
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Tudor Submariner Snowflake Blue dial ref 9401, 1976
- Maker / attribution
- Tudor (maker)
- Date
- 1976
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- W-3528
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-3528)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Tudor Submariner Snowflake Blue dial ref 9401 (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-3528), this is a wristwatch by Tudor, made in Switzerland, dated 1976. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. 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
The Tudor Submariner was introduced in 1954 as reference 7922, together with its big brother, the Rolex Submariner—almost like twin watches! In 1969, Tudor decided to update its Submariner diver with a new face: the shield logo replaced the rose logo, and a new blue color, the now-iconic squared handset (commonly known as the “snowflake”), and an optional date version were introduced, just as its sister brand Rolex offered at the time. The Tudor Submariner developed into an icon in its own right and is now a highly collectible watch. We are offering a rarely seen reference 9401/0. This reference was introduced in the mid-1970s and featured a new caliber with stop-seconds functionality. At hand we have a Blue dialed variant with a pleasing blue hue and lovely cream coloured hour plots , the iconic snowflake hands are a tad lighter in shade. The case is still fat in the right areas with a super nice faded inlay , a superb match we think ! The watch is fitted with a single pass leather strap , for that utilitarian and secure feel and authentic look that a true dive watch deserves, BUT you might want to check out THIS strap guide we created for these strap monsters ! This fine Snowy is fully serviced by our watch maker and is ready for upcoming years. Winter is coming , catch this rare Blue date Snowflake before its melts away ! Specifications Tudor Submariner no date Reference 9401 Serial 847xxx dating to 1976 Blue dial with “snowflake “ pattern hands Faded fat font bezel insert Single pass leather strap Fully serviced by our watchmaker
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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