Tudor Submariner Gilt 'Red Depth Rating' Manual-Wind

In 1954, Tudor released the Oyster Prince Submariner Ref. 7922, its own version of sister brand Rolex's Submariner Ref. 6204. Equipped with an automatic movement and 100m of water resistance, it set the standard for all Tudor Subs that would follow it throughout the decades. Just a year later, however, Tudor took a serious left turn and released the Ref. 7923. What was so strange about this watch, you might ask? It remains the only Submariner — from either Tudor or Rolex — to have been equipped with a manually-wound movement. While this made for an extremely thin case, it didn't necessarily lend itself well to the requirements of the budding SCUBA diver, and was quickly retired in favor of the automatic Ref. 7924 "Big. Crown" in 1958. The Ref. 7923 appeared in two primary dial variations during its production timeline: While both features "gilt" galvanic printing, one has no depth rating, and the other boasts the depth rating in red printing. This latter version — with its red typography echoing that seen on other famous Rolex-family watches — is the catnip of the collector community. In fact, back in 2017, a red-depth rating Ref. 7923 sold for $99,999 on eBay — the most expensive Tudor to ever sell publicly at the time. (This same watch was later listed for sale by noted dealer HQ Milton for $350,000.) This particular 7923 is in handsome condition considering its age of roughly 70 years: Housed in a 37mm stainless steel case with an acrylic crystal; a small signed 'Brevet' crown with the Rolex coronet; and a bidirectional bezel with an intact black aluminum insert with 10-minute 'Arabic' and five-minute 'dash' markings, it features a black 'gilt' dial with an outer open minute track; luminous triangular, rectangular, and circular indices; the Tudor 'Rose' logo with "Tudor Oyster" written beneath 12 o'clock; "100/330" depth rating text in red; "Submariner" and "Shock-Resisting" in gilt printing; and a luminous 'pencil' handset with small 'lollipop' seconds hand. Though there is some degradation to the radium throughout the dial, the luminous material remains largely intact — a testament, to be sure, to the watch's design and to Tudor's quality control in the mid-1950s. Housed within the watch is the manually-wound ETA Calibre 1182, which beats at 18,000 vibrations per hour. This hand-wound movement keeps the case comparatively thin and turns the Ref. 7923 into an excellent daily driver. Equipped with heavy-duty spring bars, we've paired it to a thick leather strap with tone-on-tone stitching and a stainless steel pin buckle for a more formal look. While any mode of 1950s-era Tudor Submariner is a rare bird, indeed, this Ref. 7923 is something different entirely: Manually-wound, svelte, and exceedingly scarce with its red depth rating, it's a museum-quality watch the likes of which the collector community only sees a few times in — well — a lifetime. Call or make an appointment with us to come check out this stupendously cool Tudor Submariner at our NYC HQ!