Tudor Submariner

Dynamo · 2005-07-20T00:39:00+00:00

source de l'article Citation : Tudor and the French Navy: a love story? by Saad ZinaiRolex did not have the same commercial success with the Tudor Submariner as with its parents, the Rolex 5512 and 5513 Submariners. Tudors were sold at a fraction of the 5513 price and so it was not difficult for the French Navy (La Marine Nationale) to negotiate a good deal for significant number of pieces.Unlike contracts for the U.S. and British Royal Navy, which specified all the characteristics of timepieces from size to materials, the French government contracts were purely commercial contracts. Therefore, the Marine Nationale (or M.N.) provided its divers with many different watches including Zenith, Doxa, Longines, Rolex, Blancpain, Beuchat, Auricoste and many others. But that's another story. Early on, the French Navy equipped its divers (plongeurs de bord) with Tudor Submariners. The first Tudors were purchased by the M.N. in the late 60's. This model seemed to meet army specifications for Commando Marines. It was then the classic "rose" model, (see right) featuring case reference 7928 and the Rolex-derived 390 movement. Curiously, this model had the same sharp crown shoulders as the first Rolex 5512. The back is prominent and flat (unlike the bubble-back-like of that of further models). These models do not hack, but backwards action will stop the movement. Unfortunately, Rolex kept no manufacturing records for these watches, and therefore, it remains difficult to date them…