Spot on - TUDOR 7169 MONTE CARLO
Tudor chronographs have always been of great interest to collectors, due to the wide range and variations available. We have written before about the Big Block watches (read the piece here) and this time we are focusing on the second series of watches, the Monte Carlos.
The beginning of a legend…
Tudor’s first chronograph, the Oysterdate chrono, was launched in 1970 in two references, the 7031 and 7032. The watches were essentially the same, the only difference being the bezel – the 7031 featured a black plastic ‘bakelite’ tachymeter bezel and the 7032 featured an all stainless steel tachymeter. The dials had a very strong and distinctive design, largely due to the use of striking colour and the shape of the hour markers, which were shaped like the home plate on a baseball field. This led to collectors giving the watch the Homeplate nickname.
Let’s go to Monte Carlo…
The second series of chronographs was launched in 1971 and continued the use of striking colour that was becoming their chronograph trademark. As well as a grey/orange colourway, the second series also included a blue/orange colourway. The watches were also given the improved calibre 234 movement. The second series comprised three watches:
7149 – bakelite tachymeter bezel
7159 – steel tachymeter bezel)
7169 – 12-hour graduated bezel
It was this second series that collectors gave the nickname Monte Carlo as the dials had a resemblance to the roulette tables of the famous casinos of Monte Carlo. The watch cases remained largely unchanged from the first series, but over the course of this run, the crowns were upgraded to the newer trip-lock crown (702) and the profile of the knurling on the pushers became more pronounced.
Tool Watch Fusion…
One interesting development was the introduction of the rotating bezel on the 7169. Whilst it was a new addition to the commercial catalogue, it wasn’t the first time Tudor had used the bezel. The bezel had first been used on a first series Homeplate chrono, reference 7033. The watch didn’t ever make it past prototype stage but the bezel was used on Tudor chronographs from the second series onwards. The rotating bezel gives the watch a very sporty tool-watch look; the fusion of a chronograph with the rotating style bezel of a Submariner.
And look at these 2 classic chrono’s.. just timeless beauty,
Heritage Reimagined…
In 2010 Tudor began releasing reimagined versions of their most important archive pieces. The first was the Homeplate chrono. Based on the unreleased prototype the Heritage Chrono ref 70330 was the biggest news story of Baselworld that year. In 2013 Tudor had another ‘smash hit’ release in their Heritage Line when the second Heritage Chrono was released, based on the 7169 Montecarlo.
We where first in the world to give a full blown review on that first Heritage Chrono and till today still many people check out this review and share their love for the design… read the review in our past personal blog
B&S 7169…
We are offering this beautiful 7169 in amazing condition. Featuring the rotating bezel, to us it is a great looking watch that looks fantastic on the bracelet and equally as good on our leather straps.
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Ross Povey