Tudor Watches Are Way More Than Just Affordable Rolex Alternatives. Here’s Why

The roots of Tudor watches go back nearly a century to 1926. The brand was started by Hans Wilsdorf, the same man who founded Rolex, who had wanted a second line of watches that could be sold at a lower price than his original, top-of-the-line brand. And for the vast majority of Tudor’s history, that’s exactly what the brand has represented: A more affordable alternative to Rolex watches.

Although Tudor is still wholly owned by its more famous big brother, these days the brand is so much more than simply a Rolex for people who can’t afford or obtain a Rolex. 

With its own design language, its own iconic lines, its own movements and certifications, and, now, its own sparkling, state-of-the-art manufacture, Tudor is one of the most impressive luxury watchmakers in the game today — Rolex connection or not.  

Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

Are Tudor watches the same as Rolex watches?

There’s more to the difference between Tudor and Rolex watches than just the name. Everything from the way Tudor watches are made to their design to the brand’s attitude helps distinguish it from its parent company.

Where Rolex has a notoriously guarded and conservative image to maintain, modern Tudor has more freedom to be playful and creative. You’ll see designs from Tudor that you’d never see from Rolex, from the use of case materials like bronze and even silver to funky and unexpected designs like the carbon fiber Pelagos FXD chronograph.

This helps give the brand its own identity, as do signature design elements like its classic “snowflake” hands and its heavily vintage-inspired lines. (You won’t find a single vintage-inspired watch in Rolex’s lineup.) Even more substantive differences, however, lie in how the watches are made.

Photo by Zen Love for Gear Patrol

Are Tudor watches made by Rolex?

Are you getting a watch made by Rolex when you buy a Tudor? Well, no — their prices are so different for a reason. Tudor watches generally aren’t made with the same components as those found in Rolex watches, nor are those parts produced at the same facilities.

While Rolex famously makes nearly all watch components itself, this wouldn’t be possible at Tudor’s price point. Today (though it hasn’t always), Tudor buys watch cases and other components from Swiss suppliers. Notably, however, many Tudor watches do feature in-house movements — developed and produced entirely separately from Rolex movements.

This is a relatively new development for the brand that we’ve seen implemented more and more in recent years, ever since Tudor founded its manufacturing partner Kenissi in 2015 for this express purpose. (Kenissi also produces movements for other brands like Breitling, Chanel, Bell & Ross and Norqain through various partnerships.)

Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

Where are Tudor watches made?

Previously, Tudor’s watches were made at the brand’s headquarters in Geneva … which was located inside of Rolex’s HQ. When we visited the brand back in 2022, we witnessed firsthand the similarities between Rolex’s and Tudor’s manufacturing practices. Although the products were quite different, both brands shared the same commitment to making the best product possible at their respective price points.

But Tudor spent the past three years moving its equipment and personnel down a picturesque one-hour and 45-minute drive from Geneva to Le Locle, Switzerland, and is now fully set up in its own brand-new, dedicated facility. 

Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

Here, Tudor has fully emerged from the shadow of Rolex to find its own identity. We visited the grounds this past spring during Watches and Wonders and came away incredibly impressed by the state-of-the-art operation. 

The facility — which operates separately from but is connected to Kenissi, Tudor’s movement maker — boasts an intriguing mix of new and old. Various robots autonomously roam around the facility, carrying trays of cases, dials and movements from one station to another. In some rooms, automated arms organize trays of watches; in others, robots submerge watches in water tanks and subject them to immense pressure tests.

Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

Then there’s the human element, which is practically everywhere in the facility. Skilled workers, each with their own specialty, sit in rows of workstations and assemble various watch components that are delivered directly to their desks via an elaborate under-table conveyor belt system. It’s quite the spectacle.

Dust is kept at bay thanks to a highly advanced HVAC system (visitors and workers alike must don shoe coverings and tunics and be scanned in an intimidating entryway prior to entering the work areas), and even the lighting remains consistent throughout the day thanks to photochromic windows that overlook Switzerland’s picturesque rolling hills.

Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

What is Tudor’s METAS certification?

METAS is the abbreviation for the French name of the Swiss Federal Institute of Meteorology. The certification it offers to watch companies is called Master Chronometer, and the previous industry-standard COSC certification is a mere prerequisite.

Omega was the first watch brand to partner with METAS on Master Chronometer certifications, but Tudor has increasingly been relying on the standards, which are arguably more stringent than Rolex’s own in-house certification process. Several of the brand’s new Kenissi-made movements now being produced boast the Master Chronometer certification. 

In terms of accuracy, a METAS-certified watch is required to have a deviation of no more than -0/+5 seconds per day (versus the well-known -4/+6 of COSC).

Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

Master Chronometers also must be antimagnetic to 15,000 gauss (basically MRI numbers, and we witnessed workers at Tudor putting watches through a mini MRI machine to test this) and have to maintain their stated water resistance and power reserve — all while being tested in different positions and at different temperatures for extended periods of time.

In other words, METAS certification guarantees an overall higher standard of performance from a watch.

Tudor has been going all-in on METAS certifications for its watches, and it was interesting to see the different types of machinery at the brand’s new manufacture. You could tell which machines were newer and METAS-focused because they were the only ones that weren’t adorned with Rolex logos. 

Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

Currently, Tudor’s Black Bay Ceramic, Black Bay 41 and Black Bay Fifty-Eight GMT all boast METAS certification, but it’s clear that the brand will be creating more Master Chronometer models at its new factory as the years progress. 

Thanks to its new manufacturing capabilities, in-house movements and testing practices, Tudor’s watches arguably offer more value for money than ever before. And that’s true regardless of whether or not you’re interested in buying a Rolex.

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