Tudor Oyster-Prince Ranger 7995/0

Much like the widely revered Rolex Explorer, Tudor's Oyster-Prince Ranger was born of adventure and endurance. The first Rolex Explorer was produced in 1953. Since the ‘30s, numerous expeditions were equipped with Oyster watches. The Explorer was born through the rigorous trials faced by climbers on the Everest expedition, where Sir Edmund Hillary would use the Rolex Oyster to achieve one the greatest feats in human history. Rolex would adapt the feedback of the climbers when creating one of history’s greatest tool watches- the Explorer.

Adopting a similar design to the great Explorer, Tudor's Ranger enjoyed a similar origin. In the early '50s, 26 Tudor Oyster-Prince 7809 watches accompanied a group of British scientists in an expedition of Greenland- where temperatures plumeted as low as minus 66 celsius at base camp. Surviving the most difficult conditions, Tudor's new line of Ranger watches were marketed heavily around the British North Greenland Expedition (BNGE) - much like its predecessor in Rolex's Explorer.

The Oyster-Prince ranger has no official year of release- simply noted by Tudor as 'the 1960s'. It was produced until 1988, whereby the only glimpse of continuation was the Tudor Heritage Ranger 79910 (a re-edition of sorts released in 2016). While its origin remains murky, it has earned a cult following among collectors due to its rarity and provenance as a utilitarian tool watch with an incredible backstory.

Small yet robust, the black dial and Oyster case is reminiscent of many Oyster watches of the day. Its Rolex bracelet, arrow hour hand, syringe second hand and the iconic 3-6-9-12 dial offer a classic yet uniquely different flavour to this intriguing Tudor. Its large, luminous Arabic numerals make for optimum legibility in low-light conditions. Powered by a ETA calibre 2483 self winding movement, this incredible Oyster-Prince continues to keep time perfectly over 50 years on.