Description

A Tudor Prince Oysterdate Submariner reference 94110 in stainless steel, dating from 1979 and presented with its original folded-link Oyster bracelet. The watch carries the iconic Snowflake configuration: square luminous hour markers, the distinctive snowflake-shaped hands, and the matte black dial with “200m/660ft” depth rating that made this generation of Tudor Submariner the definitive tool watch of its era. The ETA-based Calibre 2784 with hacking seconds has been serviced and runs reliably. A correct, honest and thoroughly original example of one of the most collectible vintage dive watches produced, and the one with the most compelling story behind it.

The Tudor Snowflake – A Tool Watch With Military Credentials

The Tudor Submariner Snowflake is not simply a dive watch. It is a military instrument. Tudor Snowflake Submariners were supplied to military forces, including the U.S. Navy and the Marine Nationale, the French Navy, whose divers wore them on active service throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. The square hour markers and the distinctive snowflake hands, instantly recognisable and quite unlike any other Submariner configuration, were not designed for aesthetic distinction. They were designed for maximum legibility in low ambient light and underwater conditions, where the larger lume surface area of the square indices and broad snowflake hands would be visible at depths and in conditions where conventional round or baton markers would be hard to read.

The ref. 9411/0 series, of which the 94110 is a variant designation, was introduced in approximately 1976 as the date-equipped version of the non-date 9401. The 94110 was equipped with the hacking-second ETA-based Calibre 2784 and was produced until around 1983, with blue and black dial and bezel combinations. In this configuration, black dial and bezel, it is the more overtly tool-watch-like of the two colour options: no blue to soften the palette, no warmth to invite the eye. Just matte black, squared lume plots and snowflake hands built to be read at thirty metres underwater in the dark. That is the watch this example is, and it wears exactly that way on the wrist.

The Snowflake Hands and Dial – Legibility as Design

The snowflake hands take their nickname from the broad, flattened tips of the hour hand in particular, a shape that dramatically increases the lume surface area relative to a conventional baton or sword hand, and that gives the watch its most immediately distinctive visual feature. The lume on this example has aged to a warm, even cream, the characteristic tritium patina that a 1979 dial acquires over four-plus decades, consistent across all plots and the hands. This even ageing is the mark of an untouched, original dial: the lume has not been replaced or restored, and the consistency of the cream tone across dial and hands confirms their shared age.

The matte black dial retains its original texture, the slight graininess characteristic of Tudor’s matte finish of this era, which reads differently from modern lacquered or sunburst dials. The “Tudor / Prince Oysterdate / 200m-660ft / Submariner” text hierarchy is crisp and legible. The seconds scale around the outer track is printed in white, as is the depth rating. This is a dial in honest, unrestored vintage condition, worn and genuine.

Calibre 2784 – The ETA Generation

The second-generation Tudor Submariners marked Tudor’s transition from Calibre 390 movements produced by Parmigiani Fleurier to movements produced by ETA, making the Snowflake Submariners the first Tudor watches to use these modified ETA movements. The Calibre 2784 fitted to this example is the date-equipped variant of the ETA 2824 family, a movement that Rolex/Tudor specified with a hacking seconds feature enabling precise time-setting, a requirement that reflected the watch’s military supply context. The movement has been serviced and runs well.

The caseback of this example is stamped “Montres Tudor S.A. / Geneva Switzerland / Patented / Stainless Steel” in the clean, unfussy manner of the era — no serial engraving visible from the exterior, the inner caseback carrying the production markings.

Specifications

Brand: Tudor

Model: Prince Oysterdate Submariner – Snowflake

Reference: 94110 (ref. 9411/0)

Year: 1979

Case material: Stainless steel

Case diameter: 39 mm

Bezel: Matte black insert, knurled steel bezel

Dial: Matte black dial with square luminous hour markers (Snowflake configuration), “200m/660ft” depth rating

Hands: Snowflake hour and minute hands with tritium lume; sweep seconds

Bracelet: Original folded-link stainless steel Oyster bracelet

Movement: Automatic – ETA-based Calibre 2784, hacking seconds, serviced

Condition: Good vintage condition with some prior polishing; honest wear consistent with age; original dial and hands

Accessories: Watch and original Oyster bracelet only (no box or papers)

Warranty: 1 year warranty

Availability

This vintage day-date automatic watch is available through Vintage Times Amsterdam.

For further information or high-resolution images, please feel free to contact:

Vintage Times

Vintage Times Amsterdam is a small watch boutique who mainly deals online and with a select group of private collectors. We are constantly looking for rare vintage timepieces and try to present the best condition available. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact for more information about this watch or other timepieces from our collection. We ship worldwide and also welcome you for a visit at our office in Amsterdam.

Vintage Times

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