The History of Rolex Quartz
First, I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Nick Gould for his invaluable insights and contributions to this story. His expertise has been a cornerstone in piecing together this fascinating tale.
In my forthcoming 24-book series, which covers The Complete Rolex History Arc, I explore the full sweep of Rolex’s legacy, including its pioneering role in the evolution of both electronic and quartz watches.
Originally, I hadn’t intended to unveil this previously undocumented chapter so soon. But with the recent debut of Rolex’s new LAND-DWELLER, the timing feels just right to share this hidden gem of horological history.
The Neutral Edge
Switzerland’s Horological Reign
Before World War II, the United States wielded an unexpected advantage in timekeeping and watchmaking, its ingenuity rivaling Europe’s most celebrated artisans. In the 1930s, the U.S. arguably led the world in industrialized watch production and market reach.
Companies like Gruen, Waterbury, Waltham, Elgin, and Hamilton had harnessed the power of assembly-line techniques, rooted in the American System of Manufacturing, to churn out reliable, affordable timepieces at an unmatched scale.
This industrial prowess democratized horology, placing watches on the wrists of everyday Americans—a feat Switzerland, with its devotion to artisanal luxury and meticulous craftsmanship, couldn’t replicate in volume.
Yet Switzerland held an unshakable grip on the pinnacle of watchmaking. Brands like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and the burgeoning Rolex defined precision, elegance, and technical mastery.
By the 1930s, Swiss watches were the global benchmark for sophistication, their reputation forged through decades of relentless innovation. As an example, my grandfather Jake Ehrlich wore a Patek Philippe pocket watch, and my father Jake Ehrlich Jr., wore a Patek Philippe wristwatch as they were both rather disguised American gentlemen.
The outbreak of war in 1939 shattered this delicate balance. As the world descended into chaos, American industry pivoted sharply, redirecting its mechanical genius to wartime demands.
Factories once alive with the rhythmic tick of watch movements were transformed into arsenals, crafting bomb fuses, timing mechanisms, gyroscopes, accelerometers, guidance subsystems, and various other miniature precision items and military gear. Horology took a backseat as the U.S. mobilized for conflict.
Meanwhile, Switzerland’s neutrality became its secret weapon. Largely untouched by the ravages of war, its watchmakers continued to hone their craft, advancing techniques and designs with unbroken focus.
When peace dawned in 1945, Switzerland emerged as the undisputed sovereign of watchmaking. The United States, now a colossus of industrial might and consumer goods, struggled to reclaim its pre-war footing in horology.
American companies like Hamilton fought to hold on, but the tide had turned—by the late 1960s, Hamilton’s efforts culminated in a joint venture with Japan’s Ricoh, a sign of fading dominance. By the late 1940s, Swiss watchmakers commanded over 50% of global wristwatch production, their reign solidified.
While the Allies and Axis powers bled their resources dry through World War II’s grueling summers and frigid winters, locked in a struggle for supremacy, Switzerland stood apart—an oasis of calm amid the storm.
In the heart of Geneva, as World War II cast its long shadow over Europe, Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf felt the weight of conflict profoundly. The war’s disruptions—supply chain fractures, material shortages, and economic uncertainty—threatened to stifle his grand vision for the company he had nurtured since its inception in 1908.
Yet Wilsdorf, no stranger to adversity, refused to falter. Having already navigated the challenges of World War I by relocating Rolex from London to Geneva to escape wartime restrictions, he drew on that hard-won resilience.
Far from retreating, he quietly fueled Rolex’s ambitions, channeling his frustration into innovation and strategic foresight. While the world grappled with chaos, Wilsdorf focused on research and development, ensuring that Rolex not only survived but emerged stronger.
His unwavering determination during these trying times laid the foundation for Rolex’s post-war success, cementing his legacy as a visionary who thrived in the face of limitation.
With steely resolve, he pushed the brand forward—innovating in the shadows, laying the foundation for a postwar legacy that would redefine timekeeping.
Pictured above is Hans Wilsdorf in 1942, standing at the helm of his Rolex watchmaking facility in Geneva, intently overseeing the production of Rolex timepieces. Amid the tumult of World War II, Rolex was quietly crafting a game-changer: the Rolex Datejust. Unveiled at the Basel Swiss Watch Fair in 1945, this model emered as a visionary archetype, setting the blueprint for every Rolex watch that followed—a legacy that endures to this day.
Hans Wilsdorf, the visionary founder of Rolex, possessed an extraordinary knack for seizing opportunity amid chaos. In 1945, as the world staggered out of World War II’s shadow, he turned his gaze across the Atlantic.
With Europe in ruins and the United States poised for a post-war economic surge, Wilsdorf saw untapped potential in America’s rising prosperity. In a calculated and audacious move, he traveled to the U.S. and acquired the American distributorship for Rolex, reimagining it as the formidable Rolex U.S.A.—a cornerstone of the brand’s global empire.
