Tudor or Rolex: How Things Have Changed

so in a previous video there was a top comment in the comment section referencing a statement made by a guest on the channel that read the problem that i have with tutor is i'm always thinking why am i not getting a rolex now this comment received a ton of engagement and now this is an idea that i see popping up quite a bit with places online and i'd also see it on my instagram it's as you would expect it usually is never civil because watch enthusiasts are never civil can never be civil about anything with that said though i wanted to try to look further at this topic just a bit further because i think this idea of tutor just being the more attainable rolex was once an easier stance to take but in 2021 i don't know if that tells the full story so i wanted to kind of examine this a bit more so first how this video is going to kind of break down first a brief just origin story of both the brands not going to get crazy about it because i don't want to belabor that point then get into kind of the comparison of then versus now especially when it pertains to tutor and then just examining this claim a bit further and kind of giving some final stance now before we get into this video just some exciting new announcements when it comes to teddybaldestar.com three new brands added to the site first being zodiac we just went live with a new neon collection look absolutely fantastic in addition acutron and ball watches two other great brands so definitely go check those out at teddyballstar.com we are a full authorized dealer of all the brands that we carry quick and fast fulfillment dedicated customer support also come with a full factory warranty for all the products we carry and then nine out of every ten dollars that we generate goes right back in the content that we're creating so first let's establish a bit of history now it's interesting to note neither rolex or tutor count themselves among the elder brands in the industry with rolex having been famously founded by hans vilsdorf in london in 1905 before the brand eventually moved to switzerland in 1920 where they have become probably the most well-known watch brand actually that's pretty much without question in the world now tutor on the other hand was registered as a brand name in 1926 but didn't grow into a functional brand until 1946. at the brand's inception tutor was certainly created with a specific purpose which can be best summarized by looking at a statement by hans vilsdorf himself on that matter he stated for some years now i've been considering the idea of making a watch that our agents could sell at a more modest price than our rolex watches and yet one that would attain the dependability for which rolex is famous i decided to form a separate company with the object of making and marketing a new watch it is called the tudor watch company this statement was undoubtedly the leading inspiration for what tudor would output throughout most of the 20th century with early tutor models sharing rolex cases bracelets and even rolex sign crowns and really would just rely on third-party movements and a bit of just expression with their dials and adding a bit of flair like the snowflake hand for example models like their tudor oyster prince oyster date or most famously the tudor submariner had the rolex design dna all over them especially when comparing the designs side by side across both brands during the period the almost identical level of utility offered by less expensive tudor watches presented an interesting argument especially for penny-pinching government and military organizations at the time that saw the tudor submariner issued to the u.s navy as well as most famously to the french navy as well as many other world militaries with the rolex submariner being best known in a military context for its ties to the royal navy of great britain despite the value historically offered by tudor it would be fair to at least say for the first five six or even seven decades of the brand's existence to call tudor a more attainable rolex though many tudor models did have their own design individuality evidenced by watches like the snowflakes submariners and the so-called monte carlo chronographs of the 1970s that said tudor was in many ways playing the same game that rolex was playing when it came to design even packaging models under similar brand names submariner submariner that's going to be confusing and definitely is going to be hard to cast outside that shadow now the narrative arc with rolex is well known with the creation of iconic models such as the datejust explorer submariner gmt master just to name a few becoming a fixture in pop culture while tudor continued to release great watches but the casting shadow of rolex was hard to move out from as an indication of this tudor in the late 1990s throughout the 2000s removed itself from the american market altogether and i know the american market is not the end-all be-all when it comes to watch markets but still a huge market and for one of the bigger brands or affiliated brands to rolex pulling out does say something about where the brand currently was sitting but now this brings us to examining tutor from a more modern context of the last 10 years in this timeline this is where the idea of tutor as say a cheaper rolex begins to be a little less straightforward in my eyes especially but let's look at some reasons why around 2010 there was clearly strategic internal conversation around tudor that would come to be exemplified with a new market approach returning to abandoned regions as well as thinking about what is the next stage of product development and just what did that look like in 2012 tudor announced plans for re-entering both the us market but more importantly unveiled the upcoming release of two original model lines the tudor pelagos and the black bay both models became successes but the black bay was more than a new release it was in many ways a sign of the next chapter for tudor and attempting to redefine what they were to the market following the momentum tutor unveiled the funky north flag that outside of being a stand-alone design featured an open case back and view of their first in-house caliber from the brand from there the adoption of in-house calibers made its way into nearly all other lines while also taking a page out of rolex's former playing book by working with another prominent brand in breitling to equip one of their watches with the black bay chrono with a leaning chronograph movement in the b01 these new designs as well as adaption of in-house calibers is a stark contrast to what tudor was even doing two decades ago so that brings us back to the quote at the beginning the problem that i have with tutor is i'm always thinking why am i not getting a rolex in order to address this idea it's important to acknowledge that both tudor and rolex have evolved to something different compared to when hans wilsdorf was at the helm rolex has undergone a rise that is seldom seen in the world of product branding at all as if you ask anyone on the street to name a watch brand rolex is going to most likely be the one or maybe the first brand mentioned or only brand mention with vertical integrated production and unwavering design formula and consumer demand that extends to even the most mainstream sections of popular culture they have simply become the anomaly not the norm in watches on the contrary tudor has a less direct path in its trajectory but the last 10 years for both brands have completely changed the game