Did Rolex make a digital LCD quartz watch?

[NewOldStock]

Hi, I've been wondering if Rolex ever produced a digital LCD quartz watch? Does any have any info on this? I've never seen one before, but the idea is intriguing.

[richard_uk]

They made an LED

[NewOldStock]

Interesting. I've never seen that and I've seen a lot of digitals. Do you know if that's the only model? And how much does one of those typically go for?

[richard_uk]

Sorry dude it was a joke, that's a photoshop.

[wzy-hman]

Rolex supposedly made a prototype LED which showed an analogue style face and hands but using LEDs which lit up when the button was pressed. They never released it commercially. The reference is from the book Electrifying The Wristwatch

[Kasper]

Apart from some rare mentions without details I could not find anything about the fabled Rolex LED watch.

That is... untill the book by Trueb, Ramm, Wenzig; Die Elektrifzierung des Armbanduhr.
Op page 183 they even produce a photo!!!

In 1975 and 1976 a team of three engineers travelled to the US to source parts for a LED watch on behalf of CEH and Rolex.
The joint idea which they went sourcing for was a LED watch with a Forme Analogique, analogue display.
With the results CEH want one way and Rolex another although they did share the further development of the basics.
CEH decided on a permanent display with solar cells to provide extra energy and Rolex decided on display on demand, thus omitting the solar panel.
The hour ´hand´ was indicated by 4 LEDs in a row and the minute ´hand´ by 7.
The engineers developed it all the way to pre-production and produced 5 complete prototype watches in 1978.
Bossman Heiniger however dicided that it would not be compatible with the classic mechanicals and binned the project. He was after all in luxury goods, not in watches.

So it díd exist!
... and were distroyed

There is quite a bit more very surprising info on the Rolex participation in electronics in this book. I was véry much surprised to learn how many differently engineered prototypes they developed but most by the fact that they participated in several seperate joint ventures. Sometimes even with bóth Rolex Geneva and Rolex Biel as two participants in the same venture.
It is also the only source whih I have found sofar that provides detailed info on the quartz calibers used in the Celline range. Technical but also per example that from 1990 till to date some 100.000 cal.6621 were produced.

Disappointing to read is that they binned two very promising projects to develop a high accuray quartz caliber:
They bought 1000!! 2.4 MegaHertz Z-cut quartz resonators from CEH in 1984 with which they developed a véry accurate caliber of which prototypes 50 were produced that only deviated a few seconds per year.
The other was a twin quartz with a standard 32kHz oscilator and the 2.4 Mega. The 22mm. 3V Lithium battery gave 10 years pr. This caliber brought it to a fore-series of 400. This is the caliber which is illustrated on Oysterquartz.net.
All were scrapped. Heidiger undoubtedly realised that the luxury mechanicals would be in their underpants if he brought these contemporary tech high end calibers out. He was after all in the business of making money, not watches.

Petrus

[gjlelec]

heres the pic-(courtesy "Electrifying the Wristwatch)
It may not necessarily have been destroyed, Rolex have a well proven track record of giving prototypes etc away to their engineers, only to have them re-apprear years later for vast sums. Going off a distant memory, i recall a court case where a prototype turned up for sale, Rolex claimed it was still their property, the "owner" proved in Court that it was common for them to give watches away, Rolex lost the case

[wzy-hman]

If that prototype ever came up for sale I suspect it would go for a small fortune!