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Genuine Tudor 79090 restoration.

tripdog

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A little bit of history first, for those who don't know:

The first Tudor Submariner was developed at the same time as the first Rolex Submariner, but for marketing reasons the Rolex Submariner was the first to be launched - because Rolex were the 'first' brand and Tudor was the newcomer within Wilsdorf’s businesses. The first Rolex Submariners were introduced in 1953 and a few months later in 1954, the Tudor Submariner followed. This model was given the reference number 7922 and it was almost identical to the Rolex Submariner.


iKmBg.jpg



The Tudor Submariner 79000 series of reference (79090, 79190) was the 3rd and last generation of Tudor’s classic Submariner collection. They were introduced in the 1980’s and ran until 1999. The movement was ETA’s 2824-2.

iKA8a.jpg



This is more of a re-restoration, as somebody had already done some work on the watch. It was probably initially purchased as an incomplete watch in bad shape. When I received it the case had been polished, but not very well - the lugs were rounded, the chamfers were inexistant and there were grooves running down the sides of the case from using the wrong techniques.

iWVyy.jpg


The hands had been relumed white, which didn't match the dial. As you can see there is a champagne date wheel, when it would have been white from the factory - it's a genuine Tudor date wheel so maybe this was the only one available at the time - vintage parts can be very hard to find.

The crystal was badly scratched, the crown was aftermarket, the bezel ring didn't turn (Phong insert) and both the dial and hands were dirty.



iWuHG.jpg



It's now all genuine Tudor with the exception of the bezel insert and the end links, which are there as a stop gap until the owner can source gen parts in good condition.


iWKeq.jpg



I refinished the case, only removing what was necessary to flatten the lugs and restore the chamfers.

The crystal was polished, I stripped and cleaned the bezel assembly and used a new tension ring.

The hands were stripped of the white lume, cleaned and relumed to match the dial which was also cleaned up, retaining the original tritium lume.



iWzD6.jpg



An Athaya pearl, lumed to match the dial and hands replaces the awful Phong pearl. A Rolex 703 crown and tube were fitted, as well as a restored 93250 bracelet


iWvN0.jpg



This really is a stunning watch and I think the champagne date wheel helps to bring out the blue of the dial, even if it's not entirely original.


iWIyF.jpg



Here, next to it's black dial version, which is all rep except for the dial and the movement, which are both genuine.


iWQHr.jpg



Thanks for looking !
 

Perpetual

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Wow awesome restore!! Looks great I always liked the top hat look like the 1680 awesome great job
 
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Stuessi

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nice but scary that the rep case of the black model almost looks the same if not better than the genuine one :)

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Nur-Uhr

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Wow, nice job. Nice result.
The blue dial and insert looks incredible on the Tudor Sub.

Also thank you about the short history overview of the the Tudor Submariner.

By the way...
I had never considered such Tudor Sub, but with that beauty, I think I should. ;)
 
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tripdog

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nice but scary that the rep case of the black model almost looks the same if not better than the genuine one :)

Sent from my STF-L09 using Tapatalk

The rep case didn't look like that when I got it - it looked pretty ugly in fact.
 

Mika00

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Big fan of your work, attention to details is second to none
 

capice

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Nice work m8....I wonder why on a gen, somebody would use a rep insert, pearl and crown?
 

dannybb

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Hi,

Just to follow up, any success in your project?

Im about to embark on the same project. I have a 79090 case.

Just wondering, if the what movement spacer do you use for the case?

So u need it? Or can u just mount the clamps without it?

If so, where can i source this spacer?




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tripdog

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Hi,

Just to follow up, any success in your project?

Im about to embark on the same project. I have a 79090 case.

Just wondering, if the what movement spacer do you use for the case?

So u need it? Or can u just mount the clamps without it?

If so, where can i source this spacer?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I see you spent some time thoroughly reading through the entire thread, studying the pics posted in the OP, before asking your question - good job.
 

dannybb

You're Saying I Can Sell?
27/11/16
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I see you spent some time thoroughly reading through the entire thread, studying the pics posted in the OP, before asking your question - good job.

Sorry, i commented the exact same thing on another thread! Silly me.





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dannybb

You're Saying I Can Sell?
27/11/16
63
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I have a 2824-2 another watch takes in a 28mm dial,

The 79090 takes in a 26mm dial..



What I meant is >>> "GREAT JOB! Looking forward to doing this myself,i have a concern with the spacer.

Can this take a generic 2824 spacer or does it need it's own specific spacer for the size?

Pretty much trying my luck to find more literature to now avail"

Thanks for the heads up Tripdog.



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adj

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12/4/19
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What beautiful watch and job! Congratulations.


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando RWI
 
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Auts

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25/4/19
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Amazing piece. I’ve been researching a 9401 build for almost a month. Still seems so far away.


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