*Unpolished* 1971 Tudor Monte Carlo Chronograph (Ref. 7032/0) Black "Home Plate" Dial

Tudor has always been compared to its older brother Rolex, though for a very brief period of time, Tudor produced a chronograph that was not only superior to the Rolex Daytona but remains on equal ground of collectibility to this day. This is the first series of chronographs that Tudor ever produced and is aptly nicknamed the "Homeplate" for the specific design of the dial's markers, and without coming across as too cheeky, they really knocked it out of the park with this one. 

The Tudor Home Plate chronograph is generally considered to be a prototype that ended up hitting jewelry store shelves, much like the Rolex Daytona ref. 6240, and was produced between 1970-1971. Though for a prototype, Tudor didn't limit themselves on design for the new halo-model chronograph. The Home Plate was produced in three different references, the ref. 7031 with a fixed black bezel, the ref. 7032 with a fixed steel bezel, and the ref. 7033 with a rotating black bezel. The Tudot Home Plate was also offered in two dial variations, a black dial with grey sub-dials and a grey dial with black sub-dials. However, the black dial variant is above and beyond the more rare of the two and the most sought-after among collectors.

Interestingly, these very first Tudor chronograph models employed a Valjoux cal. 7734 movement, which is a manual winding chronograph movement much like the Valjoux movement used in the Rolex Daytona in the same era. However, the cal. 7734 introduced a date complication to the chronograph which became a mainstay of Tudor chronographs moving forward, but was never seen on the Rolex Daytona. The Home Plate and early Monte Carlo series as a whole is beloved for the dial design, largely due in part to the colorful dial details Tudor decided to use, but also for the symmetry the dials maintain, which was an element that was all but lost as the Tudor chronograph evolved to automatic movements with the "Big Block" series.