Editorial Hands-on Reviews Tudor

Tudor Heritage Advisor Sounds 65 Years Of Creating Alarm Watches (and carries on Plato’s legacy)

Editor’s note: This hands-on review of the Tudor Heritage Advisor has been photographed with the assistance of J Farren-Price Sydney. For our other detailed hands-on reviews, please head to our dedicated reviews section here. This is NOT a sponsored post.

Tudor Heritage Advisor

Tudor Heritage Advisor M79620T-0010

The Tudor Heritage Advisor in silver dial with an alarm function and added power reserve and “on/off” indicator was first announced in 2011 as a modern day interpretation of the brand’s emblematic 1957 alarm watch which featured a similar silver dial, appliqué Arabic numerals, Dauphine hands and red accents. 

1957 Tudor Advisor
©TUDOR. All Rights Reserved.
Tudor Heritage Advisor

It is now available in additional black and cognac dial variations, with all of them featuring a polished titanium central case and case-back along with a steel bezel measuring 42mm in diameter — 45mm with the crown — and 15mm in thickness. They feature a 49mm lug-to-lug and 22mm lug interhorn spacing and the watches are 100m water-resistant. The Tudor Heritage Advisor M79620T-0010 we are looking at today retails for 8’420 AUD on a finely brushed steel bracelet that comes with a folding clasp and safety catch.

All variations of the Tudor Heritage Advisor feature the same specs and dial layout. There is a steel winding crown at 4’o clock (engraved with the Tudor rose), a steel winding crown at 2’o clock for the alarm function (engraved with the text ‘Advisor’), and a tear-drop shaped oversized pusher at 8 to activate the alarm function.

Tudor Heritage Advisor

Brief Historical Context 

Some notable moments in time for alarm clocks/watches and placing the Tudor Heritage Advisor into context.

428–348 BC – Plato is said to have a large water clock with some sort of an alarm mechanism 

1787 – First American alarm clock by Levi Hutchins

1847 – French Antoine Redier first to patent an adjustable mechanical alarm clock

1908 – Patent filed by Eterna for a short lived mechanical alarm watch released in 1914

1940s – James F. Reynolds invents first radio alarm clock 

1947 – Vulcain Cricket as first hand-wound alarm watch 

1949 – Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox (hand-wound) 

1956 – First automatic alarm mechanical wrist watch by Jaeger-LeCoultre 

Tudor Heritage Advisor

1957 – Original hand-wound Tudor Advisor in silver 

1957 to 1977 – three different versions of Tudor Advisor are produced, two with an Oyster-type case, references 7926 and 1537, and one with a new dedicated case, reference 10050

1959 – Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Deep Sea with 200m water resistance 

1969 – Omega Seamaster Memomatic  

Tudor Heritage Advisor

2011 – Tudor Advisor remade with applied diamonds indexes and the applied numerals at 3 – 9 – 12 as Tudor Heritage Advisor, again in a silver dial 

2013 – Tudor Heritage Advisor adds a black dial 

2016 – Tudor Heritage Advisor adds a cognac dial

2022 – 65th anniversary of Tudor Heritage Advisor 

M79620tc 0001 Cognac Leather Cognac Det Amb
©TUDOR. All Rights Reserved.

Basic Specifications of the Tudor Heritage Advisor

All the Tudor Heritage Chrono variations including the reference M79620T-0010 feature the Calibre T401-901, which is essentially ETA 2892-A2 with an with additional alarm function mechanism developed exclusively by the brand. It is just like the Tudor Heritage Chrono that uses the same ETA 2892-A2 with a Dubois-Dépraz module on top for the chronograph.

This 25.6mm diameter beats at 4Hz frequency movement and provides with a 42-hour power reserve.

Tudor Heritage Advisor

Tudor Heritage Advisor Hands-on Experience 

In my personal collection, there is a gaping hole where an alarm watch would neatly fit; however, I want a worldtimer or at least a GMT with an alarm function, because to me the lure of using a watch like this is whilst travelling.

But as much as the Tudor Heritage Advisor is not for me personally, I do find the watch to be quite attractive. And that’s despite its rather larger size. 

On my ~16cm wrist, it wears on the larger side. Sometimes I find that when a watch above 40mm diameter is worn, the wearing experience can make the watch appear smaller, such as in the case of the Tudor BB GMT. But the Tudor Heritage Advisor wears large, there is no hiding that.

