A stainless steel dive watch from Tudor
Reference: 7021
Circa: 1979
Movement: ETA 2484
Case: 40mm, 904 grade stainless steel with screw-down case back and crown; winding crown engraved with Rolex coronet logo; pointed crown guard
Dial: Blue dial with fine overall patina; geometric "snowflake" hands and markers; date window with cyclops at 3 o'clock.
More about Tudor:
Tudor introduced the Submariner range in 1953 with the reference 7922. The ref. 7928 followed, fitted with the Rolex calibre 390 (based on the venerable Valjoux 722) as well as the same bezel as the Rolex Submariner ref. 5513. Production of the ref. 7928 ceased in 1966, and was replaced with the "Snowflake" design that has become iconic for the brand.
The ref. 7021--along with sister model, the date-less 7016--first hit jewelry stores in 1966. It was the first Submariner reference to use an ETA movement, the ETA 2484 (2461 in the ref. 7016). Additionally, it featured what would become the hallmark of the Submariner line, the "Snowflake" square markers and hands, which Tudor later brought back in the Pelagos. The present example bears a blue dial with noticeable signs of age--the tritium on the markers and hands has faded to an even yellow, consistent with unfinished Tudor Submariner dials of this period.