The ‘Homeplate’ reference 7031 is one of the most sought after of all vintage Tudor wristwatches.

Tudor launched the references 7031 and 7032, the brand’s first chronographs in 1970. These watches were immediately distinguished by their very large (for the time) case size of 40 mm. However, the most striking feature of these first chronographs are the dials. The design is bold, bright and unusual, in particular the shape of the hour markers and register fields which are said to resemble the ‘home plate’ on an U.S. baseball field, thus the nickname ‘Homeplate’ was coined. The main colour for the dial was grey, with a black outer track and subsidiary dials and five-second numerals in bright orange with corresponding orange chronograph hand. The 45-minute counter having a bright orange triangle in the 5-10 minute portion. References 7031 and 7032 are essentially identical, the only difference is that reference 7031 features a black plastic tachymeter bezel and reference 7032 features an all stainless steel tachymeter bezel.

The ‘Tudor’ brand was introduced by Rolex around 1945 with the aim of supplying high quality watches at affordable prices. Although Rolex never advertised their connection to Tudor, they however supplied, amongst other parts, the Oyster cases and rotors. The symbol of the brand was the Tudor rose until around 1960 when it was replaced by the shield which is still in use today. The line of models also comprised Submariner and Cosmograph-style wristwatches that were considered as reliable and durable as their Rolex counterparts. With their varied and colourful ‘exotic’ dials, vintage Tudor watches have become highly desirable and extremely popular amongst collectors.