Tudor watches – Fusion of luxury and style
Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, established another watch brand dubbed Tudor in 1926. While the brand was established in 1926, Wilsdorf took 20 years before he presented the first Tudor watch in front of the public. In 1946, after the end of World War II, he showcased the first Tudor watch models to the world. With the aim of offering high-grade watches at moderate prices, Wilsdorf launched a series of men’s and women’s watches under the new brand.
As for the brand name itself, Wilsdorf used the name Tudor as he wanted to pay homage to the Tudor dynasty. The first logo of Tudor also featured a rose, which was a very popular symbol for the Tudor dynasty. For those who are unfamiliar with it, the dynasty ruled the kingdom of England from 1485 to 1603.
The main idea behind introducing a whole other brand was that Hans Wilsdorf wanted to offer high-end watches at affordable prices without affecting damaging the Rolex branding. For a long time, Tudor watches shared certain parts with Rolex, including cases, bracelets, and crowns as well as the Rolex design. They combined it with off-the-shelves ETA movements instead of using in-house movements. This helped them keep the prices down for these watches.
Durable Tudor watches
In order to advertise the durability of Tudor watches, the company even ran an advertising campaign in 1940s. They had put some of the Tudor watches on the wrists of coal miners to showcase that the watches are fit for rough and tough scenarios.
In the 1960s, the brand switched its logo to the shield, which is now seen on modern Tudor watches. This helped the company to move out from just attracting the British to bringing it to the wrists of people around the globe.
Over the years, the brand has had a few speed bumps but it is now back on track. Tudor is considered one of the luxury brands that watch aficionados want to have in their collection.