Despite being an ETA-based, Rolex parts bin special, I absolutely adore vintage Tudors watches. From a business perspective, I can’t exactly argue with Tudor for their steps to separate themselves from their bigger and more famous brother Rolex. However, I feel that most of their newer offerings sometimes lack the warmth and charm of their watches of the past, and that they often come across as homages to themselves. One such model is the Tudor Ranger 7996. While the new 79910 is without a doubt an all-round good watch, the vintage reference 7996 is where it is at for me.

The Tudor Ranger could be described as a little bit of an obscurity. It wasn’t until the 1980s that it was given its own reference number. Before this, it shared a variety of references with the concurrent Prince Oysterdates. Sadly, as a result, the Tudor Ranger is often faked by unscrupulous sellers, but if you do your research you can get an awesome watch that is still under the radar in comparison to its Rolex counterpart (I’m talking about the Explorer 1016). The Tudor Ranger is powered by an ETA 2462 and clocks in at 34mm with an unusual 19mm lug width. What makes the reference 7996 from this era so appealing is the use of the beautiful Tudor rose logo, a matte dial with white text, and a gilt minute track, as well as a rather peculiar minute hand. All this lends itself to a watch that is very much Rolex Explorer in feel, but with its own personality.

All that being said, I truly feel vintage Rangers are underrated. If you can overcome the veritable minefield that is encountered when searching for a vintage Tudor Ranger 7996, you will certainly be rewarded for your efforts.