1560 — the first sports calibre of the line

In brief

At 18,000 vibrations per hour the 1560 beats slower than the rest of the 15xx family, which is the clue to its place in the line: it came first. Rolex drew it up specifically for the sports range, certified as a chronometer and carrying 26 jewels, and it preceded the 1570 before that calibre pushed the frequency to 19,800 vph.

Short history

Rolex brought it in at the turn of the 1960s as the certified automatic for its new generation of tool watches — the Submariner and the Explorer among them. The catalogue eventually replaced it with the 1570, which ran faster and held its rate better, though the two were in production side by side for several years before the 1560 was withdrawn for good.

Watches that used it

• Rolex Submariner (ref. 5512, some series)
• Rolex Explorer (ref. 1016, early series)