Rolex Oysterquartz
The Rolex Oysterquartz was a quartz watch made by Rolex. Unusually, its movement features a mechanical lever escapement driven by a simple permanent magnet moving coil 'motor' mechanically similar to a d'Arsonval galvanometer. History. At the end of the 1970s, the Swiss watch industry was affected by the quartz crisis. Japanese watchmakers supplied the world market with large quantities of quartz watches. Rolex duly put forward a new line of watches, producing the Datejust Oysterquartz. It faced the Asian, markets seeking to keep alive interest in Swiss watchmaking, an industry that seemed dominated by the Japanese quartz watch . The Datejust Oysterquartz dates to the beginning of the 1970s. The design differs greatly 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. The whole range consisted of three versions: gold, steel with white gold bezel, and steel and yellow gold. The Datejust Oysterquartz was initially overlooked in Europe; however, it was much sought-after on the Asian and American markets. There was renewed interest in the watch once Rolex decided to take the Oysterquartz out of production. The era of the Rolex quartz  watch ended in 2001, after less than 30 years. The Rolex Datejust Oysterquartz began to appear in auction catalogues, becoming a valued collectors’ object. Model numbers. Model numbers of the Rolex Oysterquartz include: