Rolex vs Tudor

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Rodolfo_4

The thing i dont get, is why are they tudor post, in THE ROLEX FORUM?

yes yes, i know they are sister brands

But this is not calle THE TUDOR FORUM, is it

I must assume you can read as it clearly states Rolex Forums > Rolex & Tudor Watch Topics, unless you only look through Rolex blinkered glasses.

[genkifd]

Wow so why buy rolex. From these comments there is no reason lol

[dnslater]

Originally Posted by Ssunnylee24

Tudor being made by Rolex could be the best, but the worst asepct for Tudor.

This is repeated a lot here but is not accurate. Rolex doesn't own Tudor. Rolex and Tudor are sister companies, both owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation.

On a parallel note, another misconception is that the Tudor subs are a ripoff of the Rolex design. Again, Hans Wilsdorf penned the design and both Tudor and Rolex began producing their subs with the shared design in 1953, with both models being introduced in Basel in 1954.

Rolex is the older and more successful and innovative company, and did a better job of continually evolving their sports watches, so they are often incorrectly attributed with "owning" Tudor. Also, obviously Hans Wilsdorf used Tudor as a way to hand down Rolex's technology and make it more accessible, which is still true. The difference today is that the foundation is allowing Tudor to push the envelope a bit more and possibly even compete with Rolex with their new movements which have arguably more advanced technology, although Tudor may see some teething problems with their tech that Rolex won't because of Rolex's more conservative, evolutionary approach.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by genkifd

trying to do research on Tudor and seems that historically they havent achieve much.

on the other hand Rolex has very extensive history of achievements. etc.

The Tudor line go back to the 1920s then mainly sold in Canada and Europe, Rolex or Tudor watches were not sold then in the USA,it was very much later the the Rolex brand arrived for sale in the USA.Hans Wilsdorf from the RWC first opened Tudor watch to world wide production in 1946. And one of the main reasons why he chose the brand name Tudor, was that he wanted to pay tribute to the Tudor history period of old England.

The Tudor line prior to around 1990 was all Rolex except for movement,Tudor watches are made by Rolex. The major difference between a Tudor and a Rolex is that Rolex contracted the manufacturing of the movement out to a 3rd party manufacturer (ETA in 95% of them) but now some modern day Tudors do have a in-house made movement. Much like Rolex did with there chrongraphs before 2000 they used ETA Valjoux and Zenith movements. The ETA ebauche movements were made to Rolex's specifications and signed Tudor. This movement was then sent to Rolex where it was assembled into a watch with all Rolex remaining parts (Rolex case, bezel, strap or bracelet,dial, crystal and crown, seals, etc.). These parts are the same parts used in the Rolex line of watches up till around 1990. The Tudor movements are high grade 17, 21, 25, or 26 jewel Automatic or Manual chronometer grade movements which when correctly cleaned, timed, and oiled, will keep time almost as well as any normal Rolex.

The case screw backs were engraved original oyster case by Rolex,on all the oyster models.In the gold or TT models Tudor uses genuine solid gold Rolex bezels and crown caps, but their bracelets are normally only gold filled,to reduce the cost while Rolex uses solid gold in their bracelets.The French Navy (among others) opted for the Tudor Submariner,instead of the Rolex Sub,the French Navy demanded rigorous testing and tested several brands These watches were tested to carefully calibrated abusive tests in an attempt to destroy them to see how much abuse it could take before losing accuracy or malfunctioning .After testing they choose the Tudor and the only thing the French navy didn't order was the Oyster bracelet.They chose a nylon strap because it would be much more easy to change,and easily replaced if broken.And today the only step down in quality with Tudor watches in general is the price.The the main difference between a Rolex Sub and say a Tudor Sub is they used a top range Chronometer grade ETA a first class all in-house built movement but not Rolex made,and in watches like the Tudor Prince they used a light Oyster bracelet, on Subs they used the heavy Oyster bracelet.Now today the Tudor line has quite a long high heritage with Hans Wilsdorf the founder of Rolex.

In today's market quite a few vintage Tudor watches command higher prices than there Rolex brothers same could be said for Rolex, many of the most collectible Rolex don't have a Rolex made movement but ones from ETA Valjoux and Zenith .The Tudor line are still made in the same now highly automated factory as Rolex.While now would agree the Aeronaut,Hydronaut range are not quite as good as the Oyster cased ones but its still very very close.Tudor are still a very important part of the Rolex history and are great watches in there own right.

Today Rolex got the idea to call there automatics Perpetual,today many of the so called Rolex facts are not quite 100% true it was around 1924,that the company named RWC now called Rolex,launched the first trademarked water resistant wristwatch called the "Submarine" .As we all should know the biggest enemy of any watch is water.And without proper seals etc even on a warm day the crystal could mist up on wrist when worn.

