If you ask an ordinary Rolex fan to name four watches at random, I’m almost sure you won’t hear their names: turn-o-graph, Oysterdate, Masterpiece or Oysterquartz. These lesser-known Rolex replica watches may no longer be in production, but they have an intriguing history, and their unique features are overlooked by many. In addition, if you buy an undervalued Rolex on the secondary market, you will find that you are wearing a watch that is not very common.
Introduced in 1953 before the Submariner and the GMT-Master, the Turn-O-Graph was Rolex’s first serially produced watch equipped with a rotating bezel to measure and record elapsed time. The following year, fake rolex added a date window and a Cyclops lens to the pioneering tool watch and dropped the “Turn-O-Graph” name from the dial. While it was still a Turn-O-Graph because of its rotating bezel, the 36mm model had now become a part of the Datejust collection.
In the late 1950s, the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbird Demonstration Squadron used the Datejust Turn-O-Graph as its official timepiece, and subsequently, the watch picked up the “Rolex Thunderbird” name. It was only in 2000 that the “Turn-O-Graph” name returned to the dial on a batch of new Datejust Turn-O-Graph references, and the watches came fitted with updated rotating bezels with a fluted finish and alternating stick and numerals to mark every five minutes. The replica rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph “Thunderbird” was eventually discontinued around 2011. If you’re looking for a tool watch-esque Datejust with a practical timing bezel, the Turn-O-Graph is a solid option that is still among the unpopular Rolex watches.
Manufactured from the 1950s until the 1980s, the Oysterdate Precision came in two case sizes: midsize 31mm and men’s 34mm. As its name implies, the Oysterdate Precision is decorated with a date window, albeit not a quickset one. Different from many of the Rolex watches produced over the same period, Oysterdate Precision watches were never chronometer-certified, which explains why “Precision” is written on the dial rather than the ubiquitous “Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified” text. A vintage Rolex watch that truly feels vintage thanks to its hand-wound movement, simple dial, and restrained size, the underrated Oysterdate Precision offers a lot in terms of affordability and makes a great contender for a starter Rolex watch.
First, the case size grew to 39mm from the classic 36mm size. Second, this isn’t strictly a Rolex “President” watch since the Day-Date Masterpiece was full of a Pearlmaster bracelet. Similar to the classic Day-Date, the Masterpiece editions were especially craft from valuable metals – including a Tridor version flaunting three shades of gold.
Rolex finally stopped making the Masterpiece in the mid-2010s. The relatively short production span coupled with hefty price tags makes the Rolex Day-Date Masterpiece quite a unique model to find in the secondary market.
There is a persistent myth that the replica Rolex never produced quartz watches, and it is impossible to be far from the truth. Crown not only produced a few quartz watches, but also spent five years developing an internal quartz caliper to incorporate into the oyster quartz series.
A rolex Datejust fake watch with a rotating bezel, a manual wind Rolex, a Rolex without a presidential bracelet, and a quartz Rolex are all slightly odd, to say the least. But it is these qualities that make these watches so appealing. So if you’re in the market for a less familiar Rolex, head to the secondary market for a lesser-known one.
