Tudor have long been labelled Rolex’s sister brand. Although their watches are not powered by in-house movements, the overall quality of Tudor watches is fantastic and provides a good balance with value. We applaud Tudor on their Grantour Date.

The Grantour series of watches was introduced in 2009 when Tudor became Porsche’s timing partner. It is a fairly unknown line but when we saw a picture of this on Instagram, we were pleasantly surprised at its design, and even moreso, its price.

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Appreciate the Tudor shield on the end of the second hand

The case is probably the Grantour Date’s strongest design point. Utilising Rolex’s Oyster case with larger lugs turns the watch into a sports watch. The top of the case is polished while there is circular brushing on the underside. The dial itself is simple with relatively thick hands to make the watch more legible. The Tudor shield stands our proudly at the 12 o’clock position. The aperture for the date window sits neatly at the 3 o’clock marker and has a white background for easy reading.

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Polished case

The bezel again is very simple as in a Porsche-esque font. It is lacquer filled and has a glossy finish over it which unfortunately will pick up some scratches over time. The crown is a Tripclock crown with a Tudor shield on it. Great to see Rolex’s Triplock patent being used in a watch of this price. The strap is a simple black leather strap, but perforated to portray its motorsport link.

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Bezel and dial

At 42mm, the watch definitely has a strong wrist presence. Waterpoofing is rated at 150m which makes this a go-anywhere-do-anything type watch. More recently we have become big fans of these kinds of watches as they can be taken to the office or on your beach holiday, and enjoyed during that time without having to worry too much about how the watch is coping.

Obviously the Grantour Date is not a refined watch is amazing small details that would appeal to most watch aficionados. However it is a no-nonsense watch that is well executed, of high quality, and has many characteristics of larger, more expensive Rolex watches. With the option to go with a silver dial and/or a bracelet, you can configure the Grantour Date to suit your tastes.

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Tudor Grantour Date wrist shot