In 1953, Rolex unveiled the Turn-O-Graph ref. 6202 model.
The inaugural Turn-O-Graph ref. 6202 was actually the first serially-produced Rolex wristwatch to feature a rotating bezel.
The Turn-O-Graph watch was positioned as a device that offered an easier way to measure and record time.
This new principle consists of a bezel around the watch face. This bezel is marked from zero to sixty and is easily turned by hand.
To time an operation, all you have to do is align the zero mark on the bezel with the second, minute, or hour hand of the watch. Thereafter, at any moment, you have an immediate record of the time elapsed.”
The Turn-O-Graph came before the Explorer, Submariner, and GMT-Master; therefore the Turn-O-Graph has the distinction of being Rolex’s very first tool watch.
The year after the first Turn-O-Graph made its debut, Rolex changed the watch design and made it a part of the Datejust collection.
The second-generation Turn-O-Graph, which was ref. 6309, retained the rotating timing bezel, and featured a date and date window at 3 o’clock and accompanying Cyclops magnification lens on the crystal. What’s more, the “Turn-O-Graph” moniker was dropped from the dial in favor of “Datejust.”
in 1953, the United States Air Force established the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Thunderbirds
A Thunderbirds pilot owned a Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph watch, which caught the attention of the squadron thanks to the practical timing bezel.
As a result, the squadron put in an official request to Rolex in the late 1950s to supply the Thunderbirds with watches.
Rolex began marketing the Turn-O-Graph as the Rolex Thunderbird in the American market.
From this point forward, the Datejust Turn-O-Graph picked up the Rolex Thunderbird nickname.
CHARLEY PHOTO OF THE WEEK: When you go from begging for pancakes to taking an after dinner nap.
