On The Wrist: Vintage Tudor Submariner 75090 Review

As a woman with small 5.75” wrists and a considerable penchant for purpose-driven tool watches, I’ve always had my eye on the Tudor Submariner, more specifically, the mid-size and Mini-Sub variations.  My husband recently bought a lovely blue edition of the mid-size Tudor Submariner 75090, and I am thrilled to take advantage of the opportunity to provide our readers with a review from my perspective, including a few photos of the watch on mine and my husband’s 7” wrist for comparison.

Tudor Submariner 75090 Specs

Tudor Submariner Prince Oysterdate Case

Tudor released the Submariner in the mid-1950s, shortly after its parent company, Rolex, rolled out its own Submariner dive watch. From the early onset, Tudor’s mantra was to offer quality comparable to Rolex but for a relatively more affordable price.  As a result, both models follow a similar design blueprint. You can even see several Rolex-branded components on old Tudors, such as the Rolex crown and Oyster case on my ref. 75090.  The crown is decorated with the famous 5-point Rolex coronet, underscored with a small line to signify it as a Rolex Twinlock (full-size Submariners have Triplock) with water resistance up to 200 meters/660 feet – more than ample for a worry-free “GADA watch.” However, I would have an older watch like this one pressure-tested before submerging it in water. 

Tudor 75090 vs. 75190: Crystal and Bezel

The Tudor Submariner 75090 was produced from 1990 until 1995, after which it was replaced by ref. 75190. Tudor would discontinue the Submariner collection entirely just a few years later, around 1999.  Reference 75090 is traditionally outfitted with a domed acrylic crystal, while its successor, ref. 75190, has sapphire.  However, I have seen several examples of the ref. 75090 with sapphire, mine included. Additionally, ref. 75190 is outfitted with a uni-directional bezel with an aluminum insert, while my model has an older-style bi-directional bezel. It doesn’t make the satisfying click associated with other bezels, but it’s easy to manipulate while the watch is on my wrist.  

Tudor 75090 Dial

Even though “my” watch technically belongs to my husband, it’s a fixture on my wrist.  What I adore most about it is its inherently vintage design set, most notably the dial, which is presented in lovely deep matte blue and features painted tritium hour markers instead of the white gold-trimmed indices often found on modern dive watches.  By the time the Tudor Submariner 75090 came to market, Tudor had swapped the square-tipped “Snowflake” hands for Mercedes-style hands and the rectangular indices at the 9 and 6-hour markers were replaced with triangles. The dial also sports “Prince Oysterdate” text, compared to some examples of later Submariner models emblazoned with just “Prince Date.” Lastly, it displays the depth rating in meters-first text a la vintage Submariners produced by Tudor and parent company Rolex.

ETA 2824-2 Movement

The Tudor Submariner 75090, like all Tudors at the time, was given an outsourced movement in alignment with the brand’s commitment to maintaining a more affordable price point, specifically, a modified variation of the celebrated ETA 2824-2. It offers the convenience of self-winding and approximately 38 hours of power reserve, which I appreciate for days when I prefer to swap it out for another watch.  At the same time, the ETA movement is easy to reset because it also has a quickset date and hacking seconds that many luxury watch buyers have come to expect.

More on Tudor:
Long-Term Review: Two Years with the Tudor Royal 41mm
The New Tudor Pelagos FXD in Black
Everything You Need to Know About Tudor Military Watches
How to Sell a Tudor Watch

Fit And Feel

35mm – 36mm is the largest size I can wear comfortably on my 5.75” wrist, so the mid-size model is in the Goldilocks zone for me regarding traditional men’s dive watches.  It also has an appropriate profile for a mid-size men’s watch at around 10mm thick, which I find flattering on my wrist.  I should note that I typically wear my watches fitted nicely to the wrist.  However, I have kept the bracelet loose because this Tudor is a shared timepiece. With that in mind, the Tudor Jubilee bracelet exhibits some light stretch, which can seem jangly since I wear it so loose on the wrist.  Otherwise, I think the mid-size Tudor Submariner 75090 provides a sublime overall wrist-wearing experience when it comes to both fit and aesthetics.

The Rolex Submariner is easily one of the watch industry’s most recognizable luxury dive watches.  With prices often out of reach both on the retail and secondary level for many collectors, the Tudor model is an excellent alternative that offers similar wrist presence and functionality.  If you’re a fellow female watch enthusiast like me or simply appreciate the size and weight of a mid-size model, I think you will find the Tudor Submariner 75090 particularly collection-worthy.