Now old Hans Wilsdorf was a clever man,and wanted to increase sales worldwide and especially in tropical climates.So he tried to make a watch that was waterproof,now the evolution of the first oyster type case was started.His idea was very simple,he would fit a case inside a case,and he called it the Submarine.Now this worked,but had certain drawbacks you had to open the case to wind it,and the outer case had a threaded screw on bezel to protect the watch.This was not very user owner friendly and caused wear on the hinges and bezel threads.So he started to look for a new idea for a truely waterproof wrist watch.

First Rolex Submarine.




So later in 1925 he heard that two watchmakers one was Paul Perregaux other George Perrolet they had taken out a Swiss patent for a twin lock screwed stem system crown.Now Hans Wilsdorf of Rolex grasped that a hermetically sealed case, together with careful fitting of the crystal and a special stem mechanism, would produce a better water proof wristwatch.He quickly negotiated to have the Perregaux & Perrolet patent assigned to him. Wilsdorf then obtained a British patent for the twin lock screw down crown on October 18 1926.

Paul Perregaux patent screwed stem system 1925,which Hans Wilsdorf of Rolex acquired,to make the first oyster cased Rolex.


And it was a was a guy called John Harwood from the Isle of Man UK,now he in 1923 took out a UK/World patent for the first truly automatic winding wrist watch.Now he went on with backing to produce many thousands of these watches,but mainly owing to the very hard industrial depression in the mid 1920s to 1930s in the UK he went broke.Now old Hans Wilsdorf of Rolex being a very clever but very shrewd man bought and took up this auto-winding patent for the Rolex Watch Company. And in the very early 1930s incorporated it into the oyster aquired design case. And with the newly acquired waterproof screw down crown patent that he got from Perregaux and Perrolet .This with the Oyster case,now with screw down twinlock crown and this acquired patent auto wind mechanism but in those early days it only wound around 300 degrees the Rolex Oyster was finally born.Now Rolex did improved on John Harwood design and by the help of Hans brother in-law,who made it much more efficient by winding a full 360 degrees,and a power reserve then of around 36 hours.

[axjimenez]

I believe a real WIS can appreciate both brands, their histories, and their products. This does not mean you may not lean one direction or the other but each brand seems to be targeting a different buyer (with some crossover) and doing a great job at hitting their objectives. Unique products at different price points to capture a broad cut of the market. Pretty damn smart if you ask me.

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by padi56

The Tudor line go back to the 1920s then mainly sold in Canada and Europe, Rolex or Tudor watches were not sold then in the USA,it was very much later the the Rolex brand arrived for sale in the USA.Hans Wilsdorf from the RWC first opened Tudor watch to world wide production in 1946. And one of the main reasons why he chose the brand name Tudor, was that he wanted to pay tribute to the Tudor history period of old England.

The Tudor line prior to around 1990 was all Rolex except for movement,Tudor watches are made by Rolex. The major difference between a Tudor and a Rolex is that Rolex contracted the manufacturing of the movement out to a 3rd party manufacturer (ETA in 95% of them) but now some modern day Tudors do have a in-house made movement. Much like Rolex did with there chrongraphs before 2000 they used ETA Valjoux and Zenith movements. The ETA ebauche movements were made to Rolex's specifications and signed Tudor. This movement was then sent to Rolex where it was assembled into a watch with all Rolex remaining parts (Rolex case, bezel, strap or bracelet,dial, crystal and crown, seals, etc.). These parts are the same parts used in the Rolex line of watches up till around 1990. The Tudor movements are high grade 17, 21, 25, or 26 jewel Automatic or Manual chronometer grade movements which when correctly cleaned, timed, and oiled, will keep time almost as well as any normal Rolex.

The case screw backs were engraved original oyster case by Rolex,on all the oyster models.In the gold or TT models Tudor uses genuine solid gold Rolex bezels and crown caps, but their bracelets are normally only gold filled,to reduce the cost while Rolex uses solid gold in their bracelets.The French Navy (among others) opted for the Tudor Submariner,instead of the Rolex Sub,the French Navy demanded rigorous testing and tested several brands These watches were tested to carefully calibrated abusive tests in an attempt to destroy them to see how much abuse it could take before losing accuracy or malfunctioning .After testing they choose the Tudor and the only thing the French navy didn't order was the Oyster bracelet.They chose a nylon strap because it would be much more easy to change,and easily replaced if broken.And today the only step down in quality with Tudor watches in general is the price.The the main difference between a Rolex Sub and say a Tudor Sub is they used a top range Chronometer grade ETA a first class all in-house built movement but not Rolex made,and in watches like the Tudor Prince they used a light Oyster bracelet, on Subs they used the heavy Oyster bracelet.Now today the Tudor line has quite a long high heritage with Hans Wilsdorf the founder of Rolex.

