Tudor

The Tudor trademark was registered in February 1926 by Veuve de Philippe Hüther, a Geneva watch dealer, on behalf of Hans Wilsdorf, founder of Rolex. In 1936, Wilsdorf took over the trademark directly, and on 6 March 1946 he formally established Montres Tudor SA. Wilsdorf's goal was to offer watches with Rolex-level reliability at more accessible prices. Early Tudor watches used Rolex cases and bracelets paired with third-party movements. In 1952, Tudor released its first self-winding model, the Prince. In 1954, the Oyster Prince Submariner diving watch was launched with 100m water resistance. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the French Marine Nationale and US Navy issued Tudor Submariners to divers. The 'snowflake' hands became a signature design element. Tudor released its first chronograph, the Oysterdate, in 1970. After a period of reduced presence, the brand relaunched in 2009. The Heritage Black Bay and Pelagos dive watches debuted in 2012. In 2015, Tudor introduced its first in-house movement, the MT5621, in the North Flag model. Both Rolex and Tudor are owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation. Tudor produces approximately 200,000 watches annually.