Blog posts from Andy Callan

Despite their current standing as the most successful watchmakers of all time, Rolex in their formative years were no strangers to the sting of failure. The models offered in their lineup today are the cumulative result of generations making, learning, improving and perfecting—building on the elements that worked, discarding those that didn’t. The subjects of […]

Rolex’s reluctant flirtation with the world of quartz technology was not as short lived as the number of pieces it produced would suggest. Starting with the special edition ref. 5100 Beta-21 in the early 70s, a more or less prototype model powered by a consortium-built movement, the brand soon split from the syndicate known as […]

There are a number of experts in all things horology who are drawing a direct comparison between the modern threat to fine mechanical watchmaking posed by the massive Smartwatch invasion, and that of the 1970s quartz crisis. Although those dark days of the past were relatively short-lived, the damage they wrought decimated the Swiss industry […]

The story of the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is a story almost dominated by its movements. The original Daytona was Launched in 1963 and powered by a manually wound caliber from Swiss ébauche manufacturer Valjoux. This was possibly the closest Rolex had ever come to experiencing failure. The buying public was well used to the convenience […]