Tudor Submariner 76100: Reference Guide

The Tudor Submariner 76100 is the transitional Tudor Submariner of the mid-1980s: a 40mm Rolex-made Oyster case and crown, a Tudor-signed dial and bracelet, an ETA 2784 automatic with date, and on many examples the round-tipped lollipop seconds hand and hour hand that give the watch its nickname.

Tudor Submariners were built by Rolex, in Rolex cases, with Rolex crowns and crystals, and fitted with bought-in Swiss movements to hit a lower price. The 76100 sits at the point where Tudor moved from the snowflake hands of the 1970s toward the Mercedes hands of the 79090, and it was in production briefly enough that it is now the hardest of the later Subs to find. It is a tool watch first: matte dial, sober bezel, no cyclops on many examples, and a case identical to the Rolex 1680's.

The 76100 was produced from roughly 1984 to 1989, and it uses the ETA 2784 automatic. It replaced the 94010 and 94110 and was in turn replaced by the 79090 around the end of the decade.

Dials are matte blue or matte black with painted tritium lume. The hand sets are the identifying feature: lollipop hands, with a round lume disc on the hour hand and a lume dot on the seconds hand, appear on a large share of 76100s, and Mercedes-style hands appear on others. Some dials carry the Tudor rose and some the shield; we do not treat either as a fixed rule for dating. The bezel insert is aluminum in blue or black to match the dial. Bracelets are Tudor-signed Oyster with folded or solid links depending on the year, on Rolex-style end links.

Blue-dial examples with lollipop hands are the ones collectors look for, followed by black-dial lollipop examples; Mercedes-hand watches are correct and less sought after.

The blue dial matters because it is the color Tudor is known for and the one that does not exist on a Rolex Submariner in steel. Matte blue tritium dials age into a range of tones, and an even, unfaded blue with cream lume plots, as on the 1984 example below, is what we like to see. The lollipop hands matter because they are the feature that identifies the reference at a glance and because they were replaced with Mercedes hands at service for years, so an original set is scarcer than the production numbers suggest. Insert fading is less prized on a Tudor than on a Rolex, but an original insert is still preferred.

Check that the hands are original lollipop or Mercedes hands with lume matching the dial, that the case and crown are Rolex-signed, that the dial is unrefinished, and that the ETA 2784 is running with a service record.

A Tudor Sub is verified the way a Rolex Sub is, with one extra step for the movement, and with more attention to refinished dials, which are common:

• Case: 40mm Oyster case with a Rolex-signed crown and a reference and serial between the lugs; lug bevels crisp.
• Dial: matte blue or black, tritium lume even and unretouched, Tudor signature crisp; refinished Tudor dials are common.
• Hands: lollipop or Mercedes set with lume that matches the dial plots in color and texture.
• Bezel: original aluminum insert in the matching color, with a lume pearl at 12.
• Bracelet: Tudor-signed Oyster with correct end links and a clasp code of the period.
• Movement: ETA 2784 with a Tudor-signed rotor, clean and unmarked, date changing cleanly.
• Service history: crown, tube and gaskets recent enough to trust the water resistance.

Tudor Submariners have attracted growing collector attention over the past decade, and the 76100 has benefited more than most because it is scarce; we still would not buy one as a financial position.

What supports the reference is that it gives a buyer a Rolex-built vintage dive watch, with the same case and crown as a 1680, at a much lower entry price, and that Tudor's modern Black Bay line keeps pointing new buyers back at the originals. What argues for caution is that the market for later Tudor Subs is younger and thinner than the Rolex market, that refinished dials and replaced hands are widespread, and that the ETA movement, while excellent, does not carry a collector premium. Buy it as a watch to wear, verify the dial and hands, and let the market follow.

The price depends on the dial color, whether the hands are original lollipops, the condition of the case and insert, and whether it comes with box and papers; a blue lollipop example on an unpolished case sits at the top of the reference.

We do not print a range here. See the examples below, listed with their actual sale prices; the 1984 blue example is offered watch-only. When comparing listings elsewhere, ask whether the hands and dial are original, because those two parts account for most of the difference between a good 76100 and an average one.

The 76100 and the 1680 share the same 40mm Rolex Oyster case, crown and bezel construction; the 76100 has a Tudor dial, an ETA 2784 movement and a Tudor bracelet, and the 1680 has a Rolex dial, the in-house caliber 1575 and a Rolex bracelet.

On the wrist the differences are the dial color, the hands and the name. In the hand, the 1680 has the more finely finished movement and the 1680's parts carry Rolex prices. A buyer who wants the vintage Sub experience for less, or specifically wants a blue dial, is well served by the 76100. Our comparison of the Tudor 76100 and Rolex 1680 goes through the details, and our guide to the Submariner 1680 covers the Rolex side of the family.