Lets talk about Oyster Quartz

[TonyD]

I came upon one of these the other day and I wanted to talk about it. I've seen a few websites dedicated to them and there is some good info there. Just wondering what you guys thought about them?

The one I saw was a 17013 two tone model that looked like this:

(Photo was hijacked from oystrequartz.nl)

It was brand "new" sitting at an AD. They offered me a "huge discount" which I don't think was much of a discount. The highest one sold on ebay recently was well under $2,000 and other at grey dealers seem to be about that price. Still, this one was new although it has its share of light scratches. Knowing this dealer the way I do I am sure they will not budge on the price but its twice what I think its worth.

The serial number is an R which should be 1987-88 (the year I graduated high school!) Honestly I be interested if it had a white face or was a full stainless 17014 with a blue dial. I just liked it because the shape and bracelet are somewhat odd for Rolex.

So questions....
I can't imagine this is a hidden gem, worth a fortune even though it is new?
Would a watch this old need to be serviced before use?
Would the lume on it work after 20 years?
What would you pay for a new one?
Any idea what it retailed for in 1988?

[DSJ]

I think they were priced comparibly to the Datejusts of that era, $3,350 was the DJ's price according to Sheldon's website:
http://www.minus4plus6.com/PriceEvolution.htm

If the AD bought it 20 years ago, they paid a tad over $2K, but have owned it for some time, obviously. I passed on a used one (17013) a couple months ago where the owner wanted $1,900. It had recently been serviced by an AD, but had no box/papers. It wasn't a bad price, but I was going to buy it for my dad until he mentioned that he has no desire for a Rolex, even in quartz! That's why I passed.

What I think of the OQ is that it is probably one of THE BEST quartz watches ever made, as you likely know from perusing other sites. There is speculation that a quartz Oyster may appear again, but who knows. It's also a Rolex, and IMO, the pricing is currently at the bottom of the spectrum for these watches, making now a decent time to buy one.

IF you bought it "new" from the AD, I may make a stink about having it sent to Rolex for a cleaning and polish to have it look "like new." That said, it should carry the most current warranty (2-years), so you would likely be okay. It has less moving parts than the all-mechanical perpetual models too, FYI. I personally would not pay over $3K for that watch, probably even less.

Someday, they MAY turn into a gem, but for now, they are a fairly obscure anomoly in the Rolex story. The history of its evolution is right for collectability, IMO.

[vukotab]

I really don`t know where have you find Oysterquartz for less than 2000$.I have checked few sites,www.chrono24.com among them,and the price range is between 1400-4000 Euros.So I think that buying it(from a grey market dealer,nevermind) for about 2000$ is a very good deal!
I think that it`s price is increasing in time,so I guess that OQ is good investment.
About service,I really don`t know...Old watch,quartz...it sounds expensive to me,perhaps you should go to RSC and check it out.
I like OQ very much,love it`s unusual,yet typical Rolex shape.
And for 2000$ I would buy it in a second.
Best of luck!

[Jocke]

Here is my one.

Here you can see a OysterQuartz who I found in some bad
condition. He needs some kind of refreshment and here I
will show you how nice he could be.

Here is how he looks and he have a hard life behind him.









To fix him I have to get some 800 waterproof sandpaper
and I will go slowly on him with the sandpaper. I have
to go on the bracelet in one way so the lines will be
straight ahead agains the bracelet. Start from the back
and go nice and easy and very slow. You will see if you
go to fast it´s easy to get some crossed lines. When I´m
finish with that I use a sandpaper sponge who look like this.



I bought the sponge in a auto spareparts shop and it´s soft
so it will follow the bracelet. Here is the result.






After that I will use a Dremel machine with some polishing
trundles and some polish compound/wax to get the high polished
surfaces shine like a mirror.









Maybe we should take a look inside too?

Rolex cal 5035

















All the parts ready to be putted together.



Then I put a new crown and tube and the final result
looks like this.

It ticks once every seconds, so many believe it´s a fake.







I hope you enjoy the tour.

Jocke

[TonyD]

Wow Jocke, thanks for the info!

David and Vukota, some good info for me.

That's kind of what I figured. They made me a "special price" of $4800. I just quietly left so I could go home and research it a bit.

Too bad, nice looking piece.

[DSJ]

They have likely gotten "permission" from Rolex USA to discount that watch. If you REALLY like it, call them back and counter with $2,800, and see what they say. Otherwise your dollars will be better spent in a used example.

You can tell I REALLY wanted to pass on this information - Attention Moderators: duplicate post.

[DSJ]

They have likely gotten "permission" from Rolex USA to discount that watch. If you REALLY like it, call them back and counter with $2,800, and see what they say. Otherwise your dollars will be better spent in a used example.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Great pics, Jocke!

I love the OQ!

Interestingly, it was the ONLY modern Rolex watch besides the Milgauss (that existed at the same time as the OQ, at least for a period) that was highly anti-magnetic (to 1,000 Oersted). How that compares to the 1,000 Gauss (or 0,1 Tesla) of the Milgauss beats me!

[Alcan]

Here's the OQ Mark I which I owned briefly a couple of years ago. I much prefer the cleaner look of the pre-COSC dial.