Buy a Tudor · South Florida · by appointment
Buy a pre-owned Tudor that one person has already read.
Black Bay, Pelagos, Ranger, Black Bay Fifty-Eight. Every Tudor in my case was bought in person, placed on the right side of the ETA or in-house line, and listed with its card, straps, and history. See it in your county or by photos, video, and a call.
- ETA or in-house calibre confirmed from the dial and the reference
- Second strap, tool, and card checked and listed
- Authenticated in person before it ships, guaranteed genuine
- Hand delivery in South Florida, insured FedEx across the USA
Who this page is for
Tudor is where many buyers start with me. Here is how to start well.
A Tudor is often the first serious watch a buyer brings to a private dealer, and the questions are the same every time: Black Bay or Pelagos, which generation, does the in-house calibre matter, and why buy pre-owned when a boutique will sell you a new one. This page answers those from the buyer's side.
How Tudor references are read for condition, the vintage Submariners, bronze patina, the five-year card, all of that is on my sell page for Tudor and its Black Bay and Pelagos pages. I link it rather than repeat it. Here you get what to check before you pay, how a Tudor gets into my case, and when buying new is the better call.
There are no prices here. A Tudor sells close to retail, and the gap between new and pre-owned shifts with every catalog change. The watches in the case carry their numbers; this page carries the reasoning.
Buying a Tudor from a private dealer
What changes when the seller knows the brand.
The calibre placed first
A 79220 Black Bay runs a supplied ETA; a 79230 runs Tudor's MT5602. The dial text at six o'clock confirms which. I list the calibre with the reference so you buy the one you meant to.
The strap set, accounted for
Most Black Bays shipped with a second fabric strap, and the Pelagos with a rubber strap and extension. I list what came with the watch, and I tell you what did not.
The card and its clock
A Tudor sold from around 2020 carries a five-year transferable warranty. I list the sale date on the card so you know how much coverage follows the watch to you.
Seen before you pay
By appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach, or by photos, video, and a call anywhere in the USA. Nothing ships until you have seen it.
Guaranteed genuine
Every Tudor I sell was authenticated by me before it was listed: case, movement, serial, card. The known history is in the listing.
Before you pay for any Tudor
Six things to check, wherever you buy.
I check these before a Tudor reaches my case. If you are buying elsewhere, check them yourself.
Dial text at six o'clock
A curved Rotor Self-Winding line means an ETA Black Bay. Three straight lines ending in Chronometer Officially Certified mean an in-house MT56 calibre. The reference between the lugs should agree.
Pelagos generation and crown side
The early 25500T Pelagos runs a supplied calibre; the 25600TN and 25600TB from around 2015 run the MT5612. The LHD puts the crown on the left and is numbered. Ask which you are buying.
Bevels on steel, patina on bronze
A Black Bay case has polished bevels against brushed flanks; a heavy polish blurs that line. A Bronze should wear an even, untouched patina, not a scrubbed-bright case.
Card date and warranty term
Date the watch from the card, not the serial. A sale date inside the five-year term means coverage follows you; an older two-year card is likely expired.
Bracelet, clasp, and the spare strap
Riveted bracelet with all its links, a T-fit or extension clasp that locks, and the spare fabric or rubber strap from the box. Each one is part of the set.
Service through the Rolex network
Tudor service in the United States runs through the same network as Rolex. Ask for service papers and any returned parts; an unrecorded service is unknown history.
How buying works here
Four steps, one person.
01
Choose from the case, or ask
Browse the Tudor references in the catalog. If the Black Bay size, dial, or Pelagos generation you want is not there, tell me and I search my private network for it.
02
See it
By appointment, Monday to Saturday, in your county or at my Brickell office. Out of state, I send photos and video of the watch in hand and I walk you through it on a call before anything ships.
03
Pay and take delivery
I hand-deliver in South Florida. Elsewhere in the USA the watch ships FedEx Priority Overnight, fully insured, signature at both ends, in discreet unbranded packaging.
04
Inspect it yourself
Remote purchases come with an inspection window on arrival, stated in the terms. If the watch is not what the photos and the call described, it comes back.
A buyer's decision
New at retail or pre-owned from my case.