Wilsdorf’s genius extended beyond acquisition; he knew success hinged on exceptional leadership. To spearhead his American venture, he recruited Swiss born, René-Paul Dentan, Patek Philippe’s top salesman, whose reputation for salesmanship was unrivaled.
Appointing Dentan as head of sales for Rolex U.S.A., Wilsdorf issued a bold challenge: construct a state-of-the-art sales and distribution network capable of dominating the luxury watch market. Dentan rose to the occasion, weaving an intricate web of dealerships, service centers, and marketing channels—a robust framework that not only met Wilsdorf’s lofty expectations but endures as a testament to their shared vision.
The gamble paid off spectacularly. Fueled by a booming consumer culture and a wave of post-war affluence, the United States catapulted to become Rolex’s largest market—a dominance it retains to this day.
Wilsdorf’s foresight, paired with Dentan’s execution, didn’t merely secure Rolex a foothold in North America; it elevated the brand into a global luxury titan. This triumph underscored Wilsdorf’s rare alchemy of ambition, intuition, and impeccable timing, cementing his legacy as a titan of industry.
The Rolex Time Machine
Did Rolex Invent The Electronic Watch?
Picture this: we step into a gleaming time machine, twist the dial to 1959, and whisk ourselves to Geneva, Switzerland—the year before Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf’s passing. Our mission? To sit across from the visionary himself, in the flesh, for a once-in-a-lifetime chat. For this thought experiment, let’s cast aside skepticism, embrace the impossible, and leap back to 1959 for an imagined dialogue with Wilsdorf.
After introducing ourselves as time travelers hailing from 2025, we’d begin by bridging the decades, recounting the extraordinary saga of Rolex’s evolution since his death in 1960—a legacy he could scarcely have dreamed of in its full scope.
I’m certain Hans Wilsdorf would glow with pride at the towering legacy his company built after his time.
Then, I’d lean in with the question that’s been simmering in my thoughts: “Hans, less than a decade after your death, a seismic shift hit the watch world—electronic quartz movements. The ‘Quartz Crisis’ upended the Swiss watchmaking industry, wiping out two-thirds of its watchmakers. Yet Rolex didn’t just weather the storm; it emerged more formidable than ever. What do you make of that, and how would you have tackled electronic quartz technology?”
I can almost hear Wilsdorf’s response, delivered with the quiet confidence of a man who spent his life mastering the art of timekeeping:
“My entire career was consumed with perfecting the craft of precisely measuring time, so I’m hardly surprised by how this unfolded. In fact, I’ll let you in on a little secret: back in the early 1950s, we at Rolex were already experimenting with electric watches. These were remarkable creations, powered by battery technology we developed in-house as part of our confidetial R&D efforts. While the world knows Rolex for innovations like our Oyster case or our Perpetual movement, we explored countless ideas behind closed doors—many of which never saw the light of day.”
Now, you might be wondering if I’ve lost my grip on reality or if this is pure fiction. Rest assured, it’s neither. There’s evidence to back this up. Take a look at Rolex Patent Application CH298956A, filed in Switzerland on May 13, 1952. It reveals a design for an electric Rolex watch—a tangible testament to the brand’s forward-thinking experimentation long before the quartz era dawned.
Rolex didn’t stop at their electric watch experiments—they pushed the boundaries even further. On June 3, 1952, they filed patent CH298261A in Switzerland for a groundbreaking dry electric battery design. A close reading of the patent reveals something astonishing: its intricate details on electrolytes and electrodes feel eerily prescient, almost like a blueprint for a modern-day Tesla battery. This wasn’t just a power source for a watch—it was a leap into the future of energy storage, dreamed up decades ahead of its time.
What became of the electric watches Rolex developed in the early 1950s? A fascinating glimpse into their progress comes from a July 1955 issue of the American Horologist and Jeweler, shedding light on Rolex’s pioneering efforts, with COSC Certification as well as with an Electronic Rolex Wristwatch:
Rolex likely held back from bringing their electric watches to market due to formidable technical challenges, most notably the corrosion issue spotlighted in the 1955 American Horologist and Jeweler. The article points to galvanic corrosion as the primary hurdle—a problem stemming from the electrochemical reactions in early batteries, which were often zinc-carbon or mercury-based and prone to leaking.
In the presence of moisture, an electrolyte, these batteries caused dissimilar metals within the watch to corrode, risking damage to critical components like the movement and case. Rolex, having secured patents around 1952, was further along than competitors, but the technology of the time simply wasn’t mature enough to meet the brand’s exacting standards for reliability and durability. As a result, Rolex did not release an electric watch in the 1950s.