In today's market quite a few vintage Tudor watches command higher prices than there Rolex brothers same could be said for Rolex, many of the most collectible Rolex don't have a Rolex made movement but ones from ETA Valjoux and Zenith .The Tudor line are still made in the same now highly automated factory as Rolex.While now would agree the Aeronaut,Hydronaut range are not quite as good as the Oyster cased ones but its still very very close.Tudor are still a very important part of the Rolex history and are great watches in there own right.

Today Rolex got the idea to call there automatics Perpetual,today many of the so called Rolex facts are not quite 100% true it was around 1924,that the company named RWC now called Rolex,launched the first trademarked water resistant wristwatch called the "Submarine" .As we all should know the biggest enemy of any watch is water.And without proper seals etc even on a warm day the crystal could mist up on wrist when worn.

Now old Hans Wilsdorf was a clever man,and wanted to increase sales worldwide and especially in tropical climates.So he tried to make a watch that was waterproof,now the evolution of the first oyster type case was started.His idea was very simple,he would fit a case inside a case,and he called it the Submarine.Now this worked,but had certain drawbacks you had to open the case to wind it,and the outer case had a threaded screw on bezel to protect the watch.This was not very user owner friendly and caused wear on the hinges and bezel threads.So he started to look for a new idea for a truely waterproof wrist watch.

First Rolex Submarine.




So later in 1925 he heard that two watchmakers one was Paul Perregaux other George Perrolet they had taken out a Swiss patent for a twin lock screwed stem system crown.Now Hans Wilsdorf of Rolex grasped that a hermetically sealed case, together with careful fitting of the crystal and a special stem mechanism, would produce a better water proof wristwatch.He quickly negotiated to have the Perregaux & Perrolet patent assigned to him. Wilsdorf then obtained a British patent for the twin lock screw down crown on October 18 1926.

Paul Perregaux patent screwed stem system 1925,which Hans Wilsdorf of Rolex acquired,to make the first oyster cased Rolex.


And it was a was a guy called John Harwood from the Isle of Man UK,now he in 1923 took out a UK/World patent for the first truly automatic winding wrist watch.Now he went on with backing to produce many thousands of these watches,but mainly owing to the very hard industrial depression in the mid 1920s to 1930s in the UK he went broke.Now old Hans Wilsdorf of Rolex being a very clever but very shrewd man bought and took up this auto-winding patent for the Rolex Watch Company. And in the very early 1930s incorporated it into the oyster aquired design case. And with the newly acquired waterproof screw down crown patent that he got from Perregaux and Perrolet .This with the Oyster case,now with screw down twinlock crown and this acquired patent auto wind mechanism but in those early days it only wound around 300 degrees the Rolex Oyster was finally born.Now Rolex did improved on John Harwood design and by the help of Hans brother in-law,who made it much more efficient by winding a full 360 degrees,and a power reserve then of around 36 hours.

Thank you Peter for adding real value to the forum! Great read

[samson66]

Originally Posted by Brew

My 2 cents (discounts available): Rolex is a conservative brand. But it has a bit of an alter ego that gets expressed via Tudor. Some of us like the variety available via Tudor, at a lower price point, with little compromise required.

Well said. Like many here I own both Rolex and Tudor models. Both are great and very different from each other. Rolex is sort of the elegant older sister who wears beautiful clothes and is proper and demure and high maintenance, and who you hope to marry one day. Tudor is the wild younger sister who wears cutoff jeans, likes to party, and you hope to hook up with.

So simply put, there are chicks you want to sleep with (Tudor) and chicks you want to marry (Rolex). Both are very desirable in their own way

[watchmavan]

Originally Posted by genkifd

Wow so why buy rolex. From these comments there is no reason lol

Well there shouldn't be really as the OP asked why get Tudor


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[watchmavan]

Originally Posted by dnslater

On a parallel note, another misconception is that the Tudor subs are a ripoff of the Rolex design. Again, Hans Wilsdorf penned the design and both Tudor and Rolex began producing their subs with the shared design in 1953, with both models being introduced in Basel in 1954.

I was not aware that they were released in the same year. Can others confirm this?



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[Etschell]

some of these comments are depressing.

hans wildorf would be disappointed.

[tottallyoff]

this topic is never going to have an answer that satisfied all people. Its like asking black or white coffee....

