PRELOVED ROLEX NEW BATTERY. THEY MADE THESE FOR A COUPLE YEARS IN THE 70’s BACK HAS SIGNS OF AGE 8.5 INCHES LONG What year did Rolex make a quartz watch? 1970 Rolex's first commercially available quartz watch was the Quartz Date 5100. Introduced in 1970, this watch shared the Beta 21 movement, developed by Rolex and 20 other Swiss brands. It was also used by other Swiss companies like Omega and Enicar.