Tudor and Rolex don’t really do thin anymore. Even the new Oyster Perpetual 36 measures about 12mm in thickness. It’s a shame, really.
It wasn’t always this way: from 1957 through 1963, Tudor produced the Oysterthin, an unassuming model with a manual wind caliber that just happened to be squeezed into the thinnest Oyster case ever produced. While not technically a complication, understanding how a watch can get so thin is no less difficult to grasp than understanding the inner machinations of a perpetual calendar. And for most of horological history, some of the most exciting arms races between brands involved making the ultra thin even more thin.
Rolex also experimented with thin watchmaking, producing the unbearably named Veriflat and Verislim (see my in-depth article on the Rolex Veriflat here) in the 1950s. However, those watches were produced only in precious metals, while the Oysterthin sports a stainless steel Oyster case.
What is the Tudor Oysterthin Reference 7960?
Credit: Tudor Watch
As Tudor explains, the Tudor Oysterthin was the first extra-thin watch in a waterproof case:
The thinnest watch ever made by Tudor, only 6 mm thick, [the Ref. 7960] is a very rare model, produced in small number for only a few years, from 1957 to 1963. In the late 1950s, it went down in watchmaking history as being the thinnest waterproof Tudor wristwatch. Today it remains one of the Tudor timepieces most sought-after by collectors.
It features an extra-thin waterproof steel case 34 mm in diameter and 6 mm thick. [It is] powered by the extra-thin calibre 2402 – 3.6 mm thick, 23.7 mm in diameter – easily recognisable by its three rubies screwed into the top plate. It beats at a frequency of 18,000 beats per hour.
Some of this is Tudor hyping itself up: I’m not sure the Oysterthin is that “sought after” by collectors — I mean, no one’s really bothered to write about it until now. But, it’s surely a rare watch, and one that (in my opinion) is often under-appreciated by modern collectors.
With the Verislim and Veriflat having preceded the Oysterthin, this model is another instance of Tudor taking something from Rolex and putting its own, quirky spin on it. While Rolex thought of thin watchmaking as a feature to be added to dressy, precious metal watches, Tudor said, “f/ck it, let’s just make a thin Oyster sports watch and see if anyone buys it.” Well, it turns out not that many people bought it. But with Rolex footing the bill, who really cares? It’s kind of like Tudor trying out a manual wind Submariner (Ref. 7923), or even throwing a Snowflake hand on its Submariner because it could. See what sticks and all that, right?
It’s a Thin line
While Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, and other brands were competing to manufacture the thinnest this-or-that in the 1950s (and indeed, still do today. Okay, yes — you too, Bulgari), Tudor was content sticking the thin, manual wind ETA caliber 2402 into its slim effort. And there’s nothing wrong with that: of course, that was Tudor’s whole modus operandi. Leave the delicate, fancy watchmaking for someone else. It’s not like you could make a steel, waterproof case much thinner than the 6mm thick Oysterthin case anyway. The Reference 7960 case ends up a good 4mm thinner than the Tudor Reference 7934, a manual wind Oyster from the same era. While so many other brands were busy with the endless pursuit of “extra” or “ultra” flat, Tudor was happy with just Oysterthin — no more, no less. That no-B.S. approach is why I love Tudor.
At 6mm, the Tudor Oysterthin (L) is 4mm thinner than a typical Oyster Prince (R)
Interestingly enough, the Oysterthin seems to wear a bit bigger than a typical Tudor Oyster Prince or Rolex Oyster Perpetual of the era — perhaps because it sits flatter on the wrist. What’s more, there’s something decidedly impractical about having to unscrew the screw-down crown every day to manually wind the ETA caliber that’s actually endearing.
Collecting the Oysterthin
It’s not terribly difficult to find an Oysterthin, though finding a desirable example in good condition (as with any watch that’s 60 years old) is increasingly difficult. Most examples feature the silver dial common on most Tudor Oyster Prince models, with the word Oysterthin printed below the Tudor rose logo. You’ll find a variety of dial configurations, with the most common featuring simple stick indices, sometimes with a crosshair that stretches across the dial. Typically, the indices will be topped with lume plots, though that’s not always the case. Rarer examples will feature Arabic numerals — often in an Art Deco-style font — typically at 3, 6 and 9. Instead of the common applied indices, some dials instead employ indices that are carved into the dial.
As I’ve mentioned before, I have a thing for slate grey dials. So when I saw the charcoal grey dial Oysterthin (above) on Tudor’s website, I knew I had to have it. It seems this is a particularly rare dial variant, and I haven’t seen more than a couple pop up in the time I’ve been casually searching.
In addition to Oysterthin, Tudor also used the model name “Elegante” (yes, quotation marks included) for the Referene 7960. To me, the Oysterthin branding is more clean and simple (more Tudor), and more closely related to Rolex’s earlier Veri- line of watches (i.e., the Wildsorf marketing team was out enjoying their Swiss PTO in the mountains and responded to an email while skiing down the Alps, “le, just name it Oysterthin!”). There’s just something about branding a watch “Elegante” that strikes me as remarkably tacky. A watch should just be elegant, and not feel the need to broadcast itself as such.
Tudor “Elegante” Ref. 7960 | Credit: Blackbough
Listen, is the Oysterthin going to go from a couple-thousand-dollar watch to a Piaget Altiplano Ultra-thin (the current “thinnest watch in the world”)? No, of course not. It’s a thin, 34mm watch — the appeal is inherently limited. But, it’s a cool watch from an interesting time in Tudor history that should be more than just a footnote in the brand’s history.
There are so many watches in the back catalogs — even of popular brands like Rolex and Tudor — with interesting stories that, if collectors reach beyond the typical hit list of Submariners, GMT-Masters and Explorers, they might be thrilled to discover and collect. To me, the Oysterthin is one of those watches.