come by, especially in this condition. 

THE BASICS: 

DATE OF BIRTH: 1982

MATERIAL: Steel, Rolex-signed Jubilee bracelet

SIZE: 36mm 

MOVEMENT: Swiss made automatic ETA caliber 2834-1

CONDITION: Very Good, Unpolished

BOX/PAPERS: No/No

THE NITTY GRITTY: 

A stainless steel Tudor Oyster Prince Date Day model. This is the Tudor version of arguably the most game changing model for Rolex: The "Day Date" or the "President", as it is fondly known. The President was first introduced into the Rolex lineup under the reference 6511 in 1956 and remains very much a staple in the Rolex offering today. This Tudor watch took up the mantle of the Tudor brand, bringing to the market Rolex quality and designed watches in a more affordable overall package.

The Rolex equivalent of this watch was only ever available in precious metal and was fitted with various Rolex, in house movements. This Tudor version was only available in stainless steel or tow-tone and is fitted with an ETA caliber 2834-1, Swiss made, automatic movement. The bonus with this movement is that it is a "Double Quick" set movement. This means that via pulling the crown out one step, both the day of the week and the date can be quickly set. This was not to be introduced to a Rolex Day Date model until the early 1990's!

Like the Rolex iteration, this case is the 36mm version of the watch. Tudor also offered this watch at a larger 39mm diameter… A giant compared to that of Rolex's 36mm version. Hence why that watch has been given the moniker; 'Jumbo' (!)

The watch has a Rolex made case, which is signed on the back. The crown is a twin lock, water proof screw down with an underlined Rolex coronet that is found on Rolex Oyster models. This is the silver dial version with back printing, classic Rolex-style stick markers and classic Rolex-style baton hands (also, unusually, both painted black). The dial features the Tudor applied shield logo that replaced the Rose logo in 1969.

The case is in excellent overall condition with wear commensurate with age, as mentioned prior – and, rare for any watch from this time, unpolished, with strong lines throughout. The dial is in excellent, original untouched condition with the matte black finish hands and markers crisp, combining beautifully with the black printing. All the lume plots are in place and in good condition and have been toned to a light latte colour, matching the lume in the hands, with both responding the same under UV light. The dirt that can be seen near 12 o'clock is on the crystal and has been removed.

The watch comes on its original stainless steel bracelet, more flat link than its Rolex cousin’s Jubilee style bracelet. The deployant interior is Rolex signed, with the correct Tudor Shield logo on the exterior of the deployant, marked 6248-h. The 94510 reference number is clearly engraved between the lugs, and the serial number is also clear and present between the other set of lugs and is a 597XX range, which dates to 1982. A superb, unpolished example of a watch that is starting to gain the appreciation it deserves.