Lot 289

Rolex

Datejust Oysterquartz

A very fine, rare vintage bi-color wristwatch with date and precision quartz movement from the first series - with original box

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This fine piece is a well-designed, very attractive watch, which was much cherished and lovingly cared for by its previous owner and has recently been serviced. The long steel/gold bracelet shows signs of wear due to its age. The dial and hands are from the first series and are in almost perfect condition, only two luminous dots have lost some material.

In answer to the quartz watch crisis, Rolex introduced in 1977 the models "Oysterquartz Datejust" (references 17000, 17013, 17014) and "Oysterquartz Day-Date" (references. 19018, 19019). The Oysterquartz is easily identified from the distinctive angular shape of the case and the links of the bracelet as well as from the inscription on the dial. The quartz movements were chronometer-certified from 1981 on, production ran until 2002. Due to its robustness the watch was used during several expeditions such as the 1978 ascent of Mount Everest by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. Today the Oysterquartz is a particularly rare timepiece that is hardly ever seen on the wrist and only very rarely comes up for sale. Estimates say that only approximately 25,000 examples were produced in total.