Navy SEAL Tudor Snowflake

[PabloJerry]

I've heard from a couple Special Forces operators that they tell them in school to buy a Rolex, because they work well and can be sold anywhere in the world if things go south. I asked my hunting buddy who used to be a Navy SEAL if that was the case for him. He said he didn't have a Rolex but was given a Tudor, said he hadn't worn it in years and was in his dresser. This immediately piqued my interest and I told him to send me some pictures when he got home.

The pictures aren't great but it is a Tudor Submariner Ref 9411/0 and according to it's serial number it was made in 1976. He said he got it in 1975, I know the date of production based on serial numbers isn't 100% accurate and can go a year either way, so that makes sense. He said he's never had it polished or serviced and nothing replaced. The crystal is scratched but the dial appears good (I haven't seen it in person). He doesn't have the original bracelet but does have a very interesting one he had made in the Philippines.

I'm trying to figure out what it's worth and where the best place for him to sell it would be if he decides to do that. It's a one owner 9411, that has never been polished, with nice matching hands and dial, ghost bezel, and best of all it was owned and used by a Navy SEAL. With that kind of provenance I'm almost thinking an auction would be the way to go.

What do you guys think?

[linesiders]

Send me a PM and I will give you my email address - it could be worth minimum 6-7k max over 10-12k depending on certain things. Great Piece of History

[omitohud]

Linesiders knows vintage tudors. A very interesting snowflake. Good luck.


I blame it on the autoconnect.

[harry in montreal]

It's a nice watch, but the reality is that the hands do not match and the bezel has fade but is not ghosted. In my opinion, you need to remove the ops band and see if the lugs were damaged from it. The dial has discolouration. Is there any military engraving on the back? This is the key question.

[Charles Underwood]

The ops band is of a very bad engravement quality. I absolutely don't like it, dial looks pure, insert to clean, hands are off.

[linesiders]

I can assure you - different things than what is listed here will determine value ; ) - Provenance (and there is no definable provenance here, yet) will determine value

I was involved in a particular earlier Tudor with Provenance that got over 20k - this is not the same in some ways and in others it is

[PabloJerry]

Originally Posted by harry in montreal

It's a nice watch, but the reality is that the hands do not match and the bezel has fade but is not ghosted. In my opinion, you need to remove the ops band and see if the lugs were damaged from it. The dial has discolouration. Is there any military engraving on the back? This is the key question.

There is no engraving but he said he was given the watch when he got to his first platoon in 1975.

[chessebj]

Originally Posted by Charles Underwood

The ops band is of a very bad engravement quality. I absolutely don't like it, dial looks pure, insert to clean, hands are off.

That band is rustic. Vietnam era stuff with rustic engraving is its own market (look at the prices on engraved in-theater Zippos, for instance). I would expect that to be rather popular with military collectors.

[Richard Carver]

A guy named Slattery is probably the most famous Seal from the Viet Nam era. Ask your buddy if he knew him. :)





https://www.google.com/search?q=udt+...w=1600&bih=746

Don't do anything to that watch until you've gotten up to speed on value. That is a genuine Olongapo Seal bracelet, truly historical. Olongapos were designed by the owner, each was different. The symbols told a story of the soldiers service journey.

[Joe K.]

Hi everyone!
This is one of my first posts on this forum, but I have been a collector of military watches for close to 30 years. There are a number of things about this specific watch that enhance the value significantly, at least to a military watch collector: First, the Olongapo bracelet. These are named after the city in which they were first made. As you can see they are hand made and customized to each individuals specifications. In this case he has the SEAL trident and SEAL ONE indicating he was part of SEAL team 1 (During that period would be the West Coast team). The other side has qualification symbols (Jump Wings and Diver insignia). The second ting that adds value is the provenance. IF the owner has pictures of him wearing the watch during his service and can include some evidence of provenance in the sale, then this would be quite valuable.

If you are going to place this in an auction, you would probably do best in an auction the is offering military watches in that specific sales. Another way to go would be to approach dealers who specialize in military watches. If you send me an e-mail I can put you in touch.

Hope this helps.

[Gina Marie]

Sadly it is an acne dial. That would explain the lack of color match between hands and dial. The case looks soft but better pics would help.

[chessebj]

Originally Posted by Gina Marie

Sadly it is an acne dial. That would explain the lack of color match between hands and dial. The case looks soft but better pics would help.

I really don't think that this is the kind of watch where standard attributes are the arbiter of value.

[uncleluck]

Originally Posted by Gina Marie

Sadly it is an acne dial. That would explain the lack of color match between hands and dial. The case looks soft but better pics would help.

I was going to say if you look at the 11 marker and imagine they all looked the same I'd say the hands were original. Do t know what an acne dial is but it sure looks like the dial markers have suffered a fair bit of degradation and hence the difference.

Anyway, you've got the owner there having it and if he says its original that means more than people who've never held it guessing from pics of a watch they've never held.

[Gina Marie]

Originally Posted by uncleluck

I was going to say if you look at the 11 marker and imagine they all looked the same I'd say the hands were original. Do t know what an acne dial is but it sure looks like the dial markers have suffered a fair bit of degradation and hence the difference.

Anyway, you've got the owner there having it and if he says its original that means more than people who've never held it guessing from pics of a watch they've never held.

Acne dials are common in early tudor subs. The /0 series seems to be heavily affected. The resulting dial degradation will often show drastic color differences between the dial and hands. Conclusion, dial and hands look original to me. Unpolished and never touched are terms used often and mean different things to different people. I have a friend who bought a tudor sub with military links that was untouched. Only to find out later that the dial was relumed. When someone uses the term unpolished there are certain hallmarks I look for in the case. This case, from the photos, does not seem to be unpolished, but having in hand is the only way to determine really. Conclusion, tbd.

[Gina Marie]

however, the military connection is really really cool and would bump the valuation up about 50%, but others are more versed on that.

[RichardF]

I can remember seeing a lot of these being sold in the PX at the Naval Air Station in Millington TN, In the early to mid 70’s. They had a Seal team stationed there. The versions I saw them selling the most of were the black dial subs with the Mercedes hands. At the time I unfortunately bought some Omega’s and Seiko’s and not a Tudor.