The vintage Tudor Submariner Snowflake needs no formal introduction due to its military and sports heritage amongst collectors.

I love sport watches (divers, chronographs, GMT) which are functional as tool watches in both daily and sports activities but also elegant enough for a dinner party. 

Vintage sports watches which come with a rich history of both civilian and military utility, bring an added layer of charm; namely the French Navy and the US Navy which have both used the ‘Snowflake’ as an essential tool watch for daily training and missions. 

Rumour has it that it was the French Navy that influenced the change of design from the original ‘mercedes’ hour hand to the distinct signature ‘snowflake’ design to make it more readable under extreme water conditions.

The term ‘Snowflake’ which was once labeled by avid watch collectors due to its similar shape to a snowflake, has since been formally adopted by Tudor for their Black Bay heritage series re-introduced in 2013. This rekindled the interest and brought Tudor ‘Snowflakes’ back into the limelight. 

Several years ago, I was on a car trip from Cannes to Antibes, my dear friend Francis was driving me to his home to look at some art pieces (he is an agent for several artists). We started talking about vintage watches. 

Francis said he only owns one vintage watch and it’s a Tudor Submariner Snowflake. He was at a dinner once and another French gentleman approached him asking about the Tudor Sub on his wrist and offered an attractive price to buy it. Right off his wrist while he was still eating his dinner! Francis politely declined the sale.

I had to ask Francis what’s so special about this Tudor Submariner and he said, “Oh it’s a very rare one, it’s the Tudor Submariner without the crown guards”. I remember thinking that it must be the first model  (ref. 7922) that came out a year later after the Rolex Submariner in 1954.

“Why a Tudor Submariner ?” I asked, Francis replied “Why do you need another Rolex? They are everywhere” Francis said with a smile on his face.

By the way, instead of ‘Snowflake’ the Japanese collectors labeled it ‘ika’ which means squid due to its similarity to the head shape of a squid. 

The ‘Snowflake’ signature design by Tudor turns 50 years old this year since its debut in 1969. Whether it’s ‘snowflake’ or ‘ika’, you won’t go wrong having this watch in your collection.