for comparison as modern-day tutor and what it's resembling compared to vintage tutor and its design approach is very different and quite frankly the person that goes for tudor or rolex they're making more than a decision based on price tag of the pieces as despite some overlap in corporate structure the brand ethos has just diverged in a way where both are more independent than they ever were most of this is going to be a byproduct of what tudor has changed offering things that they would have never done in the past like a collection of competitive in-house calibers and a redevelopment of their design dna with their own standalone models while still embedding elements of their design within like the snowflake hand as an example and yes there is some indication that these brands are certainly connected with some aspects of their design however the reason to buy either of these two brands are really so different now but just to prove the point here that tudor versus rolex i don't think is a very much an apples-to-apples comparison just look at some of these tudor models and would rolex think to yourself would they ever make this tudor north flag would they make it tudor heritage chrono would they make it black bay ceramic would they make something of that sort tudor pelogos using titanium as a material having open case backs on sports watches or divers or using sterling silver as a case material and on the flip side i don't see tutor ever making models like a tudor submariner ever again or an oyster prince i think they've now just diverged from the pathway of rolex so much that they're just going in their own lane and deservably so because they've actually created models that i think do stand on their own and don't need to stay in the shadow rolex when it comes to rolex they are the mass market luxury brand that have just proven to transcend a product category and i think they lead the way in many aspects and hans vilsdorf when he was creating the brand really wanted them to be a leader and they are a leader maybe not in the way that he originally intended but they have adapted and continued to evolve in other ways and how their position in the market and i think every single brand in the industry looks at rolex in a way that i think is just all that we can do is really admire what they've been able to just kind of ascend to become on the flip side though and when kind of getting this idea tutor or rolex or tutor versus rolex i think it is not really much that it more is tutor and rolex i would i don't think it's a crazy thing to say that many people that love rolex also love tudor and how you look at both of these brands now especially compared to how you did in the past i'm the owner of a tudor submariner black bay as well as some rolex models as well and when looking at both of the brands you can definitely tell there's been a separation of what both directions of the brands are going for better or for worse i think we can have an additional discussion on top of that i don't want to get into that in this video but in regards to how i think they're both seen there's elements of what tudor does that is so different than what they were even doing decades ago and what that preconceived idea that i think hans villesdorf had in his mind about what tudor would be i would imagine if he was alive today he would probably be impressed and happy with seeing what tudor has become just given that they have lines like the black bay they're taking some daring risks or i wouldn't say daring risk but they're doing different things taking a sterling silver case and kind of working around that that is of course a little bit out there and i don't think rolex would ever go near anything of that sort open case backs on sports watches you're getting use of titanium in addition to that also i think a true kind of embodiment of heritage and also kind of vintage style designs if you look at a black bay and you also look at rolex submariner yes of course they're both dive watches there is some overlap and i think you could probably make the claim that there's submariner dna in almost every modern dive watch and you can go ahead and try to make that claim but if you look at them actually from a design perspective there is clearly a different contemporary approach compared to a rolex submariner compared to that of a black bay just using one example and then when you factor in all of the other just more i would say fun pieces that tudor's doing in rolex of course have their own pieces as well and then you factor in price i just think there's more to the conversation than just price and i think people get kind of caught up in this idea this corporate structure of oh yeah rolex tutor the same you know maybe they're the same and the only reason why you get a tutor is because it's cheaper i believe and just as someone in my own perspective something that goes for tutor also probably would like to go for rolex and vice versa that's pretty much my stance when it comes to this and just to kind of close this out here is tutor a more attainable watch than a rolex absolutely but are they playing the same game that they once were in the past and is that kind of casting over just blanket statement of saying that tudor is like a cheaper rolex probably a fair statement in 2021 i personally don't think so and if you do look at the last 10 years as an example for tutor and you have a real affinity for say mid 20th century rolex and their ascension and what they were doing i think a lot of the practices that were happening in that era are happening in a lot of ways with tutor but they're doing it their own flair their own design and i think now the divergence of both of them is getting farther and farther apart as time goes on but guys this is definitely one of those videos where it's going to require i think a good amount of discussion in the comments i'd love to see comments down below i'll probably poke down there a bit more than normal but i don't know when the storm is coming and i know there's going to be some opinions just flaring around doing videos like this always kind of managed to create this type of conversation which is good but also watch enthusiasts tend to be pretty opinionated ones but love to see your take down below also if you did enjoy this video thumbs up subscribe and hit the bell icon as well it's a great way to help out the channel and just helping us grow so really do appreciate that also if you want to stay up to date with the content definitely do follow on instagram as well posting some great photos of watches over there at least i think so and also teddyballstar.com full authorized deal of over 25 brands definitely check out those new models that just hit the shop for brands like accutron ball watches as well as zodiac with that new neon collection all those looking very sharp but guys thank you guys so much for watching be well and i will see you all very soon

Channel: Teddy Baldassarre

Views: 47,443

Rating: 4.9437184 out of 5

Keywords: teddy baldassarre, teddy watch, teddy watch reviews, teddys watch collection, tudor watch, rolex, tudor black bay, rolex submariner, rolex daytona, rolex milgauss, tudor black bay chrono, tudor vs rolex, best luxury watches, best luxury watch brands, best watch under 3000, best watch under 5000, best watch under 10000, watch industry analysis, watch brand spotlight, watch education, watch terminology, bark and jack, hodinkee, talking watches

Id: supZu7PVwZk

Length: 13min 2sec (782 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 18 2021