It’s worth noting that Rolex mirrors Apple in its approach to innovation: rather than being the first to pioneer new technologies, both brands excel at refining existing ideas, elevating them to their pinnacle of performance and design. This strategy explains why Rolex waited nearly two decades before launching their first electrically powered watch, ensuring the technology aligned with their uncompromising standards for quality and precision.
Electric Watches
Electric wristwatches sprang into motion in the 1950s—a decade of bold innovation in horology. Early in the decade, a transatlantic collaboration between the U.S.-based Elgin Watch Company and the French firm, LIP, yielded a groundbreaking electromechanical wristwatch—one powered by a small battery rather than the traditional unwinding spring.
Though the LIP-Elgin partnership only managed to produce prototypes, their efforts paved the way for a milestone. In 1957, the American company Hamilton stole the spotlight with the Hamilton 500, the world’s first serially produced electric watch.
Its iconic design, the Hamilton Ventura, became a cultural touchstone. Pictured below, we see the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley, rocking his Hamilton Ventura in 1957—a fitting emblem of the era’s electrifying spirit and the dawn of a new age in timekeeping.
The journey of electronic wristwatches took a dramatic turn in 1954 when Swiss engineer Max Hetzel unveiled a revolutionary timekeeping concept: an electronic wristwatch driven by an electrically charged tuning fork, powered by a 1.35-volt battery. Hetzel’s tuning fork vibrated at a precise 360 Hz, driving the watch hands through an electromechanical gear train.
This innovation materialized as the Bulova Accutron, launched in 1960. Its tuning fork emitted a faint, otherworldly hum—a sound that reverberated through the Swiss watchmaking elite, shaking their faith in traditional mechanical movements.
The Accutron’s remarkable precision raised a chilling question: could mechanical watches, like the cuckoo clocks of yesteryear, fade into obscurity?
Rolex, as we’ve seen, had already explored battery-powered technology by 1952, though their electric watch never made it to market. By 1962, with the winds of change sweeping through the industry, Rolex joined the Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH), a consortium of Switzerland’s leading watchmakers, in a united effort to counter the rising tide of electronic timekeeping.
In a surprising twist, this alliance included brands often seen as Rolex’s rivals—Patek Philippe, Omega, and others—underscoring the Swiss watch industry’s deep unease about the potentially disruptive impact of electronic watch technology.
Yet a curious detail complicates the story: in April 1961, a year before joining the CEH, Rolex filed for a trademark for “ROLEX ELECTROTIME,” as evidenced by the registration below. This raises intriguing questions: Why would Rolex secure a trademark for a product not yet ready for market?
Two possibilities emerge: either Rolex had an electronic watch prepared as early as 1961, or they were strategically reserving the name for a future innovation. Either way, this discovery deepens the mystery, leaving us with more questions than answers about Rolex’s early ambitions in electronic timekeeping.
CEH MISSION
The CEH’s mission was clear and urgent: develop cutting-edge electronic wristwatch technology to keep Switzerland at the forefront of a rapidly evolving industry.
Their first innovation, the "Alpha" movement, emerged under the guidance of Heinz Waldburger. It featured a figure-eight-shaped resonator—a clever design that hinted at the potential of electronic timekeeping.
Soon after, Max Forrer led the development of the more ambitious "Beta" movement, which paired a tuning fork with frequency dividers to drive a stepped motor in a complex interplay of mechanics and electronics. Despite their promise, neither the Alpha nor Beta movements progressed to production.
Meanwhile, a clandestine faction within CEH, spearheaded by visionaries Rolf Lochinger and Armin Frei, began exploring a radical new frontier: quartz technology. This "underground" team forged ahead, even as Max Forrer—head of the circuits division—dismissed quartz as a futile endeavor, clinging to his skepticism.
THE BIRTH OF QUARTZ
Their quiet defiance would soon prove pivotal. In November 1965, CEH director Roger Wellinger made a bold declaration: a "montre-bracelet à quartz" (quartz wristwatch) would be their ultimate goal. Forrer, however, remained unmoved.
By May 1967, Lochinger and Frei proposed a quartz oscillator paired with a frequency divider—echoing Forrer’s Beta project—but with a crucial innovation: an integrated circuit to slash power consumption.
This became the foundational architecture of the Beta Quartz movement. Just two months later, in July 1967, CEH unveiled the Beta 1 prototype, dubbed CEJ 1012, meticulously engineered by François Niklès and Jean Hermann.
Widely regarded as the world’s first functional quartz wristwatch, it was submitted to the International Chronometric Competition in Neuchâtel, Switzerland—despite being a proof-of-concept prototype rather than a production model.
The Beta 1 featured a "dead-beat" ticking motion, oscillating at 0.5 Hz (one full oscillation every two seconds). Its 60-position stepper motor advanced the second hand once per second—a mechanism that remains the standard for quartz watches today.
