Rolex Oysterquartz
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The Rolex Oysterquartz was a quartz watch made by Rolex.
History
At the end of the 1970s, the Swiss watch industry was being affected by the Quartz crisis, and Japanese watchmakers supplied the world market with large quantities of quartz watches. Rolex decided to put forward a new line of watches to combat this situation, and the Datejust Oysterquartz was born. Although not designed to turn the company’s tradition of producing mechanical watches upside down, it faced the international, namely Asian, markets seeking to keep alive interest in Swiss luxury watchmaking; an industry that seemed at that moment to have been completely absorbed by the Japanese quartz watch.
The conception of the Datejust Oysterquartz dates to the beginning of the 1970s. The design of the watch is far removed from the classic Rolex line and carved characteristics of the period: a completely angular case, an integrated band with a polished finish and sapphire glass. Regarding the materials used to make this watch, the whole range consisted of three versions: gold, steel with white gold bezel and steel and yellow gold. At the start, the Datejust Oysterquartz was somewhat overlooked in Europe; however, it was much sought after on the Asian and American markets. A renewed interest in the watch was sparked when Rolex decided to take the Oysterquartz out of its catalogue and thus out of production. The era of the Rolex quartz watch ended in 2001, having lasted less than three decades. The Rolex Datejust Oysterquartz began to appear in the most important auction houses’ catalogues, becoming a highly valued object on the collector's market.
Model numbers
Model numbers of the Rolex Oysterquartz include:
- 17000 Oysterquartz Datejust, stainless steel case and polished bezel, stainless steel integral Oyster bracelet. Price: $3,025
- 17013 Oysterquartz Datejust, stainless steel case, 18K yellow gold fluted bezel, stainless steel/18K yellow gold integral Jubilee bracelet. Price: $5,050
- 17014 Oysterquartz Datejust, stainless steel case, 18K white gold fluted bezel, stainless steel integral Jubilee bracelet. Price: $3,575
- 19018 Oysterquartz Day-Date, 18K yellow gold case and fluted bezel, 18K yellow gold integral President bracelet with hidden clasp. Price: $16,500
- 19019 Oysterquartz Day-Date, 18K white gold case and fluted bezel, 18K white gold integral President bracelet with hidden clasp. Price: $18,200
- 19028 Oysterquartz Day-Date, 18K yellow gold case and Pyramid bezel, 18K yellow gold integral Pyramid bracelet with hidden clasp. Price: $18,500
- 19038 Oysterquartz Day-Date, 18K yellow gold case and Pyramid bezel with 12 brilliants, 18K yellow gold integral Pyramid bracelet with hidden clasp. Price: $21,250
- 19048 Oysterquartz Day-Date, 18K yellow gold case and bezel, with bezel set with 44 brilliants, dial set with 8 brilliants and 2 baguettes, 18K yellow gold integral President bracelet with hidden clasp. Price: $25,550
- 19049 Oysterquartz Day-Date, 18K white gold case and bezel, with bezel set with 44 brilliants, dial set with 8 brilliants and 2 baguettes, 18K white gold integral President bracelet with hidden clasp. Price: $27,250
- 19068 Oysterquartz Day-Date, 18K yellow gold case and bezel, with bezel set with 44 brilliants, dial set with 8 brilliants and 2 baguettes, 18K yellow gold integral Pyramid bracelet with hidden clasp. Price: $27,500
- 19148 Oysterquartz Day-Date, 18K yellow gold case set with 8 brilliants, 18K yellow gold bezel set with 44 brilliants, dial set with 8 brilliants and 2 baguettes, 18K yellow gold integral Karat bracelet with hidden clasp set with 308 brilliants. Price: $60,000