Rolex Decades: The ‘70s Turn-O-Graph Versus the ‘80s Turn-O-Graph

Despite a long list of innovations attributable to it, the Turn-O-Graph is often seen as something of a failure for Rolex.

It was the first watch the brand put into production with a rotatable bezel (beating the Submariner to the punch by a matter of months), their first fully-fledged tool model, their first to become official military issue (to the USAF’s Thunderbird aerobatic squadron, from where it garnered its nickname) and the first sports watch Rolex released in their two-tone Rolesor. With all those pioneering achievements, you would have thought the Turn-O-Graph would these days be mentioned in the same breath as bona fide icons in the canon. In fact, almost the reverse is true.

Elements from the watch were commandeered by others, and particularly that extremely helpful bezel, and it is those pieces which went on to make all the headlines. The Turn-O-Graph, on the other hand, languished on the sidelines for decades before being unceremoniously dumped in the 2000s.

However, before that fateful day, it had a relatively lengthy and varied history. The 1950s ended with the long running ref. 1625 making an appearance, and that reference took the watch all the way up to 1977 as a somewhat unorthodox member of the Datejust clan.

Then, before the ‘80s were out, the model was upgraded again, leaving us with a thoroughly modern timepiece which still struggled to find a place.

Below then is a guide to how those generations of the Rolex Turn-O-Graph differed from one another, and what improvements were made.

The ‘70s Turn-O-Graph Versus the ‘80s Turn-O-Graph: The Five Digits

Turn-O-Graph Ref. 1625
Key Features:
Production: 1959-1977
Case Size: 36mm
Materials: Steel. Rolesor. 18K Gold
Movements: Cal. 1570
Bezel: Bidirectional. Engraved 60-Minute Scale
Crown Guards: No
Dials: Black/White/Silver/Gold/Blue
Crystal: Acrylic

Turn-O-Graph Ref. 1625X
Key Features:
Production: 1977-1988
Case Size: 36mm
Materials: Steel. Rolesor. 18K Gold
Movements: Cal. 3035
Bezel: Bidirectional. Engraved 60-Minute Scale
Crown Guards: No
Dials: Black/White/Silver/Gold/Blue
Crystal: Acrylic

As you would expect, what with it being resident in the same collection by this time, the Turn-O-Graph’s progression was identical to that of the rest of the Datejust series.

Therefore, when the first of the five-digit DJs came in in 1977, so did the five-digit ToGs.

Of course, this being the Datejust, there was very little left to do on the outside. The basic aesthetics had been set in stone for a couple of decades and the new models were virtual carbon copies of the ones being put out to pasture.

With the Turn-O-Graph, the steel (ref. 16520) and Rolesor (ref. 16523) versions arrived first, with the solid gold ref. 16528 coming along the following year in 1978.

All was as before externally, with 36mm cases, a gold (white gold on the steel model) rotating engine-turned bezel marked for 60-minutes and a healthy selection of dial colors and hour markers to choose from.

Inside however, Rolex elevated the entire range with their new Cal. 3035. A step up from the Cal. 1570 used in the previous ref. 1625, it increased the balance frequency to 28,800vph for the first time and, arguably more importantly, introduced the Quickset function for adjusting the date.

But, in a pattern which repeated itself at Rolex throughout the 1970s, the generation was to become what is known as transitional. It is a word used in horology to denote an iteration of a watch that presents new features while retaining others from earlier examples.

So the ref. 1652X got a modernized engine, but things like acrylic crystals, tritium lume and lug holes were still very much in evidence. What wasn’t in evidence though was the name Turn-O-Graph anywhere—not only was it not printed on the dial, it wasn’t used in any official advertising either. Only ‘Datejust’ appeared on the watch itself, with ‘Thunderbird’ cropping up on the occasional ad.

What’s more, that fancy new caliber was possibly one of the shortest lived in Rolex’s history. A little over 10 years later, the manufacture had improved on its basic architecture sufficiently to warrant changing its number and launched an entirely new wave of the Datejust and Turn-O-Graph on the back of it.

