Looking Back at Tudor’s Relationship With the Marine Nationale

Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner ref. 7922 / Credit: Romain Rea

While Tudor may not be as well-known as its cousin Rolex when it comes to dive watches, it does have a pretty illustrious history, including for its military dive watches. Just last year, Tudor signed a new partnership deal with the Marine Nationale (the French navy), which resulted in the release of the Tudor x Marine Nationale Pelagos FXD ref. M25707B/22-0001 – a new Tudor Pelagos developed to meet the specifications of a specialist unit of the French navy. In light of this revived partnership between the two icons, we wanted to look back at the vintage Tudor dive watches that were originally made for the Marine Nationale.

Tudor Dive Watch History

Tudor’s first dive watch was released only a year after the Rolex Submariner, in 1954 – it was the Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner. Since then, the Tudor dive watches have not played second fiddle to the Rolex Submariners, instead becoming icons in their own right. While the Tudor has been used by the French navy, it has also been issued to the American navy and others, and Tudor dive watches have become highly collectible in the decades since they were first created.

The Vintage Tudor Dive Watch References Made for the Marine Nationale

Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner ref. 7923 / Credit: Phillips

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There are 6 vintage Tudor dive watch references that were used by the French navy between the 1950s and 1970s. These are dive watches that often went beyond the specifications of the regular Tudor dive watches at the time and were adjusted to meet the requirements of the navy, just like the new Tudor Pelagos FXD.

Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner ref. 7922 and 7923

Only two years after the release of the first Tudor dive watch, the company was approached by the French navy to supply their Groupement d’Étude et de Recherches Sous-Marines in Toulon with timepieces to use in their studies. Tudor gave the group two references to their Oyster Prince Submariner: the ref. 7922, that is automatic, and the ref. 7923, that was manual winding - both with 100 meters of water resistance. This was a research group set up by a team of divers, among them Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

Tudor ‘Big Crown’ Submariner ref. 7924

With the success of the watches first given to the Groupement d’Étude et de Recherches Sous-Marines, the commander of the group ordered more timepieces from Tudor in 1958. This was the Tudor ‘Big Crown’ Submariner ref. 7924, that had just been released by Tudor and is remembered for its iconic ‘big crown’ and 200 meters of water resistance, more than the 100 meters of its predecessors.

Tudor Submariner ref. 7928

Tudor Submariner MK4 ref. 7928 / Credit: Bulang & Sons

The following year, the Marine Nationale equipped all of its divers with the self-winding Tudor Submariner ref. 7928. Today, the reference 7928 is one of the most collectible vintage Tudor dive watches, with several dial variations made over the years – the military models being among the most coveted, of course.

Tudor ‘Snowflake’ Submariner ref. 7016

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In the late 1960s, the Tudor ‘Snowflake’ Submariner ref. 7016 introduced a couple updates to their dive watch line. Along with a new design for the Tudor dive watches, there were also new movements. The modified FEF movement in the Tudor Submariner ref. 7928 became a 25-jewel automatic ETA-based Tudor 2483 movement. These were still given to the Marine Nationale’s divers, and now, as of 1974, the military-issued ref. 7016s were engraved “TUDOR M.N.” on the caseback.

Tudor Submariner ref. 9401

Finally, there was the Tudor Submariner ref. 9401, released in 1975. This watch was also marked “TUDOR M.N.'' on the caseback and came with two different dial configurations. The vintage Tudor Submariner ref. 9401 was produced until the 1980s and used by the French navy until the early 2000s. The Tudor ref. 9401 came with black or blue dial and bezels, and the two aforementioned dial configurations were either the classic ‘snowflake’ design or a new design with square indices and a wider triangular indicator at 12 o’clock.

Ultimately, the relationship between Tudor and the Marine Nationale is one of the most significant in the history of dive watches, spanning decades and, of course, being revived in 2021. While the future of their collaboration may be uncertain, the new Tudor Pelagos is definitely a stunner. Looking back at the array of vintage Tudor dive watches that were issued to the French navy, certainly gives hope for what’s to come.

By: Andres Ibarguen

Read more:

“Inside Tudor.” Tudor, https://www.tudorwatch.com/en/inside-tudor/history/tudor-and-marine-nationale.
“7924 ‘Big Crown’ Submariner.” Tudor Collector, https://tudorcollector.com/collection/example-watch/.

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