You’ve Never Heard Of This Cheap Rolex… And That’s Exactly Why It’s A Smart Investment

• The Rolex Oysterquartz is one of the brand’s rarest models, with fewer than 25,000 ever made.
• It features a COSC-certified quartz movement that was more accurate than any mechanical Rolex at the time.
• With its distinctive 1970s design and under-the-radar status, it’s becoming a smart investment on the secondary market.

If someone told you there’s a Rolex you’ve never heard of, powered by a quartz movement, and selling for less than a Datejust, you’d probably assume it’s fake. And with good reason. Rolex is one of the world’s pre-eminent luxury watch brands – arguably, the most well-recognised watch brand today -producing north of a million units year to dominate the market share with unique and sought-after pieces.

But for one of the world’s most important brands, budding collectors are still surprised to hear that Rolex was producing quartz-powered pieces for nearly a quarter of a century. It’s called the Rolex Oysterquartz. It’s real. It ticks like a charm. And it might be one of the smartest Rolex buys in today’s petulant market.

In the 1970s, the so-called Quartz Crisis hit Switzerland like a tonne of precision-cut Japanese bricks. Seiko had just dropped the Astron, the first quartz watch, and suddenly, everyone wanted tech over tradition. The doomsday clock had started for the Swiss luxury market, with brands like OMEGA, IWC, even Patek Philippe scrambling to adapt to the changing tide.

And yes, even Rolex then got in on the act with a line of watches developed entirely in-house to compete with the wave of battery-powered precision.

Launched in 1977 after five painstaking years of development, the Rolex Oysterquartz wasn’t some cheap throwaway effort. The movements inside the Oysterquartz, the Calibres 5035 and 5055, were COSC-certified and ticked away at a blistering 32kHz, four times faster than the earlier Beta-21 quartz standard.

They were some of the most accurate Rolex watches ever made. And yet, the horological snobs never gave them a proper look. Why? Because of what was ticking away under the figurative hood.

Between 1977 and the early 2000s when Rolex evetually put this model out to pasture, the Swiss luxyry Maison only made around 25,000 Oysterquartz models. That’s nothing in Rolex terms. A drop in the crown-shaped bucket compared to the large scale produciton to which we have become known today.

So, whilst these Oysterquartz models can’t claim to be the most impressive in today’s horolofgical space, they’re certainly rarer than some limited-edition Daytonas. Relatively speaking. And that rarity is exactly why collectors are beginning to circle back to this once simple stock.

You’ve got the Datejust variants like the reference 17000 in steel, the 17013 with a yellow gold bezel, or the 17014 with a white gold bezel, all sharing that distinctive angular case and integrated bracelet that screams 1970s luxury. It reminds me of the early Gerald Genta models during this period, except without the Royal Oak price tag.

Then, of course, because this is still Rolex we’re talking about, the heavy-hitters hit the market: the Day-Date Oysterquartz models in full yellow or white gold, some dripping in diamonds, some with pyramid-shaped bezels, and one reference (the 19068) that looks like a Bond villain’s dress watch.

Most models still trade for well under $10,000 AUD on the aftermarket. Compare that to what you’d pay for a standard mechanical Datejust or Day-Date and suddenly the phrase ‘cheap Rolex’ starts to make a lot of sense.

Quartz has been getting its groove back. From Grand Seiko’s continued quartz crusade to Cartier’s solar-powered Tanks, collectors are warming to the convenience, durability, and precision that quartz offers, without the vintage-watch headaches.

So why haven’t more people caught onto the Oysterquartz? Easy. Rolex doesn’t like to talk about its forgotten releases. There’s no modern equivalent. No reissues hitting the shelves in Watches & Wonders this year. No nods in the current lineup. It’s as if Rolex quietly buried this chapter of their history.

Which makes it all the more fascinating. The Rolex Oysterquartz is a stealth collectable; an authentic Rolex watch without the typical bells and whistles but with a uniquely rebellious streak. It ticks instead of sweeps; boasts bold ‘70s design which is making a timely comeback in 2025; and for the most part, goes entirely unnoticed amongst the sea of reissues available today.

And here’s the kicker: while everyone else is chasing the same dozen Rolex models, the Oysterquartz sits quietly gaining value in the corner. Its rarity, story, and wearability are finally catching the attention of people who know what they’re doing.

So yes, there is a cheap Rolex. Yes, it runs on quartz. But no, you haven’t even heard of it; that’s exactly why it might be the smartest investment you can make right now.