Rolex Submariner or Tudor, which one do you prefer?

I’ve read Daan gives a lot of reasons for buying a Tudor Black Bay over a Rolex Submariner, but not many of them are about the watch itself. Lack of availability and price, it is often worn by people who don’t care about the watch. Yes, these are all partially true. But just focusing on the watch, all I have to do is show you the Submariner and Black Bay side by side and you will immediately understand why Rolex is a classic and Tudor is not. Especially when we look at the two watches from the side, the 41mm Black Bay is thick.
I don’t mind buy replica watches, but the proportions of the Black Bay are really bad compared to the Submariner. I get it; developing a watch that needs to be water and shock resistant, while – crucially – somehow affordable must come at the cost of thickness, etc. The Rolex Submariner doesn’t suffer from this. It is very comfortable to wear and meets all the requirements in terms of specifications.
The first thing you will notice when you put on the Rolex Submariner is the quality of every part of this watch. Whether it’s the comfort of wearing it, the finish of the case and bracelet, or the hands and applied indexes, everything is perfect. And I haven’t even talked about the movement. Inside is a Rolex caliber 3235 (date) or 3230 (no date). These are in-house movements with a 70-hour power reserve and guaranteed accuracy of an average of ±2 seconds per day. In addition, these latest Rolex movements have paramagnetic hairsprings and high-performance shock absorbers. Tudor’s movements are not bad either, and Kenissi developed them. But Rolex and Tudor don’t share much more than a few departments unrelated to production these days, so don’t be fooled by salespeople telling you that Tudor is Rolex’s entry-level product. It’s just a different brand and product.
I don’t like to overuse terms like “icon” or “cult watch”, but if there’s one watch that deserves that definition, it’s the Rolex Submariner. Yes, it’s hard to get (but not impossible), Rolex lacks proper distribution, and dealing with authorized dealers can be a nightmare (requiring you to buy some other replica watches before you’re allowed to be put on a waiting list), but that’s not the fault of the copy watch itself. It’s a great watch, and it’s just that when money is involved, people get nasty.
From an aesthetic standpoint, the Submariner hasn’t changed much over the decades. It’s gotten a little bulky, a little shiny, and now uses ceramic, but it’s unmistakably related to those first Submariners from 70 years ago. If you’re not a fan of this generation, you can also look at past models (like I did). There are enough to choose from.