[derekhayden]

Originally Posted by samson66

So simply put, there are chicks you want to sleep with (Tudor) and chicks you want to marry (Rolex).

[rmurphy]

Originally Posted by beshannon

Thank you Peter for adding real value to the forum! Great read

Yes indeed, many thanks Padi, I’ve learned much from you.


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[DonBateman]

Originally Posted by watchmavan

Because Rolex ruined their sports models with the Maxi-case. Except for the Explorer. So I have an Explorer but Rolex still can't match the new . They also don't have a movement better than what is in it.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

That is the best looking watch to come from Basel this year IMO.

[sillo]

Originally Posted by genkifd

trying to do research on Tudor and seems that historically they havent achieve much.

on the other hand Rolex has very extensive history of achievements. etc.

You should look into the British North Greenland Expedition and what watches they were issued.

[Raku]

Simply put Rolex and Tudor are like Lexus and Toyota.

[Spoonage]

They each have their own good things to offer... I'm a fan of both, and own both... As well as the wife.

[Bobby T]

Originally Posted by Raku

Simply put Rolex and Tudor are like Lexus and Toyota.

Exactly .........Infiniti and Nissan, Acura and Honda

[2nastie]

Originally Posted by Bobby T

Exactly .........Infiniti and Nissan, Acura and Honda

Mercedes and Smart Car?


I’m joking. They are only similar brands by design. They are different companies IMO. Being sister companies... meh.

[101031-28]

Originally Posted by oldblock

My opinion - in brief - is that the engineering quality is very different as well as the perceived value of the brands in the consumer markets both are trying to reach
If you buy Tudor it is price and an acceptance of the above
Doesn’t mean I think Tudor make bad watches they’re just a distance from Rolex

This guy put it best. Where I come from in Europe, essentially you buy Tudor if you can't afford Rolex. Sorry, don't take it out on the messenger. Glad in the US it's a whole different approach.

[op90no2]

I will be contrary and assert, absent information disproving it, that the engineering quality of Rolex and Tudor are identical.

That's predicated on the actual definition of "engineering quality."

[unknown]

for me it's simple ... I love both and own a few

But if you don't appreciate Tudor for what is is, you still have to learn a lot and your knowledge about watches is still quite poor

[padi56]

Originally Posted by op90no2

I will be contrary and assert, absent information disproving it, that the engineering quality of Rolex and Tudor are identical.

That's predicated on the actual definition of "engineering quality."

Quite true and like most so called high end brands you pay around 25% for the product and around 75% for the name on the dial, and today many wear the name and not the watch.

[Raku]

One more thing:
- 90% of the people who buy Rolex have never been on a watch forum before and have not even heard the words 'mainspring' or 'balance wheel'.
- 90% of the people who buy Tudor 'live' on these forums.

That should say something.

[DonBateman]

Originally Posted by Raku

One more thing:
- 90% of the people who buy Rolex have never been on a watch forum before and have not even heard the words 'mainspring' or 'balance wheel'.
- 90% of the people who buy Tudor 'live' on these forums.

That should say something.

That is an interesting observation.

[MinMay]

Originally Posted by Raku

Simply put Rolex and Tudor are like Lexus and Toyota.

Great analogy And I own a Toyota

Replace the Tudor name and slap a Rolex and all the Rolex fan boys would preached "greatest watch ever" Remind me of Apple fan boys....too funny.

[Tan]

I bought the Tudor GMT as I found it to be great value for the money and loved the aesthetic of the watch.

[rtalk]

While I don't own a Tudor, I'd definitely consider it. There are times when I want to wear a nice tool watch that I don't need to worry about. Some watches you have are just irreplaceable, so new Tudor is nice in that regard.

[tudorbaja27]

Originally Posted by Raku

One more thing:
- 90% of the people who buy Rolex have never been on a watch forum before and have not even heard the words 'mainspring' or 'balance wheel'.
- 90% of the people who buy Tudor 'live' on these forums.

That should say something.

Nailed it sir!

[cdbeaver66]

Before coming across this forum I had never heard of the Tudor brand, after reading many posts, notably by OldExPatBeast, and doing my own research I purchased a blue BB ETA and it is a superb piece. I then came across a Rolex GMT which I couldn’t turn down and am very happy with that piece. I have had many opportunities to buy other Rolex but to be honest I prefer what Tudor have to offer. When Basel comes round I look at Tudor before anything else and I do not think I’m alone with that. I also like the fact that if I want to buy a Tudor I can pop into my AD and wait no more than a few months to have it on my wrist unlike the games Rolex are playing at the moment. I understand they want to keep the brand exclusive but it’s embarrassing at times.


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