Mostly known for their robust mechanical professional tool watches, Rolex has produced quartz movements over the decades. While most would think that the shift in direction to manufacture quartz watches started in the 1970s, Rolex was a step ahead of other Swiss manufacturers with their first quartz patent granted in the early 1950s. The early 1970s, witnessed a pivotal moment for the industry as it saw the birth of one of the most important quartz movements ever produced developed cohesively with other prominent manufacturers, the Beta 21.

After five years of research and design, Rolex introduced their own in-house quartz caliber via the cal. 5035 and cal. 5055 for their Oysterquartz Datejust and Day-Date in 1977. The marriage between the firm’s iconic models with their newly innovated quartz movement was inevitable. With a completely new Oyster case differing from its mechanical counterparts, the ref. 19048 was made available with various dial variations and materials.

The present Rolex Oysterquartz Day-Date ref. 19048 from circa 1983 features an extravagant expression of luxury, fitted with a matching gold dial, the outertrack is bedazzled with diamonds, wrapping the ruby-set hour markers in stunning contrast. Furthermore the bezel and case is also finished with diamond-set decoration. Offered in excellent overall condition this rare example will surely please the passionate community of vintage Rolex Day-Date collectors.