Originally created by Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf in 1926 to be a more affordable alternative to his flagship watch company, Tudor has become very popular among watch collectors in recent years due to its iconic design and unique brand history. TUDOR initially achieved its more affordable price point by using third-party movements paired with external case components produced by parent company Rolex. This approach allowed Tudor watches to be sold at a much lower retail price, while still giving the brand the legendary durability that made Rolex famous.
One of Tudor’s most famous collections is the 1970s collection of sports chronographs. Chronograph literally means “time writer,” and these Tudor watches were clearly intended as quality timekeepers with a sporty flair, rather than simply elegant accessories or durable utilitarian dive best replica watches. Tudor chronograph reference 7149 Hailed as a chic cult favorite in the brand’s archives, it is a symbol of a golden age in the company’s history, and its iconic design has even served as the basis for Tudor’s modern, traditionally inspired chronographs.
The first Tudor chronographs were launched in 1970 in three models featuring a 39 mm case and a double-registered chronograph layout, driven by a hand-wound Valjoux-based movement. Although one of these three initial models was never officially released to the public, the second generation of TUDOR chronographs appeared the following year in 1971, and this collection remained part of the brand’s catalog until around 1977. It was during this second generation of TUDOR sports chronographs that the reference 7149 appeared.
While the new generation of TUDOR chronographs retained the case size and overall dial design of their predecessors, their internal movements were different, replacing the Valjoux 7734 movement with the hand-wound Valjoux 234 caliber, which offered users greater precision with an increased rate of 21,600 BPH and a more advanced column-wheel controlled chronograph mechanism. This second series of TUDOR chronograph models remained part of the brand’s catalog until around 1977, when it was replaced by the subsequent generation of TUDOR “Big Block” chronographs, which had debuted the previous year, driven by a self-winding movement and featuring a thicker case.
The vintage TUDOR Chronograph Reference 7149 offers an overall aesthetic that is quite familiar to TUDOR’s Reference 7031 Chronograph, its direct predecessor from 1970. Both models feature the iconic dial design of the 1970s, with a two chronograph layout, a fixed tachymeter scale bezel, and a date window at 6 o’clock with a Cyclops magnifying glass on the crystal. With this in mind, the biggest improvement of the TUDOR 7149 Chronograph over its predecessor is the internal movement used to drive the luxury replica watches.
In addition to the higher and more precise 21,600 BPH frequency (compared to the 18,000 BPH frequency of the previous 7734 movements), the hand-wound Valjoux Cal. 234 movement that powers the TUDOR 7149 Chronograph also benefits from a more sophisticated column-wheel control mechanism, whereas the previous TUDOR Chronograph movement had a cam drive. In many ways, the Reference 7149 Chronograph can be seen as Tudor’s version of the Rolex Daytona 6263, although the two models do not bear much visual resemblance. Both vintage sports chronographs feature acrylic tachymeter bezels, while the siblings of these two models (Tudor chronograph ref. 7159 and Rolex Daytona ref. 6265) both feature stainless steel tachymeter scale bezels.