I'm proud to present a short video I produced with the help of my mom, Imelda Lowe. She tells the story of a watch she bought for my father in 1974.
The video is more of an emotional story, but if you'll allow me to "nerd out" for a while, I'll tell you about some of the things I learned about the watch while researching it for the video. The Tudor Prince Oysterdate is nicknamed the "Jumbo" by collectors because it is similar to the Rolex "Presidential". (The brand Tudor was introduced by Rolex in 1926 to offer quality watches to the "working man".)
The crown with Rolex crown
In 2014, after it had sat in a drawer for a year or so, broken and neglected, I had the watch repaired and replaced the band. I retained the original clasp, which has the Rolex crown logo. The crown (the knob that winds the stem) has an imprint of the Rolex crown, but I learned that this was not always so. Originally, the crown would have had the imprint of the Tudor shield. Apparently it was common practice in the U.S. to replace the crown and stem every time the watch was repaired to retain its water resistance, and they would have replaced it with a Rolex crown. So this must have happened the first time my mom had it repaired.
I couldn't have completed this video without help from my brothers, who tracked down photos, and of course, the participation of my mom. Thank you to all of them.