Tudor

The Tudor Submariner, nicknamed “Snowflake” by collectors, referring to the special square hour markers and matching hands, was Tudor’s second generation of Submariner models. It was introduced in 1969 as the ref. 7016 with no date.

In the mid 1970’s the reference 9401/0, such as the present lot, was introduced without a date and the reference 9411/0 with a date. Both references were fitted with either blue or black dials, matching inserts and with ‘Snowflake’ hands and numerals.

The Snowflake Submariner is the most popular configuration when it comes to vintage Tudor. Its historical importance was demonstrated when the brand introduced new watches inspired by the past and for which the Snowflake was the inspiration.

For a long time in the shadow of its Rolex counterpart, vintage Tudor Submariners appear in much lower numbers at auction and have become highly collectible.

Two references were used by Tudor to equip the Marine Nationale. In 1974, they used the Reference 7016, followed by the 9401 in the blue dial and bezel livery such as the present example. The 9401 was used under the Snowflake configuration and later with triangular indexes, the first generation being the most coveted by collectors. Both the 7016 and the 9401 had their back engraved with the MN, standing for Marine Nationale, and the year of issue, 1975 in the case of this lot.