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Tudor Prince Oysterdate ref. 7951 — "Tuxedo" Patina Dial

Details

The Story

Here's a vintage Tudor Prince Oysterdate automatic reference 7951 with a rare \"tuxedo\" patinated crosshair dial from the 50s. Keeps great time and is fully functional. Measurements include a 34mm case size and 19mm lug width. On a brown pebble-textured leather strap (made in Italy). Non-quick date function at 3 a clock (red roulette date window). The dial is nicknamed the \"tuxedo\" dial because of the separate colors. The inner dial is a black crosshair and the outer dial (used to be silver) turned to a darker red, due to age. Alpha hands. The outer dial has some deterioration, as seen in the photos. All parts are original including the cabochon crown, dial, movement, and caseback. Both the dial and case are in great cosmetic, untouched condition.

Key Specs
History

The Oyster case — waterproof, screw-down crown, winding stem sealed against moisture — was Rolex's founding innovation, patented in 1926. Add a self-winding rotor mechanism from 1931, a date window, and you have the Oyster Perpetual Date: a workhorse that has anchored the Rolex lineup for decades.

The Oysterdate references — particularly the long-running 6694 — use a manual-wind movement in the familiar 34mm Oyster case. Produced from the early 1960s through the 1980s, the 6694 is one of the most collected entry-level vintage Rolex references: honest, unpretentious, and wildly durable. Dial variations across its production run include silver sunburst, champagne, blue, and a range of patina colors that develop naturally over decades.

The automatic counterparts — references 1500, 1501, 1503, 15000, and 15037 — span the 1960s through the 1980s in steel and 14-karat yellow gold, offering the same proportions with the convenience of self-winding. These watches were made to be worn every day, and the best vintage examples wear every day of that history on their dials.