Tudor, established in 1926 by Hans Wilsdorf, the co-founder of Rolex, recently celebrated its centennial on February 17th. To mark this significant milestone, the esteemed watchmaker offered an unprecedented look into its manufacturing facilities and its movement-making subsidiary, Kenissi. This rare access extended to various component production sites, revealing a candid view of Tudor's operations that surpasses typical industry transparency. The tour provided deep insights into the company's operational scale, rigorous quality control, and sophisticated product design philosophy, showcasing industrial capabilities rarely seen or acknowledged within the watchmaking world. Over the past 15 to 20 years, Tudor has transformed significantly, moving from reliance on outsourced movements to developing modern in-house mechanical capabilities while maintaining accessible pricing. This evolution is underpinned by a meticulous industrial discipline akin to Rolex, combined with practical engineering decisions. Today, Kenissi movements power most Tudor watches, with only a few exceptions.
A Deep Dive into Tudor's Manufacturing Prowess
In 2023, Tudor inaugurated its state-of-the-art manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland, moving its primary production from Geneva to a facility designed for cutting-edge watch assembly. The environment is a testament to modern industrial watchmaking, where advanced robotics assist skilled watchmakers, ensuring precision and efficiency in every step. Workflows are meticulously organized into dedicated production cells for each product line, featuring autonomous workstations and standardized assembly processes. A controlled air environment, maintained by an HVAC system, eliminates dust—a watchmaker's nemesis—and regulates temperature and humidity. The "no stock" production model ensures watches are made only as needed, supported by a fully automated central component stock that dispatches parts throughout the facility. This integrated approach ensures absolute precision and repeatability, delivering impeccable quality. Tudor watches are backed by a 5-year international warranty, with recommended service intervals between 5 and 10 years.
Kenissi, founded in 2016 from a 2010 research initiative, handles the development and production of Tudor's movements and supplies movements to third-party brands like Chanel and Breitling. Chanel acquired a 20% minority stake in Kenissi in 2018. Kenissi operates physically and operationally connected to Tudor's Le Locle manufacture, focusing on robust, precise, and reliable automatic movements with long power reserves. Its product range includes three self-winding movement families—large, medium, and small—that can integrate functions like calendars, power reserve indicators, or GMT. These calibres feature high-quality solutions such as a monobloc tungsten rotor, a traversing balance bridge, and a free-sprung balance, echoing Rolex's trusted techniques. Kenissi works with specialized partners for components, with EMP manufacturing movement blanks and Kenitec producing oscillators and hairsprings in Le Noirmont. Kenissi's majority acquisition of EMP, a historical manufacturer of movement blanks, underscores its commitment to vertical integration. EMP's advanced production facilities, supplied by its sister company Precitrame Machine SA, produce millions of components annually. Kenitec, also in Le Noirmont, manufactures in-house oscillators, including hairsprings, a rare capability in the industry. While Tudor uses silicon hairsprings—benefiting from Rolex's patented technology—Kenitec produces conventional alloy hairsprings for third-party brands, ensuring that silicon technology remains exclusive to Tudor within the Kenissi ecosystem due to patent restrictions. Beyond movements, Tudor collaborates with external partners for "habillage" components. Montremo in La Chaux-de-Fonds manufactures dials, Joseph Baume in Le Noirmont produces watch case blanks, and Orolux in Le Noirmont handles case finishing. Detech specializes in bar milling and screw machining for Tudor bracelets and clasps. These partners, with their state-of-the-art industrial facilities, meet Tudor's stringent quality standards, reflecting the precision and technical capabilities required by the brand.
The industrial model of Tudor, though sharing roots with Rolex, stands distinctly apart. While both brands emphasize durability, reliability, and purposeful design, Tudor operates with a largely independent manufacturing structure. Unlike watch groups that centralize production resources, Tudor's approach eschews broad industrial synergy, opting for its own operational and technical logic tailored to its market position and business scale. The commitment to quality is paramount, with certain Tudor watches achieving Master Chronometer certification, a demanding standard evaluating precision, magnetic resistance, and overall performance. This highlights that "a Tudor is a Tudor, just as a Rolex remains a Rolex," each defining its identity through a unique industrial model, even as successful solutions from one may eventually inspire the other in its own way. This distinctive approach underscores Tudor's dedication to its own path of watchmaking excellence.