7924 ‘Big Crown’ Submariner
The 7924 was the first official Big Crown Submariner from Tudor. Launched in 1958...
A 7924 that was issued to the French Navy, the Marine Nationale (MN) (click to zoom)
The reference 7924 shares a similar fate to it’s two older brothers – the 7922 and 7923 in terms of a very short production run – the following 7928 was introduced in 1959! All the 7924s have 1958 case-backs. As with the MN prototype 7922 they are featured in thick cases with an 8mm ‘big crown’. The watch is 20mm between the lugs and the case-back uses the standard Rolex 29.5mm case opener. The crystal on the 7924 is the tropic 17 and is therefore grouped together with the Rolex 5510, 6200 and 6538 in the catalogues. It is interesting to note that the 7924 shares crystals with the 6538 but not case-backs.
Two stunning 7924s. Note the later dial in the watch on the right. This happened a lot with 7924 Subs. The tell-tale is the small gap around the outer rim of the dial, which was caused by the 7928 dial's slightly smaller diameter compared with the 7924's (click to zoom)
The biggest development with the 7924 was the fact that it was depth rated to 200m, whereby previous versions of the Tudor Sub had been only able to be rated to 100m.
A 7924 on bracelet and note the 'Red Triangle' insert (click to zoom)
The movement is a cal. 390 Tudor movement. Originally produced by Fleurier. The movement is automatic, as nearly all Tudor Submariner movements. These movements exist in raw brass versions and in rhodium (or similar) silver-like plating. There are vivid discussions in the collectors community regarding which movement platings are correct for which reference.
A tropical brown 7924 with correct early bezel insert (click to zoom)