In August 1967, the Neuchâtel Observatory awarded the Beta 1 a chronometer classification of 0.189—an unprecedented score that surpassed every watch previously tested, including the Bulova Accutron.
In July 1967, the Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH) advanced the quartz wristwatch race by submitting ten Beta 1 models for testing at the International Chronometric Competition in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where they outperformed Seiko’s competing quartz entries.
That same month, CEH introduced the Beta 2 prototype, developed by Max Forrer’s team, and confidently declared their intent to be the first to produce a viable quartz wristwatch movement, a plan they solidified by February 1968.
However, competitors moved faster: on August 10, 1969, Longines unveiled functional prototypes of the Ultra-Quartz at a press conference at The Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva, followed by Seiko’s debut of the Astron on December 25, 1969—four months later.
Despite the later unveiling, our research suggests the Seiko Astron reached consumers first. CEH’s Beta 21 movement finally hit the market on April 10, 1970, nine months after Longines’ announcement and four months after Seiko’s launch, marking a significant but delayed milestone in quartz watch history.
THE QUARTZ
CRISIS REVOLUTION
and The Seiko Christmas Surprise
In the world of horology, the rise of quartz watch technology is a tale of two perspectives: some call it the Quartz Crisis, a cataclysm that upended traditional watchmaking, while others hail it as the Quartz Revolution, a bold leap into the future. The label you choose depends on which side of the divide you stand.
Rolex, celebrated for its exquisitely over-engineered cases, bracelets, and mechanical mastery, was once a trailblazer in the realm of quartz timekeeping. Their early experiments with electric watches (as detailed above in this story) in the 1950s laid the groundwork for what was to come.
Meanwhile, across the globe, the Japanese Seiko Corporation was also racing toward innovation, developing both electric watches and quartz technology throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Seiko made its first major mark in 1964 at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, deploying its pioneering Seiko Crystal Chronometer QC-51—a portable quartz clock—as a backup timer for Olympic events, showcasing quartz’s potential for precision.
THE ROLEX REVOLUTION
Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex’s visionary founder, together with his trusted executive René-Paul Jeanneret, carefully selected André-Jean Heiniger to assume leadership of the company following Wilsdorf’s death in 1960.
Entrusting Heiniger and Jeanneret with near-unlimited financial resources, Wilsdorf effectively handed them a blank checkbook, which they used to embark on a strategic spending initiative. Far from frivolous, their investments were astute and forward-thinking, positioning Rolex for long-term success on multiple fronts.
Under their leadership, Rolex transformed from a manufacturer of reliable watches into a premier luxury watch brand, a shift epitomized by the construction of a cutting-edge world headquarters in Geneva, completed in January 1965. This state-of-the-art facility, which remains Rolex’s global base to this day, symbolized their elevated ambitions.
To mark this milestone, Rolex published two striking Rolex Magazine advertisements showcasing their redefined identity and commitment to excellence.
"First we shape our dwellings, then our dwellings shape us."
—Sir Winston Churchill
There are several lines that I find to be really interesting:
"The Rolex watches of today have reached such heights of precision, accuracy, and ruggedness that it is difficult to predict what the watches of tomorrow will be like."
In particular, I find this next line to be fascinating:
"Whether they will be in cases of titanium or solid synthetic diamond. Whether they will be powered by atomic energy or by sun. But one thing is certain. The finest watches of tomorrow will be built by the men at Rolex."
So basically back in 1965, which was 60 years ago, Rolex was experimenting with titanium cases, which means it only took Rolex six decades to finally come out with a titanium case Rolex. The next line that they might be powered by atomic energy or by the sun, is the most interesting.
In 1965, after Rolex moved into their plush new international headquarters that rose above Geneva, Switzerland, they focused on the next round of innovation, which involved coming up with a strategy for creating a quartz Rolex watch platform.
By 1966, Seiko revealed prototypes of the world’s first quartz-powered pocket watches, presenting them alongside Longines at the Neuchâtel Observatory competition in Switzerland.
The following year, in 1967, both the Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH) and Seiko unveiled quartz wristwatch prototypes at the same competition, signaling a fierce race to market.
Then, on Christmas Day 1969, Seiko stunned the world with the release of the Astron—the first commercially available quartz wristwatch. Its debut sent shockwaves through the industry, heralding a new era in timekeeping and setting the stage for the seismic shifts that would follow. But Rolex was not caught off guard as they. had been working on their own quartz model.
Rolex seems to claim the Rolex Quartz Reference 5100 was introduced in 1969. The following Trademark registration might offer a clue as its dated July 5, 1968, which was 549 days prior to the date that Seiko announced the Astron on Christmas Day in 1969, and it includes ROLEX CHRONOCRYSTAL and ROLEX CHRONOQUARTZ.
