Tudor BB 36 black

In-house movements can tie you in to the manufacturer when it is time for a service or repair. With an ETA movement, you have the choice to go to any watchmaker. The most reliable and accurate watch I own has a standard Sellita movement. Why? Because my local watchmaker looks after it, and he takes great care for me and offers a good price on servicing and repairs. 

The benefits of in-house are not as straight-forward as you think. Just look at Chrono24 at the price of used Tudors. The most expensive used Tudors have ETA movements in them. This is because there are generally 3 components of value - brand, rarity and condition.

When a watch gets to a certain age, houses with in-house movements like Rolex and Omega are not sensitive to the unique demands of vintage servicing. Very often they will replace parts with anachronistic alternatives. This will damage the value of the watch in the long run. Whereas stock movements can be far more sensitively serviced and repaired by a specialist because the parts are more readily available.   

To be clear, I'm not rubbishing in-house movements. They have their own benefits, too. But there are clear advantages to having stock movements in a watch, and it is certainly no disgrace to own a watch with them.

@Richierich put it better than I have ever seen it.  Brilliant!

Here's the perfect analogue in the world of cars:

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a23367341/automatic-transmission-best-zf-eight-speed/

Every car manufacturer and their dog uses the ZF transmission.  Why?  Because a transmission is an incredibly complex mechanical device.  In order for a transmission to have longevity and reliability, the manufacturer must invest untold millions in R&D.  Under that circumstance, it makes sense for all car manufacturers to use the ZF transmission in their cars, and simply "tune" the ZF for their particular purposes.

Here's what happens when you build your own "in-house" transmission:

https://www.carparts.com/blog/why-the-nissan-cvt-is-quite-possibly-the-worst-transmission-ever-built/

Watch movements are no different.  Highly complex mechanical devices that require untold amounts of R&D money to ensure high build quality, performance, and reliability.

The whole "in-house" movement craze came about because of the Swatch Group's acquisition of nearly all the major movement manufacturers, and then their attempt to put their competitors out of business by refusing to sell ETA movements to their competitors.  Unfortunately, the Swiss government stepped in and said, "Sorry, buddy, but over the next 20 years, you can SLOWLY reduce the number of movements you sell to your competitors."  

Nonetheless, if you're Swatch Group and Rolex, and you know that eventually every manufacturer is going to have to either a) develop their own in-house movements, costing them untold amounts of R&D money, while you already have your own, and you can amortize the cost of your R&D across millions of units sold annually, or b) rely on Sellita and other 3rd parties, then it redounds to your benefit to start selling a very particular story:  "In-house is where it's at, buddy!  Anything that isn't in-house is for LOSERS!"

Unfortunately, we've all eaten up the marketing drivel, and now we all think that in-house movements are superior to ETAs, Sellitas, Miyotas, etc., etc.  

It would be as though somehow the VW Group bought up ZF, and then stopped supplying ZF transmissions to other car manufacturers, and then started a massive campaign to trick us all into believing that in-house transmissions are amazing.  It would be awesome for VW's bottom line, as they own ZF, but then every time you go to buy a car that isn't VW, you'd end up with an in-house transmission with the same level of quality as Nissan's CVT.

Spot on! This is why Tudor started investing in the movement manufacturer, Kenissi (who make the MT calibres for Tudor). And while Tudor are a major owner of Kenissi, there are other owners, too. They were forced to do it because Swatch group were phasing out their supply of ETA movements to other companies, and you can bet your life that the last people they wanted to continue supplying to was the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation!

So are Tudor watches really "in-house"? Well, depends on what you call "in-house". I don't believe that term has ever been properly defined. It's just marketing.

Great, great, explanation!!!!!  Well said+

From what I’ve read, Tudor is using Sellita SW200s in the BB36 now, top grade I’m sure, but on another forum someone opened it up and discussed how they aren’t doing as much to them (as far as modifications) as they used to.

I’m all right with nicely-adjusted off the shelf movements at this price point. It certainly makes servicing easier if you have the option of using a local watchmaker.

By the way, I like the BB36 too. I hope they introduce a micro-adjust clasp at some point like they did on the newest Black Bay diver…would be nice to see that trickle down to other BB58s and the normal Black Bay line.

It's a keeper if it works for you and brings a smile everyday

A great piece. Enjoy! 

I had a bb36 and I loved it. my only issue with it was the fit of the bracelet. Either too small or too loose.

I don't think I'd be very keen to pay the money Tudor asks for it. But if I had one - damn, I'd keep it. Bottom line, the 2824 is easy to get parts for. It's sturdy and very capable. 

The problem with in-house is that these days, brands try to keep the supply to themselves as much as they can, minimizing the supply of parts to anyone except authorized service centres. You can easily get the 2824 serviced/repaired by any capable watchmaker. If the movement in question would be, say, Tudor's version of the Breitling B01...good luck having a local watchmaker source the parts.

Can’t decide between the 36, 41 and 58. It’s so much easier to buy a G-shock!🤷🏽‍♂️

I like an in-house movement as much as the next guy, but I honestly feel like the ETA movement in this watch ties it back to its early Oyster Prince predecessors. Those watches were built to be tough, (relatively) affordable, and serviceable, and the BB36 is exactly that today.

Hi, I would like to thank you all for replying this post and share your valuable thoughts! It's such a friendly community. Anyways, here's a pic of me trying this watch (my wrist size is around 6.5)

@Reese98 ”is it a keeper?” Yes? No? Maybe? With all due respect, that’s an almost impossible for anyone to answer. If you can afford it and you like it above any of the other watches in your specified price range - then go for it. 
You won’t have made a bad decision based on whether its an ETA movement or not. No matter what anyone else says/comments/thinks - if you’ve placed value on it, then it’s worth it. If it’s your money, then YOUR opinion is the only one that truly matters. Even if a person comes in 5 minutes after you, buys the same watch for an additional xx% less than what you paid - it should still be the same ‘worth‘ to you. 
I’m not having a pop at you - just offering an opinion (for what it’s worth); it’s a good looking watch on your wrist from what I can see! Good luck with whatever you decide and enjoy it in good health!