Tudor Submariner "Snowflake"

Tudor Submariner "Snowflake" Ref. 9411/0, Wabi Dial, Meters First, Circa 1976

DESCRIPTION & SIGNIFICANCE

In 1969 Tudor redrew the Submariner dial for the professionals who used it. The French Navy wanted a watch a diver could read at a glance in poor water, so Tudor replaced the round hour markers with large squares and gave the hour hand a square tip to match. Collectors named the hand the snowflake, and it became the signature of Tudor's dive watches for the next two decades.

The Ref. 9411/0 arrived in the mid-1970s as the date version of that watch. It moved the Submariner onto a modern automatic movement with a quickset date. The snowflake dial carried over unchanged.

Two details set this example apart. The first is the dial, which reads "meters first," with the depth rating in meters printed ahead of feet. That is the earlier version of the 9411/0 dial, made before Tudor swapped the order on later production. The second is how the dial has aged. Collectors call this a "wabi" dial, from the Japanese idea of beauty found in age and wear. Decades of light have shifted its tone unevenly across the surface, and no two of them age the same way. It cannot be reproduced and it cannot be restored, which is exactly why collectors look for them.

It comes on the correct folded-link 7836 Oyster bracelet with 380 end links, the bracelet and end-link pairing these watches were delivered on.

CONDITION & COMPONENTS

Overall Grade: [Describe overall condition.]

Originality: [Confirm: dial and hands original and never refinished, bezel insert original or replaced.]

Key Wear Notes: [Describe case wear, polishing, and service history.]

MOVEMENT & PERFORMANCE

Caliber Engine: Automatic Tudor caliber 2784 (ETA base), 25 jewels, with quickset date. Movement signed "Tudor 25 Rubies Swiss-Made Auto-Prince."

Serial Number: 842087, placing production around 1976.

Functionality: Hours, minutes, sweep center seconds and date. [Confirm running condition and timegrapher results.]

DIAL & HANDS

Variant & Condition: Original snowflake dial, meters first depth rating. Wabi patina, with the original [dial color] aged unevenly across the surface.

Lume & Aging: [Describe the lume plots and hand lume, and whether they match.]

Hand Set: Snowflake hour hand, sword minute hand and lollipop seconds hand. [Confirm.]

CASE, BEZEL & CRYSTAL

Dimensions: 40mm diameter excluding crown | 20mm lug width. [Confirm lug-to-lug measurement.]

Case & Lugs: Stainless steel Oyster case, stamped 9411/0 between the lugs.

Bezel & Crystal: Unidirectional rotating bezel with 60-minute insert. [Describe insert condition.] Acrylic crystal with date magnifier.

Case Back: [Confirm: "Original Oyster Case by Rolex Geneva" engraving.]

Bracelet: Folded-link Oyster bracelet, reference 7836, with 380 end links. [Add clasp date code if legible.]

COLLECTOR NOTES

Vintage Disclaimer: This is a vintage, pre-owned timepiece with decades of history. It is an honest, used object and is not cosmetically perfect. It displays character marks, micro-scratches, and component aging consistent with its era. Please perform due diligence by carefully examining all high-resolution photographs and macro images provided to ensure this piece fully meets your personal condition standards before making a purchase decision.

Timegrapher reading (view)

• Rate: +15 sec/day
• Amplitude: 254°
• Beat error: 0.0ms

Measured October 1, 2026, Dial up, fully wound.

Vintage movements typically run 200 to 280° amplitude; the rate matters most for daily wear. A reading is a snapshot on the date shown.