DrStrong
[Rolex Moderator]
6930
7924: The Number of the Beast
Over the past years, I have been able to source a few French military diver's watches from the late 1950's that were still in the drawer of retired watchmakers: Rolex, Tudor, Blancpain,...
In these early days of SCUBA diving, most of these watches were used in very small batches (I have recently found out that Omega Seamaster 300's had also been used by the French Navy in very limited quantity) and it is usually admitted that less than two hundred 7924’s have ever been manufactured. Most of them have been used for military purpose (there were not many customers for 200m waterproof watches at that time) but did not bear any special military engraving; the French Navy was probably testing different brands to chose the model that they would order in larger amount and the famous M.N. caseback engraving in fact appeared in the 1970’s only.
Among all these military pieces, my favourite model is definitely the Tudor Big Crown, manufactured by Rolex in 1958 and 1959 only and that has been used by the divers of the Marine Nationale under the references 7922 and 7924. This watch is the exact twin brother of the Rolex James Bond ref. 6538 but with a different dial and movement, like all the early Tudors.
Here’s the picture of a French Navy diver in the early 1960’s with a Tudor Big Crown on the wrist:
The example that I have just dug out is especially interesting, because its serial number in the 292,xxx range is generally associated by collectors to the later civilian batch of 7924's; this is the first time that I see one of these watches in a military context. In addition, the inside caseback of this one is stamped with the reference number, whereas most Tudor Big Crowns only have the date code.
The condition of the watch is simply incredible, with a gorgeous gilt glossy dial and a case that shows normal wear for a 50 years old watch but has never been polished: the thick lugs (aka broad shoulders), flat case sides and sharp edges are intact. This Submariner definitely has a lot of character, as the 38mm diameter is just perfect on the wrist and its 15mm thickness and 8mm crown give him a rugged and bullet proof aspect.
That’s how the edges of the 1950’s Rolex cases look like originally, with a big chamfer:
The bezel also has sharp edges and look at that thick font insert:
The 8mm Brevet crown is one of the sexiest feature of the watch, it looks really huge:
The famous rose logo, it brings a lot of charm and character to the gilt dial:
Another detail of the dial, the 6 o’clock index:
As a friend of mine has some records of the watches used by the French Navy, I will try to make some research about this specific one….unfortunately, the chances to have information about these very early watches are very thin...
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For Jeff's original post in Rolex forum, please CLICK HERE
