Sunday, January 05, 2025

Yellow Gold Submariner

 ...Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day...

Yellow Gold Submariner

I remember when I first saw this yellow gold Rolex Submariner photo on Instagram which was published by The Rolex Boutique in Tel Aviv, Israel and it blew my mind...talk about timeless...and therein lies a paradox of Rolex in the sense they are excellent time keepers, but they look so good, they transcend time...


Saturday, January 04, 2025

Rolex Testimonees: A year of exceptional achievements


Rolex Testimonees
A year of exceptional achievements

Friday, January 03, 2025

Jack Hanna Orange Hand Rolex Explorer II


...Rolex Super-Coolness...

Jack Hanna

Orange Hand Rolex Explorer II

[Reference 216570]

Jack Hanna is one of the most famous wildlife experts, and animal rights activists in the world. He is a naturalist and zooloigist and the Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and served as the Director of the Zoo from 1973 to 1993. He is commonly referred to by his nickname of "Jungle Jack", and is well known for his appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, as well as with David Letterman.

"You have to touch the heart, to teach the mind."
 
—Jack Hanna


Jack Hanna wears a Rolex Explorer II "Orange Hand", with the Polar White Dial, which is my favorite currently offered Rolex model, and I think it looks fantastic on him. Also, I might point out that Jack Hanna's energy very much reminds me of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, in that they both share a serious spirit-of-inquiry and exploration.

Thursday, January 02, 2025

Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day Savoy Truffle's Fuchsia Dial GMT Master


Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day

Savoy Truffle's Fuchsia Dial GMT Master

Wednesday, January 01, 2025

Alan Cousteau Three & A Half Men


...Funny Rolex Moment In Time...

Jon Cryer

Alan Cousteau Submariner


Two & A Half Men

Rolex has been featured in many pop-culture contexts, and this is probably one of the funniest examples. Jon Cryer starred on the mega-hit comedy TV-Show Two and a Half Men from 2003 to 2015. Most of those years he co-starred with Charlie Sheen (WINNING!!!!!), and both of them wore Rolex watches on the show. Jon wore a Submariner and Charlie wore a medium size stainless steel and Platinum Yatch-Master.


Tuesday, December 31, 2024

The Great Names Gallery in Hans Wilsdorf's Office?


Happy New Year To You All!

Another Rolex Mystery

The Great Names Gallery

Landmarks In The History of Rolex

I hope you all had a great holiday season, and I have a special New Years surprise for all of you! Every time I start thinking I have seen it all in the world of Rolex I realized it's the exact opposite, and this is a great example!!! This mystery image was brought to my attention by Nick Gould who discovered a link to it that was first published two weeks ago on the Matthew Taylor Vintage instagram account


Matthew said he discovered this mysterious photo a few years ago—despite the fact he only recently published it for the first time, two weeks ago—and it was from a watchmakers workshop in South Africa. Matthew speculated it is a photo of Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf's office at Rolex Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The photos below shows Hans Wilsdorf in his actual office at Rolex headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland in 1952 and 1953, and we see, based upon this photos that the glass showcase exhibition cases behind the old boy are indeed accurate, but obviously the artwork/signed photos on the wall are NOT a match. It's fascinating to note that Hans Wilsdorf always wore a Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee bracelet as we see below on his wrist.


One detail I noticed in the original image at the top of this story, is there is a photo of Hans Wilsdorf front and center on the wall behind him, but to the best of my knowledge, Wilsdorf, at least while he was alive, did NOT have a photo of himself on the wall behind him. In reality he kept a placard titled "PALMARÈS", which is French for record of achievements in that same place (pictured in the photo above Wilsdorf's head), and this is what leads me to believe what we are really looking at in that photo is a recreation of his office either in the original Rolex Museum, which no longer exists, or an area at Rolex Headquarters that displayed his office.


I say this must be a recreation of Hans Wilsdorf's office, as Rolex had a different International Headquarters in 1960, when Wilsdorf passed away, which is pictured below in Downtown Geneva. This Rolex Headquarters was opened in 1928 and moved in 1965.


The Rolex International headquarters we think of today is pictured below, just after it was erected in 1965, and is where Rolex headquarters remain today.


