The Rolex Oyster
100 WATERPROOF YEARS
Major Update + News + Insight
A few weeks ago, back on June 10th I started writing a brand new story about the origins and genesis of the Rolex Oyster, which is currently celebrating its 100th Anniversary. If you have been following RolexMagazine.com for a while now you may have noticed I am a "live-blogger", meaning it's not uncommon to land on Jake’s Rolex World and see an interesting story, then come back several days later and notice the same story has grown considerably in detail and scope. This is one such story, and I just got done with an enormous update, including some fascinating news and insight which I cover in this article.
Major Plot Twist
Earlier this week I learned and saw some things that kind of blew my mind and confused me which have to do with the mystery surrounding Merceds Gleite's Vindication Swim watch. The image below appears courtesy of Rolex Singapore and shows part of a current ongoing Rolex history exhibition in Shanghai, China, and it includes Mercedes Gleitze's Rolex which recently sold at auction for $1.2 Million dollars and there is text below it that says: "Wristwatch (on loan) and dial-hand movement assembly, both formerly owned by Mercedes Gleitze."
Below Mercedes Gleitze's Rolex, and above the caption is the apparent dial-hand-movement assembly, which makes little sense to me. So what exactly is this? I have no idea and can only speculate. All we know is that in 1975 when Rolex London photographed Mercedes' Rolex it had a completely different dial, then in 2000 when Christies first auctioned Mercedes' Rolex it had a completely different dial, which remains currently in her watch, and now we are presented with yet a third dial. This third dial is the only one with an octagonal minute track, and different hands. Then we also see yet a different movement.
I was recently talking about this discovery with Nick Gould and we were tying to make heads or tails of what this means and we are both totally confused. My best guess is perhaps at one point Rolex overhauled Mercedes' Rolex and replaced the dial, hands and movement and either they, or Mercedes somehow kept them. I really have no idea.
Did Gerald Genta Base The Royal Oak on The Original Rolex Oyster?
I was talking to my longtime pal, Amit Handa about my recently Rolex Oyster Genesis article mentioned earlier in this story and he quipped in an off-hand-remark, "Doesn't the Audimars Piguet Rolex Oak look a lot like the original early Rolex Oyster models with his octagonal shaped bezel?" This question caught me off-guard, as I had never thought about that before.
I thought Amit's observation was really interesting so I decided to investigate. According to legend, Gerald Genta said he drew his inspiration for the iconic octoganal bezel and visible screws from traditional deep-sea helmets, while the overall shape was influenced by the portholes found on historical naval ships.
The Royal Oak, which debuted in 1972 was Gerald Genta's response to a direct commission by Autdemars Piguet for an unprecedented luxury sports watch made from stainless steel. Interestingly Gerald Genta expressed regret in 2009 that he was never able to design an official Rolex Oyster, which he stated in an interview, and said the Oyster was "the biggest success in watchmaking."
Here is where reality gets stranger than fiction: In 1969 Rolex brought to market their first Rolex Quartz model which featured an ultramodern case and bracelet combination which essentially featured what is known as an integrated bracelet.
The Rolex Magazine ad pictured below was published in June of 1971 and features a male model rocking a Rolex Quartz Reference 5100 which obviously predates the Auditors Piguet Royal Oak. In my article I published close to a year ago, titled "BACK TO THE FUTURE, ROLEX OYSTERQUARTZ, The Complete History" I wrote:
"A persistent myth has long circulated, claiming famed designer Gerald Genta designed the Rolex Quartz Reference 5100’s iconic look. This tale, often peddled by a self-proclaimed Rolex historian known for presenting his unverified opinions as fact, lacks any credible evidence to support it—a fabrication I’ve found no basis for in my research."
Rolex introduced an unusual Reference 1530 (pictured below) in 1974, two years after Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, and this model is considered to be the precursor to the Rolex OysterQuartz (NOT to be confused with the original 1979-1970 Rolex QUART pictured above) as the OysterQuartz incorporated it's integrated case style.
When I look at the integrated bracelet+case design on the Reference 1530, it looks remarkably similar to the Royal Oak, so maybe inadvertently Gerald Genta did play a role in designing a Rolex after all. These questions are purely academic at this point, but interesting nonetheless.
The Reference 1530 pictured below appears courtesy of Christie's Auction house and was auctioned in 2017 for only $5,625, which ironic as today I think it would fetch much more.
Keep in mind the 1974 Rolex Reference 1530 pictured above was NOT a Quartz watch, but was a fully mechanical 'Automatic' OYSTER PERPETUAL model. This was a transitional model between the "Texan" Quartz (Reference 5100) to he OysterQuartz that featured a case designed to house the quartz caliber 5035. The 5035 was wider overall than the mechanical 1570, which resulted in a gap between the bezel and dial, thus Rolex overcame this design challenge by incorporating a ramped rehaut, to which they moved the minute tracks markers which gave the watch a very modern, clean, 3-Dimensional look. The Rolex Reference 1530 was also the first mechanical Rolex to include a synthetic sapphire crystal, as the Reference 5100 was the first model, but it was quartz.
In 1977 Rolex unveiled their Rolex OYSTERQUARTZ models which are pictured below with the familiar integrated case/bracelet design, and at that time they discontinued the mechanical 1530. The Oysterquart also included a special Jubilee style integrated bracelet that had design language that match the ultra-modern case lines...
Rolex discontinued their OYSTERQUARTZ models in 2001, but in 2025 Rolex created the all new Rolex Land Dweller, which is pictured below, and despite the face that it features a mechanical Oyster Perpetual movement, has an integrated case/bracelet that is remarkably reminiscent of the design language from the long discontinued Rolex OYSTERQUARTZ models.
I realize this story daisy-chained all over the place, which is one of the things that makes Jake's Rolex World, Jake's Rolex World, in the sense that I regularly wander off the reservation with my often miscellaneous ramblings. That being said, as previously mentioned, I HIGHLY recommend checking out my highly updated new story on the Genesis of the Rolex Oyster which celebrates 100 WATERPROOF YEARS.
My best advice, is to read my new story when you can find time to read every word, which could easily take you a couple of hours if you really savor and digest all the richly detailed information it contains. I am certain if you do so, it will give you a whole new understanding and invaluable perspective on Rolex history. How do I know this to be true? I know this because as I wrote it gave me exactly that—a much better grasp of the significance of the Rolex Oyster innovation.
