
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Tudor Prince Oysterdate Rare Silver Dial Reference 7996, 1965
- Maker / attribution
- Tudor (maker)
- Date
- 1965
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- silver
- Dimensions
- Case 34 mm
- Stock no.
- W-830
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-830)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Tudor Prince Oysterdate Rare Silver Dial Reference 7996 (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-830), this is a wristwatch by Tudor, made in Switzerland, dated 1965. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: silver. Recorded dimensions: Case 34 mm. 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 — Bulang & Sons
Rare Roman Quarters Dial… The 34mm Oyster is nothing short of a wrist rocket, punching well above its weight and offering collectors a cool collecting theme due to the vast number of dial variations that were made of the years. This watch is the perfect illustration of our point due to its dial – a version that we have not seen previously. The vertical bush finish on the dial is unusual, but combined with the painted Roman numerals at 12, 6 and 9 this is a very rare dial. Both the case and dial remain in really superb condition – the case remains strong all round and the smooth bezel is still sharp. The watch has an automatic movement as signified by the word ‘PRINCE’ on the dial, which is Tudor’s equivalent of Rolex’s ‘PERPETUAL’. The watch is fitted with its original red and black roulette date wheel. This rare Tudor will come on a Bulang and Sons strap and has been checked and regulated by our watchmaker. Specifications - Reference 7996 - Steel 34mm case - Serial 550xxx Dating to 1965 - Cool vertical brushed silver dial with painted Roman quarter markers - Roulette date wheel - Comes on a Bulang and Sons strap - Checked and regulated by our watchmaker - Includes a handmade single leather watch pouch
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
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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