Tudor Black Bay GMT Pepsi 1
Tudor Heritage Advisor

Now given the originals from 1957 came in 34mm diameter, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tudor released an updated version to mark its 65th anniversary in smaller size. Perhaps even featuring a manual movement like the original’s manually wound A. Schild movement. 

But to give credit where due, it is one handsome timepiece, that’s built for practicality (alarm) but surprisingly will look good even as a dress watch for larger gentlemen. The red accents add a fair bit of welcome flair and overall the Tudor Heritage Advisor impresses.

Tudor Heritage Advisor

I love the play of depth, whether be it with the symmetrically balanced on/off indicator aperture with the sloping window frame or the sunken power reserve indicator, and also in the 6’o clock sub-dial date indictor which is again sunken. The main dial itself is broken up into segments, with the central disc slightly raised and featuring a sunken framing groove, somewhat like the jaquet Droz figure ‘8’ dial design. There is also decent amount of surface play here, with the date sub-dial featuring an azurage treatment that contrasts very nicely with the brushed finish of the main outer dial. 

Tudor Heritage Advisor

Even though there is bare minimum lume —  fragments in hands and next to all indices except  3 – 9 – 12 — I like how the highly polished appliqué markers catch and reflect the light. 

Tudor Heritage Advisor

Another small detail I like is the side view when the hands stack, with the red one bringing in a sense of charisma. And on the polished watch the brushing on the top of the lugs helps break the ‘hockey-puck’ appearance.

It is also one of the few modern day Swiss alarm watch examples available to buy for an amount that doesn’t make you survive only on 2-minute noodles for the rest of the year, and especially considering the pricing of only 8’420 AUD and Tudor’s 5-year transferrable warranty, it is definitely an enticing option. 

Tudor Heritage Advisor

Both JLC and Vulcain come to mind when talking about alarm watches. For slimmer wrists, the soon to be released Vulcain Cricket Tradition in 36mm x 12.7mm case with their 42-hour V-10 calibre seems to be another option. 

Currently, there are two JLC alarm complication watches in their catalogue: the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Mariner Memovox ref. 9038180 that retails for 26’700 AUD and is roughly the same dimensions as the Tudor Heritage Advisor measuring in at 42mm x 15.63mm. It features 300m water-resistance and a unidirectional internal notched rehaut bezel (and far more lume). It is also 3 times the price.

Tudor Heritage Advisor

Then there is also the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox ref.  4118420 that retails for 18’500 AUD. This less expensive version is still 10K costlier than the Tudor Heritage Advisor, but is a much more dressier and slim wrist friendly version coming in at 40mm x 12.39mm. It has a lower 50m water resistance and the calibre 956AA provides a 44-hour power reserve in comparison to the T401’s 42-hour power reserve.

Tudor Heritage Advisor

There are also more expensive options, such the Breguet Marine Alarme Musicale (my favorite of the lot), Patek Philippe 5520P, Richard Mille RM 62-10 Tourbillon Vibrating Alarm ACJ and the now discontinued Glashütte Original Senator Diary Ref. 100-13-02-02-01.

In regards to something Swiss made and around the same price as that of the Tudor Heritage Advisor, there is the larger Oris Big Crown Propilot Alarm LE. It features a 44mm diameter, 22mm lug interhorn spacing, 100m water-resistance, and courtesy its caliber Oris 910 — based on on La Joux-Perret 5800 / A.S. 5008 — it has a 45-hour power reserve. It comes with a 2-year warranty and an RRP of 7’500 AUD. 

Tudor Heritage Advisor

Simply put, the Tudor Heritage Advisor swims pretty unchallenged in its category. It is a good looking watch, with a rather uncommon complication, and one that is also seeped in both timekeeping and watchmaking history. If you are in the market for a new and handsome alarm watch without breaking the bank, the Tudor Heritage Advisor rings all the right tones.

Tudor Heritage Advisor

To find out more about the new Tudor Heritage Advisor collection and  other Tudor watches, please head to their website here or visit their authorised retailer J Farren-Price Sydney at 80 Castlereagh St, Sydney (02 9231 3299). All images unless otherwise specified are ©Watch Ya Gonna Do About It.

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