The ‘70s Turn-O-Graph Versus the ‘80s Turn-O-Graph: The Cal. 3135

Turn-O-Graph Ref. 1626X
Key Features:
Production: 1988-2003
Case Size: 36mm
Materials: Steel. Rolesor. 18K Gold
Movements: Cal. 3135
Bezel: Bidirectional. Engraved 60-Minute Scale
Crown Guards: No
Dials: Black/White/Silver/Gold/Blue
Crystal: Sapphire

That new collection of Turn-O-Graphs was, again, more of a gentle evolution than anything too disruptive.

Metals options were kept on an equivalency; the steel ref. 16264, Rolesor ref. 16263 and gold ref. 16268.

Dials selection was virtually identical too. However, the switch from matte to glossy dials had actually taken place during the term of the previous ref. 1625X, leaving some with and some without the shiny finish. On the ref. 1626X, all were now glossy.

Elsewhere, tapestry dials made an appearance, their textured surface giving a pleasing three dimensional effect. And the Jubilee dial came in, a type created for Rolex’s 80^thyear in the business in 1985. These featured a repeated ‘ROLEX’ signature monogrammed repeatedly across the face, also helping to add some depth.

One marked difference, though, was the switch from matte dials to glossy.

During the 15-year run of the ref. 1626X series, the luminescent material on those dials actually changed three times. Until around 1998, Rolex was still using the tritium common to true vintage watches. Far safer than the potentially hazardous radium which preceded it, but still radioactive nonetheless, it was replaced by LumiNova for just one year. That substance, invented in Japan by Nemoto & Co. Ltd, was photoluminescent rather than radioactive and so was completely harmless. Furthermore, its attractive green glow did not discolor over time, unlike tritium which, due to its short half life, faded relatively quickly and lost its shine. But LumiNova was swapped for SuperLumiNova in 1999, which was essentially the same but made by a Swiss company.

You can get a rough estimate on the age of a Turn-O-Graph from this era by looking at the lume, or more accurately, at the designation below the six o’clock index. Those with tritium (so, from 1988-1998) will be marked ‘T SWISS T’ or ‘SWISS<25’. The rarer LumiNova examples (1998-1999) are what are commonly referred to as the Swiss Only dials as they read simply ‘SWISS’ at the bottom. And the SuperLumiNova dials (1999-2003) have ‘Swiss Made’.

Protecting the dials on this generation are sapphire crystals, the first time they had been fitted to a Turn-O-Graph piece. These provided a much greater safeguard against damage and were flat instead of the slight dome on the former acrylic. However, fans of all things retro are frequently vocal on their love for an acrylic crystal, and their interest in Rolex watches has usually diminished by this point in their development.

The bracelet’s, too, received an upgrade. As with all other Datejust models, the Turn-O-Graph was made available with a choice of either the three-link Oyster or five-link Jubilee band. On both, Rolex replaced the folded outer links with solid ones for this series, although the inside links remained hollow. In that way, these are a sort of halfway house between the vintage bracelets and the modern type, with all solid links.

Speaking of vintage, another classic touch, lug holes, were present on the earliest run examples of the ref. 1626X models, before they were removed later on.

But the big news with this generation was the movement. The Cal. 3035 found itself ousted in favor of the legendary Cal. 3135, a caliber which would serve in a huge number of the brand’s time-and-date watches during its more than 30-years of service.

Recognized today as one of the finest mass-produced mechanisms ever made, it was more an act of perfecting on what had come before instead of a complete reinvention.

With the exception of including a full balance bridge, a handful of extra jewels and the increase in power reserve from 42 to 48 hours, there was little to choose between the two movements. Defining elements such as the Quickset, Glucydur balance wheel, Breguet overcoil and Microstella regulating system were all carried over as there was nothing better in existence to replace them. The Cal. 3135 really set the standard for high volume luxury watch engines; a formidably reliable workhorse, unfailingly accurate and extremely tough, it is a testament to its engineering that it has only been phased out of the collection in the last couple of years, three decades after its debut.

Rolex’s ill-fated Turn-O-Graph was, by this point, on borrowed time. It had gained an audience of admirers, but too small to support its continuation in the range.

However, there was just enough time for a last hurrah, a final set of references to escort it up to its well-earned retirement. And we will cover that in our next article.

Featured Photo: BeckerTime’s Archive