What movement is in the Tudor Submariner 7016?

The standard movement is Tudor calibre 2483, based on the ETA 2483 and often designated 2461-2483. It is an automatic, no-date movement with 25 jewels, an 18,000-vibrations-per-hour frequency, hacking seconds, and approximately 42 hours of power reserve.

What makes the Submariner 7016 a Snowflake?

The Snowflake configuration uses square or rectangular luminous markers, including the distinctive large square marker at nine, together with an angular hand set. The square-ended hour hand and broad luminous central-seconds hand are the most immediately visible differences from the conventional Mercedes-style layout of the 7928.

Is the Tudor Submariner 7016 a no-date watch?

Yes. The 7016 is the no-date model. The contemporary 7021/0 is the date-equipped sibling, using the related ETA calibre 2484 and a date aperture with a Cyclops magnifier.

What should “SWISS ONLY” mean on a Submariner 7016?

“SWISS” or “SWISS ONLY” is associated with early 7016 dials, including very early Snowflake examples. Later dials generally use “T SWISS T” for the tritium era. The transition overlapped, so the inscription should be assessed separately from the logo, marker layout, hands, case, and movement.

What affects Submariner 7016 value?

Value is most affected by originality and coherence rather than the reference number alone. Original blue Snowflake dials, correct black examples, attractive natural fading, documented military provenance, complete period accessories, sharp case geometry, and matching hands and bezel can command premiums. Refinished dials, reluming, replacement hands, incorrect movements, polished cases, and assembled parts reduce originality.

Tudor Submariner 7016

The Tudor Submariner 7016 is the reference in which the Snowflake design arrived, while the rose, shield, and lume transitions show Tudor still defining what that design would become.

Production: 1969–1975
Case: Stainless steel
Diameter: ~39 mm
Lug width: 20 mm
Bezel: Black or blue insert
Water res.: ~200 m / 660 ft
Dial: Black or blue
Movement: ETA cal. 2483
Power reserve: ~42h
Date: No date
Lume: Early Swiss-only; later tritium
Crown guards: Semi-pointed → rounded

The Tudor Submariner 7016 was produced from 1969 to 1975.

Production years: 1969–1975
Replaced: 7928
Replaced by: 9401/0
Movement: ETA cal. 2483

The Tudor Submariner 7016 is the watch in which Tudor’s most recognizable dive-watch language first became visible, yet its earliest examples still look like a design being worked out in real time. Within one reference, a collector can encounter a rose-logo dial inherited from the preceding 7928, a shield dial with ordinary round plots, and the square markers and snowflake hands that made the 7016 a distinct generation. That is why the reference is more than a first Snowflake: it is a record of Tudor moving from one Submariner identity to another.

The mechanical change was just as consequential. Tudor replaced the Fleurier/Tudor calibre 390 with the ETA-based calibre 2483, retaining the earlier 18,000-vibrations-per-hour frequency while beginning the long ETA-powered period of the Submariner line. The watch remained time-only, with no date aperture, and kept the approximately 39 mm stainless-steel case and roughly 200-metre rating. The result was familiar enough to remain a Submariner, but new enough to establish the visual and mechanical template that the 9401/0 would later refine.

The vivid evidence is on the dial. Early examples can show gilt or gilt-like printing, a rose logo, and conventional Mercedes-style hands. Transitional shield dials retain round luminous plots. Very early Snowflake dials then place the shield above square plots and pair them with the large angular hand set, while the lower edge may still read “SWISS” or “SWISS ONLY.” Later dials generally carry “T SWISS T,” but that lume-marking change was gradual and overlapped the design sequence. Black and blue were independent colour choices, so neither colour alone establishes a date.

The 7016 therefore rewards a collector who treats originality as a relationship between parts. The movement identifies the reference family, but the dial, hands, lower-edge inscription, bezel colour, crown guards, and case condition each tell a separate part of its history. A correct example looks less like a watch assembled from period-correct ingredients than one whose components have aged together.

“The 7016 is Tudor’s Snowflake in formation: one reference, several visual languages, and a calibre change that made the redesign permanent.”

Production timeline

Tudor 7016 production years: 1969–1975

The 7016’s chronology is a sequence of linked changes, not a single package. Tudor introduced the reference with the ETA 2483 because the earlier calibre 390 gave way to an ETA-based movement, while the retained 18,000-vibrations-per-hour frequency kept the mechanical character familiar. The reason for the precise rose-to-shield dial sequence is not documented, but surviving descriptions place rose dials first, shield dials with round plots next, and the full Snowflake arrangement very early in the reference’s life.

The Snowflake layout itself was the decisive change. Viewed on the wrist, the square luminous plots interrupt the round-marker grammar of an earlier Submariner, and the broad angular hands make the centre of the dial look more graphic and deliberate. That design did not wait for a later movement or case generation. Early Snowflake examples already used the 2483, which is why calibre and dial cannot be treated as one dating key.

The lower-edge inscription follows a separate path. Early Snowflake watches are associated with “SWISS” or “SWISS ONLY,” while later examples generally carry “T SWISS T,” indicating the tritium era. Specialist and auction evidence does not establish a universal serial cutoff, and the change overlapped the dial layouts. A Snowflake dial can therefore be early and Swiss-only, or later and tritium-marked, without the hand geometry changing with it.

