A superb opportunity to own a piece of Rolex’s history, this is the reference 5100: the very first quartz watch manufactured by Rolex... and the first Rolex with a sapphire crystal. The uncertainty of the quartz crisis forced all manufactures - even the most powerful - to re-evaluate the future. To do so, Rolex was one of 21 manufactures which formed the ‘Centre Electronique Horloger’, a collaboration from which, in 1969, the Beta-21 movement was born. This very nicely preserved watch is no.249 out of only 1000 examples made with the reference 5100, which featured the new Beta-21 movement. All 1000 were purchased before production even began. And production lasted only 2 years. Oh - and those who bought one were invited to an exclusive tour of the Rolex factory. This piece is lot 7 in our Watches Weekly auction (estimate CHF 12,000 - 18,000), open for bidding until Thursday, 21 May. See link in bio #sothebyswatches rolex #rolex #rolexbeta21 #vintagewatch #quartzwatch #watchcollecti...