Since the Black Bay’s release, certain vintage Tudor Submariners have fetched over $100,000, which has also elevated the brand. The Black Bay was an instant hit, and it allowed Tudor to step out from under Rolex’s shadow and beam its own identity more boldly.

However, beginning in 2012, Tudor thrilled fans of tool watches with the release of the Black Bay, a modern iteration of the now highly collectible Tudor Submariner, produced from 1954 until the 1990s. It didn’t help that the brand also completely disappeared from the U.S. Tudor’s relationship to Rolex has always lent the sub-brand serious credibility, but that relationship had also trapped Tudor under Rolex’s shadow. Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf created Tudor as a more affordable brand, one which initially housed third-party movements inside Rolex cases. Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Republic of, Czech Republic, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Georgia, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guernsey, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Jamaica, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, South, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Maldives, Malta, Martinique, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, North America, Oceania, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Portugal, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South America, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (U.S.Welcome to Brand Breakdown, a series of comprehensive yet easy-to-digest guides to your favorite companies, with insights and information you won’t find on the average About page.

Rolex 1160 movement