“Voice of the people, voice of god” goes the century-old Latin expression, implying that the opinion of the people should be sovereign. Tudor seems to have taken heed by heavily drawing inspiration from their legendary chronograph collections, the Heritage.
The new Tudor 70330
The new reference 70330 combines various elements of pieces that have become collector items. The dial is that of the 7031/7032, minus the magnifying glass; the bezel is that of the 7169.
side-by-side comparison of the 1970 and the 2010 model, separated by 40 years
Original models 7031 to 7032 featured a Valjoux 7734 (based on the 7733); while models 7149 to 7169 featured the more prestigious column-wheeled 234.
credit: Francknwatch @ Chronomania.net
credit: Francknwatch @ Chronomania.net
The result is a product that looks like a New Old Stock piece that time-travelled from 1970. The new version features a “pineapple” texture on the bezel, screwn-down pushers and crown. Only connoisseurs will notice the inversion of subdials, consequence of the use of a more recent Dubois-Dépraz chronograph module. Movements using Dubois-Dépraz module have the advantage of being smaller than integrated complications, and they can sometimes come as a more affordable alternative to their integrated counterparts. However, watchmakers and collectors alike are mitigated about their shortcomings in terms of reliability.
Inerestingly, Tudor developed a woven strap like the ones that collectors often mount on highly-sought Rolex and Tudor watches.
The strap design uses two stainless steel loops and a not-seen-before kind of buckle design.
There are talks of a retail price of CHF 4000 (convert to other currencies), which in the author’s opinion does seem a bit steep. Tudor has always had a very competitive pricing policy, and they should make efforts to keep this watch within reach of mechanical watches collectors.