The fascinating Rolex Magazine advertisement pictured above was published in a magazine in January of 1973, and it says: 

    "There's a private corridor outside the Managing Director's office in our Geneva headquarters which is lined with the signed portraits of most of the world's leading Heads of State." 

Obviously this is André-Jean Heiniger's office, who Wilsdorf left the leadership of Rolex to.



If Only These Walls Could Talk

Below is a higher-resolution photo of the executive offices at Rolex Headquarters in Geneva in 1973. This was arguably an extension or continuation of the "Great Names Gallery" seen in Wilsdorf's office.


Matthew Taylor Vintage published a detailed analysis of all the people pictured on the wall in the original photo seen below, and he identifies many of them, but there are several that remain unidentified. In the future, I will do my best to identify them, but it's totally fascinating to see this amazing historical Rolex image that offers us the first glimpse at just some of Wilsdorf's personal memorabilia collection that feature famous people who wore Rolex watches, including Sir Winston Churchill as well as President Dwight D. Eisenhower.


I believe the desk, and chair and cabinets in the photo above were all from Hans Wilsdorf's personal office located at the old Rolex Headquarters in Geneva, I have NEVER seen the collection of images seen on the wall behind his desk displayed in his office. 

My best guess is Rolex posthumously curated this collection from his career, and put it together and the best supporting evidence is the title in the center rear case that reads, "LANDMARKS IN THE HISTORY OF ROLEX", which can be seen in the photo above. There are many other famous people not seen on the wall behind his desk that wore Rolex which have not been documented to date, but I will share more about them in the future.

Nick Gould and I noticed and discussed the photo above had a similar vibe to the ROLEX AND NASA image pictured below that was featured for years at Rolex headquarters. 


Below we see a close up of the top image in the photo above that shows Jack Swigert's NASA Apollo 13 flown GMT-Master Moon Watch.



Mystery Solved

Update January 1, 2024: Nick Gould solved the mystery, at least to a certain extent, regarding the nature of the mystery photo, as it is addressed in the following letters from Rolex Director, René-Paul Jeanneret written to the Prime Minister of Australian, Harold Holt. In this first letter dated May 6th, 1966, Jeanneret informs the Prime Minister of Australia, Harold Holt that he has gifted two Rolex Submariner models to Holt and his wife, who were both skin diving enthusiasts. Jeanneret then asks Holt for "one small favor", and that is if he would send in a singed photo that they would like to add to their Rolex "Great Names...Hall of Fame". 


In this letter Jeanneret thanks Holt for his signed photograph he sent into Rolex Headquarters in Geneva, and tells him that his photo: 

    "Will soon occupy a place of honor in our gallery of 'great names', now being reorganized — for private showing only. It will be in the management wing of the new Rolex Headquarters (of which the attached photograph will give you an idea)."

Jeanneret also sent the following letter, offering detailed background on June 16th, 1966 mentioning the Rolex Great Names Hall of Fame:


So essentially Jeanneret told Holt that they were reorganizing the gallery and moving it from the old Rolex Headquarters to the new one in 1966, just after it was erected.

Jeanneret then goes on to express his love for 'that wonderful hobby, skin diving'. Jeanerret is one of the founding fathers of Rolex and is one of four of the most important men who formed Rolex into what it is today. René-Paul Jeanneret represents such an important role in the history of Rolex, I have a volume dedicated just to his career achievements at Rolex!




Happy New Year To You All !

Below we see a Season's Greetings Rolex Magazine ad from Hans Wilsdorf that was published 76 years ago in 1948, and in it Wilsdorf wishes "Happy New Year to you all !" I join Hans Wilsdorf, eight decades later, in wishing you the same "Happy New Year to you all!!!"


I don't mean to be too redundant as I recently published another story on Wilsdorf, but I mentioned in that story I have been working for some time on a series of 15 books that actually delineate all the "LANDMARKS IN THE HISTORY OF ROLEX", as this series covers the entire arc of Rolex history, and is akin to a Rolexpedia. Volume 1 of my upcoming series details Wilsdorf's life and times as well as many of his amazing lifetime achievements, and we see the book cover art below.


Below we see the only known video footage of Hans Wilsdorf speaking, which was filmed in 1959, just a year before he passed away. Hans Wilsdorf was a beautiful man who left behind one of the most endearing and timeless legacies!

