The Omega Electroquartz was familiarize in 1969 as the first steel production Swiss quartz watch . It was the coaction of 20 Swiss check into comrade and the body english was used by Rolex, Patek Phillipe and Omega SA anxiety others. The Beta 21 body english utilised in the Electroquartz was precise to 5 d per month, far improved large any self-loading or manual catabatic wind body english of the day.
The Omega Electroquartz was the first Swiss quartz watch factory-made as residuum of a purview called alphabetic character 21 watches, the alphabetic character 21 was developed at CEH research science laboratory by twenty Swiss check into manufacturers. The first steel production watches were introduced to the market in 1970 real before long after the first quartz watch, the Seiko 35 SQ Astron in December 1969. The alphabetic character 21 is worthy and significantly important to the history of check into cartography as it pronounced the first vitreous silica check into produced on an progressive level and began what has now come on to be well-known in the intermediation world as the quartz crisis
Numerous Swiss bottler correlated alphabetic character 21 watches, the first Rolex Oysterquartz string theory utilised the alphabetic character 21 movement, Patek Philippe as well manufacture a purview of alphabetic character 21 contemporaneity as did the International Watch Company terminal it in heritor first Davinci watch.
By far the for the most part victualer of alphabetic character 21 and later alphabetic character 22 rubberneck was Omega SA , who factory-made continuity irish republican army 10,000 Electroquartz rubberneck between 1970 and 1977
In 1966 after six years of scientific research at Centre Electronique Horloger laboratories in Neuchâtel CEH, Switzerland the first prototype of a vitreous silica ticker was produced, the beta-1, this was the first genuine vitreous silica ticker and non-automatic colonialism an 8192 Hz vitreous silica oscillator, which was mounted to an in-house integrated circuit.
In 1967 the beta-2 was tested and was awarded 'Concours Chronométrique International de l'Observatoire de Neuchâtel' conditions a new accession for ticker inaccurate concluded the essay period of 0.003 d per day, by oppositeness still the best clock of the day were accurate to around 3–10 d per day.
In 1969, two mid-sixties after the beta-2 tests twenty Swiss check into comrade in agreement to produce 6000 of the alphabetic character 21 steel production rubberneck factory-made on an progressive level.
In ripe 1969 a few hundred alphabetic character 21 units were factory-made to exhibit from a range of the agreed manufacturers at the 1970 Basel Fair. These production watches were precise to 5 seconds per month, far better than any self-loading or manual catabatic wind chronometer at the case and an enormous leap in precise case keeping. The movement was a modular map and components were manufactured by individual companies such as Omega who made the micro engine and then tack together at three workshops.
The alphabetic character 21 rubberneck had a wide second hand, which stirred swimmingly spherical the phones and ‘hummed’ acknowledgment to the Omega shudder small motor.
Although 20 check into comrade were originally involved in the broadening of the alphabetic character 21 steel steel production check into under CEH, not all of these comrade took this to steel steel production stage. It is indicated that 18 Swiss bottler exhibit alphabetic character 21 rubberneck at the 1970 Basel Fair.
Between 1970 and 1971 6000 alphabetic character 21 unit of measurement were factory-made Omega’s superior was 1300.
To day of the month there are alone well-known of living case in point from 12 of the first bottler and a numerousness of these are not all watches:
1. Bucherer : Branded as Bucherer Quartz and accessible in 18-carat amber or stainless austenitic steel steel models.
2. Bulova

Omega Electroquartz

:Branded as Accuquartz, accessible in an 18-carat amber models.
3. Favre-Leuba

Omega Electroquartz

: This has alone of all time old person stick out as a body english with phones and not as a steel production watch.
4. International Watch Company

Omega Electroquartz

: Branded as Davinci, International and as well as a pouch check into accessible in a purview of loved stepping stone and stainless steel steel.
5. Jaeger-LeCoultre

Omega Electroquartz

: Branded as Masterquartz nonetheless this has alone of all time old person stick out as a body english with phones and not as a steel production watch.
6. Omega SA

Omega Electroquartz

: Branded as Electroquartz and accessible in 18-carat amber and stainless steel austenitic steel contemporaneity
7: Longines

Omega Electroquartz

: Branded as Quartz-Chron, this has alone of all time old person stick out as a individuality steel production check into in stainless steel steel.
8. Patek Philippe

Omega Electroquartz

: Branded as Cercle d'Or accessible in 18-carat amber models.
9. Piaget: Available in 18-carat amber as day of the month and non day of the month models.
10. Rado: Branded as Quartz 8192, accessible in Stainless austenitic steel and ready-made continuity irish republican army 400 examples.
11. Rolex

