To Celebrate its 100-Year History, Tudor Has Opted for Accessibility

Celebrating a centenary? While the privilege is rare—fewer than sixty Swiss watch brands have reached this milestone—the ways in which this milestone can be marked are many. A major retrospective? A roadshow through the world’s most beautiful capitals? An exclusive ceremony unveiling a limited-edition collection?
All these options have proven effective, depending on the scale of the ambitions. At Tudor, the choice was different. No rare, limited-edition collection, nor an exhibition in major museums, but a clear vision: to view the brand’s first hundred years as a rich watchmaking heritage from which to look toward the coming century. A respect for the past that must not shy away from the challenges of the future: remaining high-quality and accessible to as many people as possible.

It was, however, through a rare opportunity granted by the brand that Luxury Tribune was able to grasp this challenge: a deep dive into Tudor’s archives to trace the thread of its century-long history, all the way to the new Monarch watch, and understand what underpins its strengths and what sets it apart. Guiding us were Christophe Chevalier, the brand’s spokesperson, and Ludovic Bazzan, watch designer. “Evolution at Tudor is consistent, without impulsive choices. However, while the aesthetics of Rolex and our brand were similar for a long time, today our brand image is more distinctive. We also demonstrate this through the vertical integration of our own manufacturing operations,” explains Christophe Chevalier.

Founded in 1926 out of Hans Wilsdorf’s desire to offer a solid and affordable alternative to Rolex, the Tudor brand has always been an integral part of the Rolex ecosystem, right from the start. From the very beginning, it has shared the Geneva workshops and manufacturing standards of the brand with the crown logo to ensure exceptional reliability. Hans Wilsdorf explained this vision in these terms: “For several years, I have been exploring the possibility of manufacturing a watch that our dealers could sell at a lower price than our Rolex watches, yet one that would be worthy of the same traditional trust. I therefore decided to found a separate company to manufacture and sell this new watch. This company is called Montres TUDOR S.A.”