Another Tudor in the collection

[iclick]

Last year at this time I had one good watch, my longtime companion GMT. Today I have five, the last three being Tudors and the most recent coming in earlier this week. It's a nice Tudor Sub 79090 that I haven't even been able to wear yet. The bracelet is an original folded-link 9315 that has no screws to remove the links and it is a good 1" too large in its present state of adjustment. A quick Google search revealed that the links need to be pried off, so I thought my friendly local watchmaker might be a good person to tutor (pardon the pun) me though it the first time. My GMT originally had a folded-link bracelet but it was sized at the AD in Hong Kong (1971) and I have utterly no recollection of the process. The bracelet has only moderate stretch, much less than I would expect from a 20-YO folded-link, and cosmetically it and the clasp look their age having been worn daily by the original owner. I may send it to Michael Young for a facelift.

I had another reason to visit the watchmaker, and within an hour I was on my way to drop it off for a service, which I knew it needed before purchasing. It was running okay but had never been serviced in its 22-year life and amplitude was low. He's backlogged and the watch won't be ready until Jan. 21st, but it's not like I don't have enough choices of what to wear. He's an excellent watchmaker and although quite high on Rolex service, especially chronos, he gave me a very good quote on this Tudor. If it turns out to be as accurate and reliable as my other Tudors it will be a winner.

I must say that it is a handsome thing, very similar or perhaps identical externally to a Rolex 1680 Sub, except for the signage on the dial and case back. It has an Oyster case and a Rolex-signed crown, and the bezel insert looks identical to a 1680 to me.

[FTX I]

My favorite Tudor. Beautiful watch. Would love to own a Big Block too. You have a very nice collection. Cheers.

[Mr Daytona]

Congratulations. Tudor has become my favorite brand. I have 3 more I will be buying in the next few weeks. Just awesome, fun watches in my opinion.

[iclick]

I'm becoming a Tudor fan, too, which I guess is obvious considering recent acquisitions. I'm much more attracted to the vintage look of these watches over more modern Tudors, especially the chronos. As a side remark I must say that the Tudor Black Bays are stunning watches and it will be hard for me to resist getting one eventually.

What also attracts me is the ease of regulating Tudors with their ETA and Valjoux movements. Moving a lever or turning a small screw is much easier and less risky than futzing with two microscopic Microstella screws on the balance wheel, which is the case with most Rolexes. Most watch owners aren't concerned about regulation, but if you can get a Rolex or Tudor close with internal regulation you can keep it within a few seconds indefinitely by self-regulation (positioning at night). Some don't care about this at all, but to me it's a sporting endeavor making a mechanical watch keep better time in the long run than a quartz watch. It can be done by getting it close by internal regulation and making adjustments on a daily basis using self-regulation.

Another attraction for me is that most Tudor parts are cheaper than Rolex, which makes servicing more economical. From a practical standpoint the Tudors are very attractive to me, and the vintage models have the charisma of their Rolex cousins. What's not to like?

Here's a shot of the collection as it stands today.

[sea-dweller]

Congrats!

[Dalton]

Yup! That's a beauty!

[Dan Pierce]

Very nice collection!
dP

[Psmith]

Congrats!

[1William]

Very nice.

[lhanddds]

Nice assortment you have

[BlackBay1]

Great collection, congrats. It's nice to see some Tudor love, they're great watches.

[iclick]

Originally Posted by lhanddds

Nice assortment you have

Thanks for all the nice comments. You'd think I might veer from the sport watch genre but can't bring myself to do it.

[azguy]

The 79090 is a watch that will only become more loved and go up in value....Not that many around when compared to Rolex Subs..

[mike]

Killer addition to a great collection. Well done.

[blcblc]

Nice!

[Lgear080]

That watch really fits! Merry Christmas!

[tudorlex]

Lovely collection

[Nycturbovr6]

Very nice!

[thomaspp]

Love it! Great collection.

[malarky_hk]

Very nice collection!

[Racerdj]

Congratulations!