Case form adds another independent layer. Early watches are associated with semi-pointed crown guards, while later cases have more conventional rounded guards. Polishing and replacement parts can erase that evidence, and collector terms such as “SPCG” or “Mk1” describe observed geometry rather than official Tudor factory series. Blue and black were colour alternatives, not a simple early-to-late progression. By the time the 9401/0 replaced the 7016 around the mid-1970s, a reference that had occupied only a few years had already passed through several distinct visual and mechanical states. The Snowflake was not born as a finished archetype; the 7016 preserves its formation.

1969
Introduced
Square plots and angular hand set
c. 1968 – 69
Rose dials
Rose logo, gilt lower printing
c. 1968 – 69
Shield transition
Shield logo, round luminous plots
c. 1968 – 69
Snowflake dials
Large square plot at nine
c. early 1970s
Tritium marking
T SWISS T at six
c. 1975
Discontinued
Later case and ETA 2776

How to tell it apart

7016 against its neighbours

These three references frame the 7016 from both sides of its identity. The 7928 shows the conventional Tudor Submariner it replaced, the 7021 isolates the date-equipped companion from the same Snowflake generation, and the 9401/0 shows the no-date design after Tudor moved to the next ETA movement.

	7928 Immediate predecessor c. 1959–1967/68	7021/0 Contemporary date sibling c. 1969–1975	This reference 7016 Tudor · focal 1969–1975	9401/0 No-date successor c. 1975–early 1980s
Production	c. 1959–1967/68	c. 1969–1975	1969–1975	c. 1975–early 1980s
Case	Stainless steel	Stainless steel	Stainless steel	Stainless steel
Diameter	Not stated	Not stated	~39 mm	Not stated
Bezel	Rotating timing	Snowflake-generation bezel	Black or blue insert	Snowflake-generation bezel
Water res.	Not stated	Not stated	~200 m / 660 ft	Not stated
Dial	Round plots, Mercedes hands	Snowflake, date aperture	Black or blue	Later Snowflake family
Movement	Tudor cal. 390	ETA cal. 2484	ETA cal. 2483	ETA cal. 2776
Date	No date	Date, Cyclops	No date	No date

Dial generations

Nine dial generations across the run

The earliest 7016 dials can look at first like late 7928 survivors. A rose logo sits at 12, the lower half carries four lines of text including “SUBMARINER,” and the hands remain conventional Mercedes-style forms rather than the later Snowflake set. Early examples may show gilt or gilt-like minute-track printing, which catches the light around the dial edge. This is the earliest 7016 family, not a separate reference, and its inherited appearance is precisely what makes it easy to confuse with the preceding generation.

Buying guide

What to check before buying a 7016

Buying a 7016 is risky for a precise reason: the reference contains several legitimate configurations, while its most valuable components are also the easiest to replace. A rose dial, shield dial, Snowflake handset, blue insert, Swiss-only signing, and tritium marking each carry different dating implications, so a visually attractive watch can still be an incoherent assembly. The strongest purchase is not simply the rarest-looking example, but the one whose dial, hands, case, movement, and ageing agree.

Start with the dial

Look at the logo, marker geometry, lower-edge inscription, and hand shapes as separate features. A date aperture is incorrect for the no-date 7016 and points toward the related 7021/0 instead. “SWISS ONLY” and “T SWISS T” belong to different lume-marking eras, but neither one alone dates the whole watch.

Verify the calibre

A 7016 should generally contain Tudor’s ETA-based calibre 2483, often designated 2461-2483 in Tudor and specialist literature. The date-bearing ETA 2484 belongs to the 7021/0. A correct movement supports the reference, but it does not prove that the dial, hands, or case are original to one another.

Inspect the case geometry

Semi-pointed crown guards are associated with early examples and rounded guards with later cases. Examine the shoulders, lugs, engravings, crown tube, and caseback together. Over-polishing can soften crown guards and lug geometry, while replacement parts can create a misleading combination.

Treat colour as independent

Black and blue were overlapping choices. A blue dial should be assessed with its matching bezel insert, printing, hand set, and lume rather than assigned a date from colour alone. Attractive fading can be natural, but chemical alteration and refinishing are major originality concerns.

Check lume and service history

Compare the visible lume in the hands and plots, then inspect for reluming, damaged material, or mismatched ageing. A later service component is not automatically evidence of a counterfeit, but a seller describing a watch as original should disclose replacements. Have the movement examined by a watchmaker familiar with vintage Tudor and Rolex cases.

Do not assume water resistance

The 7016 was rated to approximately 200 metres when new, but that rating says nothing about the condition of a decades-old crown, tube, crystal, gaskets, or caseback. A qualified specialist should inspect and pressure-test the watch, and many owners choose not to expose an original vintage example to water regardless of the result.

Every watch sold on Grey Market goes through this kind of inspection, hands-on, before it ships to the buyer. More in our FAQ

Price and value

7016 price and value

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Similar references

Adjacent in the Submariner family

Date successor to the 7021/0

9411/0

c. 1975–early 1980s

Later Snowflake-family variant

76100

Later 1980s

Frequently asked

Common questions about the 7016

The Tudor Submariner 7016 was produced from 1969 to 1975. Some collector accounts place early production in 1968, and some date the successor transition to 1976, reflecting differences between introduction, delivery, and serial-number dating. Tudor’s 1969 catalogue is the clearest documented introduction point.

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Reviewed by the Grey Market authentication team · Last verified 2026-10-09

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