Found As Is - An Original Owner Tudor Submariner

Every watch collector and dealer dreams of finding original-owner pieces. In a collecting world where well known watches can be tracked changing hands over the years, there is an mistakable thrill in discovering a fresh-to-market watch, especially when it’s a Rolex or Tudor sports watch! Here’s the story of a recent find an Original Owner Tudor Submariner…

Wales Calling

A few weeks ago Bernhard was contacted by a gentleman in Wales, who had an old Tudor watch that he was interested in selling. What followed were a set of pictures that were good enough to demonstrate that the watch was correct and an authentic Sub. The crystal, however, was quite badly scuffed, which was obscuring certain parts of the dial and distorting other parts of the dial text. A deal was struck and Fed-Ex were booked to collect but there was still some uncertainty about what would ultimately arrive in the package.

Sometimes you have to judge based on your hope and experience

A life of grime

The Hands of Time

There is no mistaking genuine age when handling a watch. The way the case has been worn by decades of use (or not in some instances!) cannot be recreated. The aging of the luminous material in the hands and hour plots on the dial. The knurling on the bezel edge and patina of the insert. All these elements combine to make vintage watches what they are…and what we love!

Each bump and scratch telling its own story

Plastic Problems

One of the most difficult aspects of buying a watch over distance is authenticating the harder to reach parts of the watch. This is especially true when you are buying from an original owner, who is very unlikely to have the tools or the knowledge to remove the caseback and/or crystal. Many watch dealers will travel to inspect the watch in person but with lower end watches this isn’t a financial viability. What is one of the biggest issues? The plastic crystal that adorn the most sought after vintage watches. Unlike modern sapphire crystals, the acrylic plexi-glasses scratch very easily. If this is combined with less-than-excellent photographs it can make buying a watch something of a lottery…

As the watch arrived – plenty of DNA and scratches

But the movement is really clean

A Happy Ending

On this occasion the gamble paid off and a beautiful watch arrived. This watch is in amazing condition; the original case profile is still intact and the lug holes are as sharp as you could hope see! The original twin-lock crown was still on the watch with plenty of life still in the threaded case tube. The insert was lovely and the watch even had its original T19 crystal. The profile of these old super dome crystals is almost impossible to replicate and so the crystal was polished and the rest of the watch stripped down and the years of dirt and grime were cleaned away. A simple movement service and the watch was good to go for another 30 years!