ROLEX | 'THE TEXAN' QUARTZ, REF 5100 BETA 21 YELLOW GOLD WRISTWATCH WITH DATE AND BRACELET CIRCA 1970

The quartz crisis undoubtedly was, and in many ways still is, a very divisive period in the manufacturing of wristwatches. While the mechanical wristwatch ultimately prevailed, it was a time where all manufactures, even the most powerful, were forced to re-evaluate what the future potentially held. 

To consider this, twenty-one manufactures collaborated to form the Centre Electronique Horologer and one of that number was Rolex. From this collaboration was born, in 1969, the Beta-21 and powered by this new movement, the Rolex reference 5100 became the first quartz watch ever manufactured by the company. 

The first batch of 1000 pieces was produced in yellow gold and numbered to the case back, as can be seen with the present lot, numbered 249. These first 1000 were all purchased before production even began, Rolex offering a tour of their factory to all those who joined this new and exclusive Quartz powered club. Production however lasted only two years, and as such the reference was made in very limited number by Rolex's usual standards, offering any collector a superb opportunity to own a piece of Rolex's history, especially one that is reminiscent of such a turbulent time. 

The present example is preserved in good condition for a watch of its age with its end-link components marked to correspond with the case numbers.