Tudor Prince Date 74000N Review: A Dressy Daily

Okay, I know what you’re going to ask, why on earth did I get a Rolex datejust alternative when I’ve been quite vocal about my dream piece – the Rolex Explorer 36. If I didn’t have money for the Explorer (which I don’t), I should settle for the Tudor Ranger. Even as I’m typing up this review, the sentiment still makes sense to me. Yet, here I am with the Tudor Prince Date 74000N, in a 34mm size, lacquered white dial, roman numerals. 

A Change in Taste  

I’ve always been a “tool watch” fanatic. The whole idea of a tough, rugged, simple everyday, black dial watch. You know, summit the highest mountain the world, or save the world as a three-digit codenamed British spy kind of wrist companion. In short, I thought I would at least get a Sinn 556 due to my budget constraints. Spoiler, I did get a Sinn, and I sold it. 

I think it all came down to a decision I made during late 2022. To celebrate my graduation from University, I was presented with an opportunity to purchase somewhat of a grail piece. In short, it came down to three pieces: 

1. Tudor Black Bay 36 
2. Tudor Ranger 39
3. Tudor Black Bay 58 

Pretty decent line up considering my taste, it made sense. Lo and behold, I bought a Carter Tank instead. A story for another time. But I think that decision unleashed a particular watch interest that’s been subconsciously developing for the past 7 years. And I think a big part of that is allowing myself to stray away from popular norms and chasing popularity. 

Embracing this new version of me, I realized I treasure two factors more than anything else: 

1. Dial Aesthetics 
2. Wearability / Comfort 

The Tudor Prince Date in review today, albeit heavily borrowed from its older brother, is an extremely clean mash up of aesthetics and wearability.  

Tudor Prince Date: What’s the history? 

To talk about the Prince Date, we would have to go all the way back to 1952, when the Oyster Prince was first released. Oyster Perpetual, Oyster Prince, you get it. The Prince was created to be Rolex’s Perpetual affordable equivalent. 

Sharing the same Oyster case, which for me, is probably the most aesthetically well-rounded, and comfortable design I’ve ever experienced. The Oyster case has a perfect combination of simplicity, class, and function. It made sense too, the target audience for the Oyster Prince were blue collar workers. Don’t let the “blingy” roman numerals on the 74000N fool you, the older brothers such as the 7919 or the 7909 featured tropical gilt dials, waffle dials, you name them. 

Granted, pretty much all of the Oyster Princes’ had an equivalent more expensive, arguably better made Rolex Perpetual counterpart. It’s no wonder that Tudor was considered the Poor Man Rolex. It really wasn’t until the early 2010s where Tudor started establishing their own design language. 

What’s the point of the history lesson you might ask? If you like classic Rolex designs but don’t want to splurge? 

Buy a Tudor Oyster Prince Date. I guarantee if you look hard enough, you’ll find a similar alternative to a Rolex Perpetual that fits the bill. 

The 74000N for review today is a pretty close cousin of the reference 16200 line up of Datejust, except at 1/6 of the price. 

Case & Bezel:

There’s really no need to describe the Oyster case made famous by Hans Wilsdorf is there? Thousands of watches since have taken inspiration from the famous shellfish design. 

Another bit of history dump, the original Oyster had a two-piece design. The mid-case and bezel was produced entirely out of one piece of steel. The case back was then screwed on the mid-case with the crystal fitted from inside to create a pressure-fit seal. 

Nowadays, the Oysters are three-piece cases: case-back, mid-case, and bezel. 

The 74000N is no different from the modern three-piece Oysters, which is arguably the most comfortable case design out there. The finishing is what you’d expect from an entry-level Tudor, it’s done well, but nothing spectacular. It sports a mixture of brushed top and polished sides, with a screw down case-back that simply reads: “Tudor” and “Geneva”, and “Prince”. The bezel is brushed – cheers Tudor! The drilled lugs are a nice touch, a nod to the OG Oysters. Crown is signed with the Tudor shield, it’s a little small but the knurling makes it easy to operate. 

