Unique Oysterquartz

Originally the first battery-operated Rolex watches issued before the 70s used the Beta 21 movement. Finding this unreliable and difficult to service, Rolex began to develop their own proprietary movement. After 5 years of research and development, Rolex issued one of the most "over-engineered" quartz movements ever to be made, the calibre 5053.

Quartz movements are affected greatly by shifts in temperature, which alter the oscillating frequency of the crystal. Rolex overcame this problem by introducing a thermistor to the circuit which detected the ambient temperature of the movement and its case, and altered the voltage supplied to the crystal. Furthermore, a series of sensors accommodated for gradual shifts in frequency response of the crystal over time, which greatly increased accuracy. Think of this movement as today's electric cars, the Tesla of watches.

The Oysterquartz we have for sale today is a strange beast. It is not only a gold and steel combination, (which at the time was significantly more expensive than the stainless steel version) but it is also fitted with a custom made sapphire-studded bezel. Now I need to state something obvious: the bezel was not made by Rolex. In general I don’t deal with watches which have non-Rolex components, but reverting this Oysterquartz into its original condition (finding original plain bezel) is just impossible.

See beyond expectation.