The end of the 1990s marked a transitional period for Tudor, as they began to move away from using the Rolex name on their watches, using 'Prince Date' on dials and omitting the associated 'Oyster'. Tudor branded winding crowns and case backs were also introduced, marking the end of an era and setting the future path.
The last series of Tudor Submariners, the references 76100, 79090, and 79190, saw significant changes to the Submariner Date line, including a uni-directional bezel, sapphire crystals, and a slightly larger inner diameter of the bezel ring. Early models featured a glossy dial with 'painted' hour plots, which were replaced by luminous-filled white gold applied markers with text printed in a silver font. The word 'OYSTER' was dropped from the dial, and in 1997, polished steel bezel inserts were fitted, featuring black paint-filled numerals and markings.
The Mini-Sub was dramatically expanded into smaller size watches to include red, green, salmon, and copper colors. Tudor opted for the silver bezel on full-size watches and kept the dials blue or black. In 1998, the Hydronaut was released, and the Tudor Submariner was no longer produced.