Again, it’s a utilitarian case, it’s form and function. It’s not meant to be glamorous and if you were to compare it to even an entry level Grand Seiko’s Zaratsu finishing, it would lose. That being said, I’d take this over better finished cases all day. The simplicity is so charming. 

Dial & Hands

So I might have a thing with roman numeral dials. First the Cartier Tank, and now this. Perhaps its not surprising that I bought the 74000N mainly because of its dial. 

First things first, the lacquered white dial is simply gorgeous, not as much as my partner but it’s close. The numerals are applied and goes from one to eleven, with the 12 being the Tudor shield, and the 3 being a date window – color matched that is. There is a faint outer minute track that allows the roman numerals to shine all the while being useful for time telling. There are small lume plots above each of the numeral, it’s passable on a “dressier” piece. 

The hands are pretty simple – classic stick hands with a thin strip of lume down the middle. 

If you haven’t noticed, I am completely smitten and in love with the Tudor Prince Date. It’s hard for me to find a flaw. The only thing is that the crystal isn’t AR-coated, and with the shiny indices can make it difficult to read under direct light. 

Bracelet

Two things that I really appreciate about this bracelet:

1. Finally, a non-Rolex feature 
2. It’s damn comfortable 

I’d describe it as the predecessor to the current bracelet in Tudor’s Glamour and 1926 line up. I would say it’s Tudor’s take on the Rolex jubilee bracelet. It has a similar “flex”, but at the same time feels very solid in construction. In some ways it reminds of the Beads of Rice bracelet, but with pizazz. 

Like most 20-year old Tudor’s, the clasp is stamped. In my opinion, I love these vintage stamped clasps, I talk about this in my review of the Baltic Aquascaphe GMT. The thinness is perfect, and the amount of micro-adjustment available is a real luxury – there are six of them. 

Comfort & Wearability

The most comfortable watch I have ever put on my 6 inch wrists. Yes it’s a 34mm, but with the Oyster case it wears more like a slim 36mm. The bracelet hugs my wrists perfectly. With it being so light and thin, I can wear it loose throughout the day regardless of how my wrists swell. 

I’m going to say it, I’ve reached comfort Nirvana. All watches from this day onwards will be compared to the Tudor Prince Date 74000N in terms of comfortability. I doubt any other (non-Tudor/Rolex) piece will ever come close, if there is, I’l let y’all know. 

In terms of wearability, it fits all occasions, unless you’re a three-digit codenamed British Spy trying to save the world in Costa Rica. The 74000N can be worn to the beach, the boardroom, on a night out, you name it. 

I personally would never take it off the bracelet but I reckon it would look good on a grey leather strap. 

Where do I find a Tudor Prince Date?

Now the Tudor Prince Date line has been discontinued for awhile now. I believe the Tudor Glamour and 1926 is now the “renewed” Prince Date line up. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find one of these 74000N. There are tons of Tudor Prince Date NOS (New Old Stock) out there, especially in the Asian market – try Hong Kong sites. You’ll be looking at paying around $1700 – $2000 for these, but they are worth every penny. 

Who is the Tudor Prince Date for?

Most of the Tudor Prince Date pieces are smaller in size, approximately 34mm – 38mm. If you’ve got tiny wrists like me, and have a lust for that vintage Rolex aesthetics without paying the big bucks? The Prince Date line up is a no brainer. I honestly cannot think of an alternative that even comes close to this. Maybe the Grand Seiko 9F’s? They used to come in a smaller 37mm sizing which probably is the Prince Date’s closest competitor. Similar price range too. 

Closing thoughts on the Tudor Prince Date 74000N

Design: Oyster case, white lacquered dial, roman numerals – say no more. 

Comfort: 34mm that wears like a “small” 36mm, flexible solid bracelet, what more can a 6 inch wrister ask for? 

Price: I paid less than USD$2000 for mine used, for the package it’s really hard to find an alternative. Are there better valued watches out there? Probably. 

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