Rolex Oysterquartz Datejust 17013 Luxury Watch Review

Watchuwant is now WatchBox! Subscribe for the best luxury watch content. This Rolex Oysterquartz Datejust deserves a place in any discerning collector's watch box. As an historic reference and true rarity, the importance of the Oysterquartz has only begun to dawn on enthusiasts - even those who bleed Rolex green. But look closer, and the Oysterquartz carries more than the Rolex crown; this 36mm steel and gold machine is the grail watch you never expected. The Rolex Oysterquartz wasn't the first quartz watch - or even the first quartz Rolex - but it set and remains the gold standard for the class. Launched in 1977 and blanket-certified as quartz chronometers from about mid-1979, the caliber 5035 Oysterquartz Datejust and its cal. 5055 Day-Date cousin were designed to ensure Rolex joined the dawning quartz era at the top of the food chain. The design was characteristic of the 1970s haut-de-gamme but entirely distinct from typical Rolex fashion. In the era of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, IWC Jumbo Ingenieur, and Patek Philippe Nautilus, integrated case-bracelet watches represented the cutting edge of high style. Rolex resolved to launch its revolutionary caliber 5035 in a case that would declare its vanguard status for the Geneva giant. The Oysterquartz series assumed the appearance of a continuous faceted metal bracelet -- almost a continuous run of metal planes. While the traditional Rolex fluted gold bezel was retained, it straddled an immense cushion case that appe