Sunday, October 28, 2018

1958 Tudor Submariner Sets Auction Record Sells for $162,500



1958 Tudor Submariner

Sets Auction Record

Sells for $162,500


Heritage Auction House set a world record for vintage Tudor when they successfully auctioned a 1958 Tudor Submariner earlier this week for $162,500. The Tudor brand was founded by Hans Wilsdorf, who also founded Rolex, and Tudor is still owned by Rolex.


The 37MM Tudor Submariner seen above and below appears courtesey of Heritage Auction house and shows the historic Tudor Submariner Oyster Prince Submariner [Reference 7924] which was manufactured in 1958. It features a luminous radium matte gilt dial, and the watch appears to be 100% original all the way down to possesing the original red-triangle bezel insert. When this watch was originally sold back in the late 1950s it probably sold for around $60!!!



The Tudor Submariner that was aucitoned is know as a Big Crown Submariner. What exactly is a "Big Crown" Submariner? Early Submariner models featured an unusually large 8MM BREVET Crown as seen above, and many famous Rolex historical figures wore this model including Chuck Yeager who is pictured below. Chuck Yeager is wearing a Rolex Submariner "Big Crown" Reference 6538, which also features the red upside down triangle on the bezel.


Elvis Presley also wore a "Big Crown" Rolex Submariner Reference 6538 as seen in the photo below which was taken in 1962.




The most famous person who ever wore a Big Crown Submariner, Reference 6538 was Sean Connery when he played James Bond back in the early 1960s.