Unlike a steel Rolex, most Tudor references can be bought new without a wait. That makes this a real choice, and new wins more often than buyers expect.
| Criteria | New from an authorized dealer | Pre-owned from me |
|---|---|---|
| Warranty | Full five-year term from the day you buy | Whatever remains on the card; sometimes most of it, sometimes none |
| Configuration | Choose bracelet, leather, or fabric from the current catalog | You take the configuration the first owner chose, with the spare strap if it survived |
| Discontinued references | Not available: the ETA 79220, the first Pelagos, early Fifty-Eight dials | Where the discontinued references live; the only route to a 79220 or a 25500T |
| Condition | Unworn, by definition | Inspected and described honestly, including any bevel wear or patina |
| What you pay against | List price, fixed by Tudor | The market for that reference and set; usually below retail, and I show the reasoning |
| Trade-in | Rarely, and not against a used watch | Your current watch credited after inspection, toward the Tudor or anything else |
If you want a current-production Black Bay in a standard configuration and warranty matters to you, buy it new. I will tell you the same in person.
The detail
Buying a Tudor pre-owned, decision by decision.
ETA or in-house: what it means to a buyer
Tudor moved the Black Bay from the ETA 2824 to its own MT5602 in 2016, and the reference changed from 79220 to 79230. The in-house watch runs longer on a wind and carries chronometer certification. The ETA watch is thinner, with the smiley dial collectors like, and it is discontinued, so it is only available pre-owned. Neither is the wrong buy. Decide which you want before you shop, because they are priced against different comparables and a listing that blurs the two is not describing the watch.
Black Bay or Pelagos
The Black Bay is the heritage diver: steel, a domed crystal, gilt or silver print, and the full run of sizes from the 41 mm to the Fifty-Eight and the 54. The Pelagos is the tool: titanium, a matte dial, a helium valve, and a clasp that extends on its own as a wetsuit compresses. The Pelagos wears lighter and larger than its case size suggests; the Fifty-Eight wears smaller. If you can, try both on at an appointment before deciding. The Black Bay and Pelagos sell pages hold the reference lists.
What to check before you pay, wherever you buy
Read the dial text at six o'clock and the reference between the lugs, and make sure they agree. Ask for the card and read its sale date. Look at the case bevels in raking light and, on a Bronze, at the evenness of the patina. Ask for the spare strap, the tool, and the box. On a Pelagos, work the extension clasp. On a GMT or a Chrono, set the function. A seller who cannot say whether the watch is ETA or in-house has not read it.
The five-year card and what follows the watch
Tudor's five-year warranty, on watches sold from around 2020, is transferable and needs no registration, so it follows the watch to you. The card is the document that proves the start date. A pre-owned Tudor with three years left on its card is a different purchase from one with a two-year card from a decade ago, and I list the date so you can see which you are buying. Without the card, I still sell the watch; the listing says so and the inspection carries the weight.
How a Tudor gets into my case
I buy every Tudor in person or on my own insured label and inspect it the day it arrives: calibre placed from the dial and reference, bevels and bracelet under a loupe, clasp action, card against serial, and the strap set counted. A vintage Tudor Submariner is never bought from photos alone. If a watch needs service, it goes through the Rolex network before it is listed and the papers come with it. The listing carries what I found.
Catalog or a commissioned search
If the Black Bay in the case is the size and dial you want, buy it. If you want something the case does not hold, a 79220 with the spare strap, a Pelagos LHD, a Fifty-Eight in a dial Tudor no longer makes, tell me and I search my private network. A search on a discontinued Tudor can take time, because clean complete examples are kept, not sold.
When buying a Tudor from me is not the right call
If you want a current Black Bay in a standard configuration, buy it new and take the full warranty; the pre-owned saving on a current Tudor is often small. If you are really shopping for a Rolex and a Tudor is a compromise, read my Tudor versus Rolex guide first and then decide, because a Black Bay bought as a placeholder gets sold within a year. If you want a discontinued reference, a complete set, or one person who inspected the watch and will deliver it by hand, that is what I do.
Questions, answered
Before you buy a Tudor
Can I see the watch in person before I pay?
Yes. By appointment, Monday to Saturday, in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach, or at my office in Brickell. Try on a Black Bay and a Pelagos side by side if you are undecided.
Is a pre-owned Tudor still under warranty?
If it was sold from around 2020, the five-year warranty is transferable and follows the watch. I list the card's sale date so you can see how much remains. Older two-year cards are usually expired.
Do you sell to buyers outside South Florida?
Yes, anywhere in the USA. Photos, video, and a call before it ships, fully insured with signature required, and an inspection window on arrival stated in the terms.
Can I trade my watch toward a Tudor?
Yes. Send the trade details through the appraisal form. It is inspected and credited against the Tudor, from the case or sourced.
Buy a Tudor
See what is in the case, or tell me which Tudor you want.
Every Tudor I sell was inspected by me before it was listed and is guaranteed genuine. Appointments in your county, hand delivery in South Florida, insured shipping across the USA.