1981 Tudor Submariner "Snowflake" Blue 9411/0
Ref: 9411/0

Points of Mention

This watch is sold “ Watch Only” with no original box or original papers. The watch comes with its original 20mm Rolex Oyster stainless steel bracelet with a signed Rolex folding clasp, the bracelet will fit up to a 7.1inch wrist. The watch is from Circa. 1981 and is in worn, vintage condition, as you can see from the photographs. The watch is in original condition, with bracelet reference 78360 and 580 end links and a clasp reference 93150. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.

The Watch

Here we have a 1981 Tudor Submariner "Snowflake" Blue 9411/0, a Rolex-made Oyster case with an ETA movement differentiating it from their Rolex model. Highlighting the close relationship between Rolex and Tudor at that time, the Tudor Submariner Ref: 7922 ‘Big Crown’ model was used by the French Navy from 1956 and the first “Snowflake” Ref: 7016 was introduced in 1969. A curvy 40mm stainless steel Rolex Oyster case, tapered drilled lugs have a lug-to-lug length of 47.5mm and a case thickness of 14mm ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist. On the right side, a Rolex screw-down crown is protected by crown guards. The unidirectional bezel has knurling for grip and an age-faded blue dive insert with a Tritium lume pip at 12 o’clock holding a domed crystal above a stunning blue even patinated dial. An outer minute track is precisely executed with square and rectangular indexes coated in even patinated Tritium marking the hours, at 3 o’clock a date window, iconic “Snowflake” hands are infilled with Tritium complemented by a “Snowflake” counterweighted sweeping second hand. At 12 o’clock we have the Tudor motif with Prince OysterDate underneath, at 6 o’clock 200m/600ft “Submariner” completes this sporty vintage dive watch. On the reverse, a screw-down coin-edged case back with “Original Oyster case by Rolex”, inside an automatic ETA Cal. 2784, 17 jewels, beating at 28,800 beats per hour. The watch comes with an original 20mm Rolex Oyster stainless steel bracelet with a signed Rolex folding clasp.

Personal Note

The Brand

Swiss watchmaking company “Veuve de Philippe Hüther” on behalf of Hans Wilsdorf the founder of Rolex watches first registered in 1926 The Tudor trademark. Wilsdorf took it over himself in 1936. Soon after the second world war, Hans Wilsdorf who founded Rolex knew that it was time for Tudor to have a proper identity of its own. The Tudor Rose started to appear on their dials from this moment. On 6 March 1946, he created the “Montres TUDOR S.A.” company, creating watches for both men and women. Rolex guaranteed the overall design aesthetic, as well as distribution and after-sales service.  In 1948 we saw the first Tudor-specific advertising. A few years later they introduced the TUDOR Oyster Prince in 1952. Hans Wilsdorf allowed Tudor to use their waterproof Oyster case and the original self-winding Perpetual ’rotor’ movement. This was an exclusive arrangement that benefitted both brands. Development soon commenced with the introduction of the TUDOR Oyster Prince Submariner, reference 7922 in 1954. This watch was quickly adopted by the French Navy in 1956. Building on their reputation of robustness in 1961 the Rose was replaced by the shield. Later in 1969, we saw the design changes in Ref. 7016 where for the first time square indexes and angular hands nicknamed “snowflake” allowed for a greater amount of lume to be applied; this was appreciated by the divers of the French Navy. Today these innovations can be seen in the Black Bay and Pelagos collections. In 1971 Tudor introduced the Oysterdate chronographs nicknamed “Monte-Carlo” due to their resembling a roulette wheel. Celebrating their 50th anniversary in 1996. In that same year, Tudor decided to shed Rolex-signed components such as the cases, crowns and bracelets in favour of Tudor-branded ones. Today Tudor uses their in-house movements developed initially in 2015 in collaboration with Breitling.