The watch community came around to tropical dials after decades of collectors preferring UV-affected faces be replaced. Today, we see it as a patina-of-sorts, but rarer and cooler, since only about 10% of vintage timepieces that could look this way actually did—as this gilt-faced 1958 Tudor Big Crown Submariner did. And boy did it do it to collector-coveted perfection. The indices are fully bronzed, while the freckles saturated at the edges beautifully move towards the center like a starry night sky filtered in burnt umber.
The 7924 is a historically transitional model for Tudor, making it a portfolio-worthy asset. The large, guardless crown provides an iconic silhouette, inextricably related to go-to diver designs in the decade following its release. Moreover, this was the model that upped the water resistance from 100 meters to 200.
Price: $59,350
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