Marine nationale tudor snowflake opinions

[daveycrawford]

Hi
Thinking of pulling the trigger on a nice MN tudor sub from a very good & reputable dealer. Anyone think they are good/bad investments etc? Opinions much appreciated

[cardiel]

Hmmn.....most folks around here don't care for our little hobby being seen as an investment opportunity. Buy the watch because you want, need or love it. And if the time comes when you need to sell, well perhaps you might be able to get your money back out of it....you might even make something.......but nobody has a Chrystal ball....prices can go down as well as up.

[daveycrawford]

Yea i agree with you whole heartedly. I have a collection of new and vintage rolex, Tudors not so much. Just have a soft spot for the snowflake & the marine nationale in particular. I did not mean to come accross purely financial my reasoning more that I am entering unchartered waters, so to speak, and was just wondering if any other forum members with knowledge in this area and kind of watch had any insight. I do tend to buy with my heart but sometimes you also need a sanity check. Just casting my net to see if anyone likes or hates the idea of the MN Tudors or favours other types of Tudors?
Just fancied hearing people's opinions with far superior knowledge than my own.
Hope this makes sense? Oh and I am definitely in the market for that crystal ball if you find one!��

[frackas]

I have owned one, and did a fair amount of research going in. It's a tricky reference because the prices are all over the map. I have seen them from $17k USD to €50k Euro recently. If you get one with reliable decom papers and/or found in the ledger books around $25K, I think you've done well. It's worth noting that they haven't moved much price wise since I got mine in the fall of 2016. I paid $27k.

[cardiel]

Last time I enquired I was quoted £12K - should have jumped on it.

[daveycrawford]

Hi gents.
Thanks for the replies.
I am not fussed about the peaks and troughs of the value game just love the watch and was wondering if my watch envy and heart were effecting my decisions.
Glad I am not the only one who buys and wears just because they love the watches. Really looking forward to Tudor ownership. This one comes with decom papers and is a nice looking 1980 no date. I love the simplicity and nato straps rock!
Love the fact it comes with a certain history too ��

[lew07]

Think they are bit of a niche market to be honest.Id suggest just go for a good condition normal Tudor Sub Snowflake

[daveycrawford]

Yea you might be right. That's how I started with rolex, small first etc. Tudors are needing a bit of research from me.

[frackas]

Originally Posted by lew07

Think they are bit of a niche market to be honest.Id suggest just go for a good condition normal Tudor Sub Snowflake

But finding a civilian blue no-date snowflake is much harder than finding an MN. They exist, but are extremely uncommon. The date version is of course run of the mill and easy to come by, but not as attractive IMO.

[05carbondrz]

Originally Posted by frackas

But finding a civilian blue no-date snowflake is much harder than finding an MN. They exist, but are extremely uncommon. The date version is of course run of the mill and easy to come by, but not as attractive IMO.

This Man speaks the Truth,I went with a Black 7016/0 Snowflake and couldn’t be happier.The Date versions are everywhere,No Dates aren’t.Then You figure in all the rotted Dials,Hard Reference to find in Collector condition.

[daveycrawford]

I cant help but love the no date versions. Dare I say it, but more than the milsub?

[HL65]

I had one years ago and it was a great watch. I would only buy though if it had the decommissioning paperwork. Also make sure caseback is perfect. Finding mint proper ones not so easy especially with paperwork. Provenance is critical to these much like Milsub’s HH letters. I have seen fakes before so make sure you know exactly what you are looking at.

PS I had a Milsub too and the Tudor pales in comparison.

[FTX I]

Had to google this one. Awesome. Thanks.

[05carbondrz]

How can You not love these?

[daveycrawford]

Yes the papers are present and the dealer has a great reference. It's a black no date from approx 1980 decom in 2001 with serial numbers 9***** stamped onto case and reflecting on the paperwork. Ref 94010.

[sutats]

They're uber cool watches to know that they were worn and used as specced. I like that historical link. You really need to ensure it comes with its decommissioning paper and check it against the service ledger for authenticity.

[daveycrawford]

I would love to check the service ledger (if anyone knows how to do this please let me know) The decom papers are in excellent condition and serial numbers etc match. The dealer is also of a highly professional standing.

[In-Cog-Neeto]

Can someone explain why the watch needs decommissioning?

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by daveycrawford

I would love to check the service ledger (if anyone knows how to do this please let me know) The decom papers are in excellent condition and serial numbers etc match. The dealer is also of a highly professional standing.

There is a dealer who owns some of the service ledgers. However, since he only has a subset of the ledgers, a given watch may or may not be listed there.

[frackas]

Originally Posted by Dan S

There is a dealer who owns some of the service ledgers. However, since he only has a subset of the ledgers, a given watch may or may not be listed there.

I believe Jérôme Fellous (http://www.watchmywatch.fr) is the one in possession of these ledgers. Blank decom papers have been circulating, so finding the serial in the ledgers may arguably the most reliable mark of authenticity.

[exador]

Originally Posted by In-Cog-Neeto

Can someone explain why the watch needs decommissioning?

Proves the military provenance. It's rather easy to engrave the letters MNxx on a watch case back

[In-Cog-Neeto]

Originally Posted by exador

Proves the military provenance. It's rather easy to engrave the letters MNxx on a watch case back

Got ya. So the Watch was the property of military organisation and then decommissioned into private ownership. Thanks for that

[daveycrawford]

Yea the blank papers can be problematic but printed and not hand written ones are a great start.

[daveycrawford]

Loving it !
rps20190402_142747.jpg

[cardiel]

more pics please - case back, de-com papers etc............looking good

[daveycrawford]

Will do
Will get my pics sorted and posted. The paperwork is awesome and the hatchback very cool ��

[daveycrawford]

Here you go

[cardiel]

thumbs up!

[frackas]

Congrats on your purchase! Just to be on the safe side, I would contact Ross Povey (@tudorcollector on Insta) or Jérôme Fellous (http://www.watchmywatch.fr). They have seen countless of MN’s and would be able to provide reassurance on the watch you bought. The serial number should fall within a known range, and best case, would be found in the ledgers.

The one thing that’s a little odd is that yours is a black 94010 MN. Personally I have only seen blue 94010 MN’s. There are black 7016 MN’s and many black civilian 94010’s. This doesn’t mean black 94010 MN’s don’t exist, but it could be worth double checking anyhow.

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by frackas

Congrats on your purchase! Just to be on the safe side, I would contact Ross Povey (@tudorcollector on Insta) or Jérôme Fellous (http://www.watchmywatch.fr). They have seen countless of MN’s and would be able to provide reassurance on the watch you bought. The serial number should fall within a known range, and best case, would be found in the ledgers.

The one thing that’s a little odd is that yours is a black 94010 MN. Personally I have only seen blue 94010 MN’s. There are black 7016 MN’s and many black civilian 94010’s. This doesn’t mean black 94010 MN’s don’t exist, but it could be worth double checking anyhow.

Yes, it is unusual, but not because it's black, it's the hands. According to Ross Povey, the black-dial MN82 ref 94010 should have regular Mercedes hands, which is indeed the case for mine. Hands are easily replaced. Does the OP's watch have a five-digit serial?

https://tudorcollector.com/military/marine-nationale/