Monday, December 30, 2024

Tudor Black Bay Red...


...Tudor Studio Shot Of The Day...

Tudor Black Bay Red

from The Hague, Netherlands

I discovered this AMAZING image of a Tudor Black Bay on Instagram which was taken by #adutchwrist who said, "As 'Starry Night' was painted by Van Gogh, this weeks @rewatchteam theme has to be won by a Dutch photographer! Right?"

41MM Tudor Black Bay Reference Number M7923OR-0012

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Christmas 1954 Rolex Submariner Newspaper Ad

 Christmas 1954

Rolex Submariner Newspaper Ad

This is one of those things you have to see to believe: This is arguably the very first example I am aware of a Rolex Submariner advertisement and it was originally published around Christmas, 1954. The most interesting detail in my mind is that it was published 70 Christmases ago, and at the time the Rolex Submariner sold for only $150!?!!


Saturday, December 28, 2024

John Denver: The Kings of Country Music Wearing Rolex Series


The Kings of Country Music Wearing Rolex Series

...Rolex Super Coolness...

John Denver

1943-1997
Yellow Gold Rolex GMT-Master

As we move from celebrating the Christmas holiday to New Years I thought it would be great to enjoy some amazing music history with the legendary John Denver.


This is the fourth installment in my series named, "The Kings Of Country Music Wearing Rolex." I realize that John Denver not only sang many country hits, like "Thank God I'm A Country Boy", "Take Me Home, Country Roads", and "Rocky Mountain High", but he also crossed-over into many other genres including Folk singing.


John Denver had many other popular songs like "Annie's Song", "Leaving On A Jet Plane", and "Sunshine On My Shoulders." He was born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.in Roswell, New Mexico on December 31, 1943.


When I was a kid growing up in Northern California, I some of my fondest memories are of summer camp, listening to John Denver songs, like Take Me Home, Country Roads. 

When I think about John Denver's music, I think it's really ideal for listening to around Thanksgiving, along with other artists like Simon and Garfunkel. Something about this genre of music is heartwarming and kind of folksy...


In several of the images in this story we see photos of John Denver wearing a yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master, which I think suited him perfectly. It never ceases to amaze me how many guitarists wear Rolex watches.

John Denver was not only a recording and live performance superstar, but he was also an activist and humanitarian who dedicated much of his time and money to trying to take care of issues that effect earth. In my opinion, John Denver was the living embodiment and true symbol of Thanksgiving...



Aye, Calypso, I Sing To Your Spirit

John Denver was one of Jacques Cousteau's biggest fans. Not only did he write the fantastic song "Calypso" but he donated all the proceeds from the song to the Cousteau Society. John also performed concerts and donated the proceeds to the Cousteau Society.


The photo below of Jacques Cousteau was taken on-board the Calypso in 1953, an we see him wearing a prototype Rolex Submariner. Jacques Cousteau, in my opinion, is the greatest explorer that ever lived, and is the living embodiment of the Rolex Submariner.


By the way, John Denver wrote a beautiful song in the 1970s about Jacques Cousteau's Calypso ship and I thought I would share the profound words:

Calypso
By John Denver


To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean
To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and the living
In search of the answers to questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing
Part of beginning to understand

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to
The things that you've shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

Like the dolphin who guides you
You bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide
And free as the wind-swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to
The things that you've shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to
The things that you've shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well


John Denver is pictured below on-board the Calypso with Jacques Cousteau and they are talking with media mogul, Ted Turner. This photos was taken on the occasion of Jacques Cousteau's 75th birthday party in Washington D.C., which took place in 1985. In an ironic twist of fate, both John Denver and Jacques Cousteau both passed away twelve years later in 1997.



In the photo below we see John Denver (giving the thumbs-up!) diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Connie Reeder is pictured on the far left, and she sang with John Denver on "Fly Away", which can be viewed below this image.


“To Live on the Land We Must Learn from the Sea” 

–John Denver (Calypso)

Richard Hyman took the photo below onboard the Calypso when they were filming in the Belize Barrier Reef and John Denver gave an impromptu concert for Captain Cousteau and his wife Simone.

Friday, December 27, 2024

...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day... White Gold Rolex Daytona


...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day...

White Gold Rolex Daytona