About TUDOR Princess Watches
In the world of TUDOR watches, the name “Prince” is assigned to automatic winding timepieces and “Princess” is given to smaller self-winding watches for women. Princess watches had been a mainstay of TUDOR’s collection since the 1950s but were discontinued in recent years to make way for other robust yet stylish watch collections. From vintage to modern, preowned TUDOR Princess watches are readily available in the secondary market.
TUDOR Princess History
In 1952, TUDOR launched the Oyster Prince watch, which shared two traits that had previously been exclusive to its sibling company Rolex: a waterproof case and a self-winding movement. While Rolex had Oyster Perpetual watches, TUDOR’s offering was called the Oyster Prince where Oyster denotes the waterproof case and Perpetual/Prince signifies an automatic movement inside the watch.
A couple of years later, TUDOR made the ladies’ Oyster Princess, complete with a waterproof case and automatic movement. Over the next six decades, TUDOR continued to make Princess watches in various forms including the Princess Oysterdate, Princess Date, Princess Lady-Sub, Princess Hydronaut and more. It’s also important to note that contrary to the original classification of TUDOR Princess watches as exclusively automatic models, TUDOR has also made Princess Quartz watches.
TUDOR no longer includes Princess models in its collection (the watches were phased out from select markets at different points in the brand’s history), focusing instead on other ladies’ watch models such as the Claire de Rose, Style and Glamour.
TUDOR Princess Models and Features
The original TUDOR Princess watches were time-only timepieces with the vintage TUDOR rose logo and “Rotor Self-Winding” text placed in a “smiley” arrangement on the dial. TUDOR eventually expanded the collection to include other functions and styles, but all under the banner of the Princess watch range.
TUDOR Princess Date and Oysterdate
The flagship model of the Princess line, TUDOR Princess Oysterdate watches are sturdy everyday watches with round cases and time and date functions. The date window is placed at the 3 o’clock position and magnified by a lens affixed to the crystal above it. In the 1990s, TUDOR renamed Princess Oysterdate watches to Princess Date. Below are some popular references.
- Princess Date (or Oysterdate) 92400: 25mm steel case, smooth steel bezel, steel bracelet
- Princess Date (or Oysterdate) 92414: 25mm steel case, white gold fluted bezel, steel bracelet
- Princess Date (or Oysterdate) 92413: 25mm steel case, yellow gold fluted bezel, steel/gold bracelet
- Princess Date 92514: 22mm steel case, white gold fluted bezel, steel bracelet
- Princess Date 92513: 22mm steel case, yellow gold fluted bezel, steel/gold bracelet
- Princess Oysterdate 92300: 22mm steel case, smooth steel bezel, steel bracelet
- Princess Oysterdate 92314: 22mm steel case, white gold fluted bezel, steel bracelet
- Princess Oysterdate 92313: 22mm steel case, yellow gold fluted bezel, steel/gold bracelet
Older versions of the Princess Oysterdate were built to be water-resistant to 50 meters while newer Princess Date variations typically have a 100-meter water resistance rating.
TUDOR Princess Quartz Oysterdate and Date
The battery-operated versions of the Princess Oysterdate and Princess Date watches are marked with “Quartz” on the dial. The following are some of the more popular Princess Quartz Oysterdate and Princess Date Quartz references.
- Princess Quartz Oysterdate 9301/0: 25mm steel case, smooth and fluted steel bezel, integrated steel bracelet
- Princess Quartz Oysterdate 93500 (aka 9350/0): 25mm steel case, smooth steel bezel, steel bracelet
- Princess Quartz Oysterdate 93513 (aka 9351/3): 25mm steel case, fluted yellow gold bezel, two-tone steel/gold bracelet
- Princess Quartz Oysterdate: 25mm steel case, smooth steel bezel, steel bracelet
- Princess Quartz Oysterdate 85033: 25mm steel case, fluted yellow gold bezel, two-tone steel/gold bracelet
Similar to the automatic editions, TUDOR offered the Princess Quartz Oysterdate/Date watches with plenty of different dial colors.
TUDOR Princess Lady-Sub
The Princess Lady-Sub models were smaller versions of the popular TUDOR Submariner diving watches. Like their larger counterparts, Princess Lady-Sub watches have rotating timing bezels, luminous dials, a date window at the 3 o’clock position and a water-resistance rating of 200 meters. Older versions are marked as Princess Oysterdate while newer versions are labeled Princess Date.
- Princess Lady-Sub 96090: 26mm stainless steel case, steel bezel, steel bracelet
- Princess Lady-Sub 96093: 26mm steel case, yellow gold bezel, two-tone steel/gold bracelet
Steel princess Lady-Sub watches can have black, blue or steel bezel inserts, and dials are offered in a range of colors.
TUDOR Princess Date Hydronaut
When TUDOR launched the Hydronaut dive watch collection in the early 1990s, the brand also offered Princess Hydronaut variations. These watches have rotating dive bezels and a date window on the dial accompanied by a magnification lens on the crystal.
- Princess Date Hydronaut 99090: 28mm stainless steel case, steel bezel, steel bracelet
- Princess Date Hydronaut 99093: 28mm stainless steel case, yellow gold bezel, two-tone steel/gold bracelet
TUDOR Princess Date Hydronaut watches are water resistant to 200 meters and available in a variety of dial colors including black, white, silver, yellow and pink.
TUDOR Princess Watch Prices
Given that the TUDOR Princess range enjoyed such a long history and was available in numerous versions, prices for preowned TUDOR Princess watches vary significantly. However, you can typically expect to pay around $1,000 for secondhand TUDOR Princess watches.
Vintage and discontinued TUDOR watches for women offer some of the best values in the luxury ladies’ timepiece space. Many TUDOR Princess watches share similar design traits with Rolex equivalents — such as the ladies’ Oyster Perpetual, Datejust and Yacht-Master models — and some references even come fitted with Rolex-made components.