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Tudor Black Snowflake Submariner, ref. 94010, 1979 — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Tudor Black Snowflake Submariner, ref. 94010, 1979

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Tudor (maker)
Date
1979
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Materials / technique
Stainless Steel
Stock no.
903597
Credit line
Dealer listing, Grey & Patina (903597)
Catalogue title (original)
1979 Tudor 94010 Black Snowflake Submariner (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Grey & Patina (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number 903597), this is a wristwatch by Tudor, made in Switzerland, dated 1979. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Stainless Steel. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Grey & Patina

1979 Tudor snowflake submariner. We’ve always been a fan of the blue dial snowflake as it is something that sets it apart from Rolex subs of this era, however, the black variant seems to be now in shorter supply. This watch stands out with a incredible black dial with the combination of the deep black insert. If a Rolex Submariner is too mundane for you, a blue snowflake Tudor is your prescription for something familiar yet very different Dial: Matte black dial w creamy yellow lume. No pimpling Insert: Black mk3 Case: Appears unpolished with sharp original bevels Bracelet Oyster bracelet

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

Atlas type guide

Dive and water-resistant watches

Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.

Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.

What to look for

  • Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
  • Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
  • Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
  • Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.

Dating clues

  • Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
  • Professional dive watches: from 1953.
  • Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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