94 Series

In the early to mid 70’s, the Tudor Submariner ref. 9401/0 and 9411/0 were introduced. With this new generation of submariners, Tudor rolled out a modified ETA movement: the cal. 2776 for non-date models and 2784 and 2783 for date models. There is no rhyme or reason as to why Tudor used two different calibers during this period but we do know that a significant majority of the 9411/0’s featured a cal. 2784. Both calibers were fitted with a hacking seconds feature that allowed for more accurate time setting. The case remained 39mm with a Rolex-signed caseback, and both references were offered in blue and black. These would also be the final references to feature the Snowflake dial. Around 1976, Tudor began dropping the “/” from the reference numbers, transitioning to 94010 and 94110 for the remainder of production.

The ref. 94110 (with a date function) appears to have been introduced around 1973, beginning in the 798xxx serial range. Early examples exhibited a defect in the paint mixture, resulting in dial bubbling similar to that seen on the earlier ref. 7021/0. Once identified, Tudor quickly addressed the issue with a revised paint formula that eliminated the bubbling and “rot.”

Around 1981, Tudor introduced a new shield dial variant, seen only on the ref. 94110. For clarity, pre-1981 shield dials will be referred to as Type A, and post-1981 examples as Type B. The easiest way to distinguish the two is that the Type B shield is longer, and the “m” and “ft” in the lower text are printed in bold relative to the rest of the dial. If a Type B dial is found on a pre-1980 example, it is generally assumed to be a service replacement.

Type A

The ref. 94010 (no-date) was introduced in 1975, around the 845xxx serial range. Within the 86xxxx–89xxxx serial range, we see the RCN “Hybrid” configuration, which retained the traditional Snowflake hands while introducing round and rectangular hour markers with uniformly sized hash marks, giving the dial a radial-like appearance. Collectors have since referred to this configuration as the “Hybrid” due to its mismatched plots and hands. Around 1983, toward the end of production, the 9401/0 “Snowflake” dial was replaced with a newer variation featuring Mercedes hands and round hour markers with triangular plots at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock. These later dials were produced in both blue and black.