The spirit ofWomen’s watches
Since the brand’s creation, TUDOR has offered women’s watch with refined aesthetics and high technical qualities. The current collection reflects the original vision of the brand’s founder, Hans Wilsdorf, offering an extensive choice of mechanical models for every occasion. These included unique luxury watches for women, that were elegant and functional, with metal bracelets or fabric straps in a variety of sizes and styles, sometimes even adorned with diamonds.
The first TUDOR women’s watches were released in the early 1930s. The aesthetics of the TUDOR ladies watches of the time were in line with the fashions of the period: Art Deco in style, with cases that were rectangular, barrel-shaped or with bevelled sides. There was a vast amount of choice.
At the crossroads between jewellery and timepieces, the brand’s feminine watches were notable for their delicacy and for their reliability. The vision of TUDOR’s founder Hans Wilsdorf was to offer a dress watch for women “with the same standards of dependability” as those of his first brand, Rolex, but “at a more modest price”. His aim to create lasting timepieces was also destined towards Swiss watches for women as much as for men.
The Tudor women's watch today
The current collection of TUDOR ladies watches has grown and developed to include a variety of styles, functions and sizes. The Clair de Rose is a line available in three sizes, 26, 30 and 34 millimetres in diameter, it presents opaline dials with delicate decorations in relief, punctuated with blue lacquered Roman numerals or diamonds. Models in the 1926, Style and Glamour Date lines are available in a multitude of configurations and sizes, including Glamour Date models in 26 mm while the 1926 and Style watches offer a standard women’s size of 28 mm.
Finally, in the spirit of its very first women’s divers’ watch launched in 1976, TUDOR introduced a Black Bay 32 model specifically for women. The Black Bay line also includes a silver Black Bay 58 925.
In 2022, TUDOR launched a new version of its Black Bay line in two-tone steel and yellow gold with a fixed bezel. The Black Bay 31, 36, 39 and 41 S&G models bring a unique aesthetic to the Black Bay line. Their curved cases, highlighted with polished yellow gold sections, offer a language that departs slightly from the brand’s iconic tool watch spirit to embrace a sophisticated, versatile, unisex chic. Also released in 2022 are new versions of the TUDOR Royal, such as a steel women’s watch, also available in steel and gold. This line of watches is at the crossroads between classic and sports watches.
These watches perpetuated a history of both diving timepieces and watches for women, which are integral parts of the brand’s identify and heritage. These models are at the cutting edge of technical watchmaking refinement.
TIMEPIECES FOR WOMEN
In the beginning of the 19th century, the use of timepieces, first the pocket watch then the wristwatch, were almost exclusively reserved for men. In 1810, the first wristwatch in history precisely for a woman was created, pocket watch attached to a bracelet customised for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples. From there, women’s wristwatches evolved but were originally considered more of a fashion accessory, fragile pieces, adorned with gems and diamonds and considered closer to jewellery instead of reliable and robust wristwatches.
Over the 20th century the lives of women evolved, as they started taking on a multiplicity of roles in the workplace and at leisure.
TUDOR recognized and promoted this new status for women and they created timepieces that catered to an ever-growing clientele by creating watches specifically designed for them; Women who excelled as pioneers in sports and other sectors more than ever before.
TECHNOLOGY AND REFINEMENT
In the second half of the 1940s, TUDOR, whose logo at that time was the rose of the royal dynasty of the same name, began to offer waterproof cases, a feature that was very rare at that time. It was at this point that the first TUDOR advertising campaigns were launched. Those aimed at women promoted robust watches at the cutting edge of technology, designed for an active and “vigorous” lifestyle, as well as more traditional products, true masterpieces of beautiful watchmaking.
THE SPORT WATCH
In the 1970s even greater emphasis was placed on sporting activities. This led to the creation of two TUDOR sports watches for ladies. The first was the Princess Oysterdate, a waterproof, self-winding model with a calendar, that combined robustness, performance and elegance.
In 1976, TUDOR presented the Princess Date Submariner, the brand’s first divers’ watch dedicated to women. With a compact diameter and a dial inspired by the famous “Snowflake” design, the aesthetic signature of TUDOR divers’ watches, this original TUDOR tool-watch for women was the first of numerous variations to be produced over the next 40 years.
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