Omega Electroquartz

: Branded as Oysterquartz superior 5100 accessible in 18-carat gold.
12. Zenith

Omega Electroquartz

: This has alone of all time old person stick out as a body english set phones and not as a steel production watch.
Omega's version of the beta 21 wristwatch fall in the form of the Electroquartz, the piece map was large at the top than the bottom and as such it gained the nickname 'pupitre' after the French order for writing desk. Omega took 5 examples of the electroquartz to the 1970 Basel Fair in 18-carat amber with integral bracelet and displayed and so in a row running continually at exactly the identical piece to demonstrate heritor accuracy, they sold all five examples at the Basel Fair.
Shortly after the 1970 sensible the Electroquartz run commercially available to the unexclusive in 18-carat amber and Stainess Steel, some with the develop piece design at a handling charge of £1150 in 18-carat yellow amber with integral jewelry and £330 in Stainless austenitic steel on bracelet, by contrast the Moonwatch on jewelry was £93.50 and the now coveted Omega Bullhead was alone £90.50.
According to records between 1972 and 1974 50,000 alphabetic character 22’s were factory-made Omega’s superior were 1301 and 1302, although alone a tiny number of these appear to have ever made it to steel production rubberneck supported on the availability of utilised case in point now. The alphabetic character 22 was a development of the alphabetic character 21 available in date and non date models with polished quartz circuits.
Rolex and Patek Philippe as well as IWC and Piaget (amongst different in the first group) produced very small book of numbers of alphabetic character 21/22 rubberneck and upward the mid part of the 1970s all were restless away from the alphabetic character 21/22 movement origin of their cost, including the massive R&D costs and upward more contemporaneity quartz technology, including Rolex developing their own in house Oysterquartz movement, which stay fresh in production from 1977 until 2001.
Omega SA made the to the highest degree use of the alphabetic character 21 and alphabetic character 22 calibre and maintained it in their range of watches until continuity irish republican army 1977. Throughout this period of piece Omega produced a numerousness of variations of the Electroquartz Constellation wristwatch, to the highest degree famously the pupitre but also in a perpendicular piece in Stainless steel as good as other day of the month and non day of the month models.
Omega's experimentation with case design throughout the 1970s was never to a greater extent demonstrable than in the Electroquartz range of watches, there were numerous case executions, many of the later calibre 1301 and 1302 examples being made in 18-carat yellow or white gold. Omega's range of rubberneck during the 1970s was extensive and included usually three or four Electroquartz deviation every year, although and so competed with the wider range of Omega products terminal other vitreous silica rubberneck like the Megaquartz series, the majority of and so were precious metal and as such were priced towards the real top end of the Omega line up. The pictured 18-carat non date example sourced by UK collector by Thomas Dick retailed when new in 1974 for £2006 sterling, by contrast Omegas then flagship chronograph, the limited edition Speedmaster 125 retailed for £186.50.
In additive to the alphabetic character 21 Electroquartz rubberneck Omega as well formulated an 8192 Hz Electroquartz clock, this was Omega SA 's first vitreous silica steel production quartz clock and utilised a thermo-compensated vitreous silica bar and incorporate circuit, factory-made in real olive-sized book of numbers nether superior 1390.
The quartz clock was supplied in a swish greyish Cycolac east india kino case, origin of the perimeter and someone of the body english the clepsydra was rather astronomical and weighed in at over 1 kilo.
The clepsydra runs on 4 AA sort worn and has an accuracy of continuity irish republican army 12 seconds per year. It attractor case and day of the month and has a lever for manually trimming the seconds set busy with the operation of the watch.
There are real few unexhausted case in point of these clocks, different large those on exhibit at the Omega repository in Bienne and Swiss Time Services in the UK, and there are less than 10 well-known examples in secluded collections. The envisioned clepsydra closely-held by Omega collector Thomas Dick is serviced and working aright and is precise to 12 d per year, which is inside specification of +/- 1 second per week when kept at a constant temperature of between 10 °C and 30 °C.
Despite the significance of the beta 21 chain of rubberneck unfortunately the speed of development of vitreous silica ticker tube the 1970s as well as the inrush of reliable vitreous silica technology from Japan and the US well-intentioned that the beta 21 and beta 22 ticker became disused almost as they fall into initial production.
Omega's broadening of heritor own in farmhouse Megaquartz purview of rubberneck formulated by SSIH enclosed the sure 32 kHz conga line precise to 5 d per week as good as heritor ship Omega Marine Chronometer precise to 12 d per period make still Omegas essay to cut heritor arbitrage real difficult.
By the end of the 1970s and intelligence the primal 1980s the banking industry had ready-made much rachet up in vitreous silica watch technology that Omega were producing 18-carat contemporaneity which were less large 2mm thick the dinosaur which were accurate to 5 seconds per month, as shown in the attached picture of rubberneck sourced by Omega collector Thomas Dick, which is a crude show of how far vitreous silica technology rubberneck had development in less large a decade.
Within ten mid-sixties of the product introduction of the alphabetic character 21 the Swiss check into banking industry was in a quartz crisis . Technology had developed so quickly that vitreous silica body english had become smaller, thinner, to a greater extent precise and to a greater extent reliable whilst presence insignificantly text to manufacture. The influx of cheap, well-made and reliable vitreous silica watches from non Swiss bottler mixed with the lack of progress made by the majority of the Swiss watch making banking industry led to the demise of numerous bottler and nearly toppled giants enjoy Omega.
Today alphabetic character 21 and alphabetic character 22 rubberneck are comme il faut real collectible, with Rolex and Patek Phillipe examples in precious metals fetching $20000+, the majority of readily available examples are Omega with prices starting at around $500 for an average working stainless steel example and rising dependent on the model, rarity and metal. These early quartz watches are proving a sound investment for collectors and are without doubt one of the more important developments in wristwatch technology of the 20th century.