King Harald of Norway is seen in the photo below with Queen Sonja taken back in 1968, and he is sporting his Pepsi GMT-Master. King Harald seems to fit into the category, much like legendary Golfer, Jack Nicklaus, who has been a one wife/one Rolex man for more than 50 years. Meaning he has exclusively depended on and worn the same Rolex for more than a half-century, while being married only once to the same wife. That makes him a "One Watch Man" litterally and figuratively.
In the photo below we see Prince Harald and Princess Sonja attending the 1968 Olympics.
King Harald experienced a very unusual childhood as he moved to the United States as a small child to escape the German occupation of Denmark. He dated his future wife for 8 years before marrying her. The challenge is that she was a commoner, and thus he was not allowed to marry her. Finally, he gave his father an ultimatum and said that if he could not marry her he would not get married, thus leaving Norway without an heir apparent to the Norwegian throne.
King Harald Married Sonja Haraldsen in 1968, and later then had two children, Mätha and Haakon.
Pespsi GMT-Masteras a Constant Companion
King Harald is pictured below with his two children back in 1977. It is interesting to not that in every photo I have seen of him taken since 1968, if his watch is visible, he always and only wears his Pepsi GMT-Master.
Harald succeeded his father as king in 1991 with his son Haakon becoming his heir apparent. King Harald of Norway and Queen Sonja are pictured below in a recent photo.
King Harald was an Olympic sailor who competed in three summer Olympic games including Tokyo (1964), Mexico (1968), and Munich (1972).
King Harald's father, King Olav won a gold medal for sailing in the 1928 Olympics. King Harald opened the Lillehammer, Norway Olympic games in 1994 when they were hosted in his country.
1968 Acapulco Summer Olympic Games
Stainless Steel Reference 5513
Since King Harald competed in the 1968 Summer Olympic games in Acapulco, Mexico I thought I would include this Rolex ad. This first one is from the 1968 Summer Olympic Games which were held in Mexico City, Mexico. The boating events of the XIX Olympiad were held in Acapulco, Mexico, which is featured in the Rolex ad below.
King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway are in their early eighties today, and King Harald is still a sailing fanatic and still wears his Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master as seen in the photos below.
As I mentioned earlier in this story, King Harald has not only been wearing his Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master for a more than a half-century, but it is his constant companion—as I have not been able to find a photo of him wearing any other watch. In the photo below, taken on April 28, 2011, Prince Harald is attending a pre-wedding ceremony dinner in London being held for Prince William and Princess Kate of Britain, and King Harald is wearing a black tie-tuxedo while wearing his Pepsi GMT. I have also seen photos of King Harald wearing his Pepsi GMT-Master with a white tie and tails.
In the photo below we see that the Pepsi bezel insert on King Harald's Rolex GMT-Master has completely faded and turned into a 'Ghost' dial. In other words, it almost looks like he is wearing a stainless steel Rolex Yacht-Master with a platinum bezel, but indeed it is the original Pepsi bezel that has faded over the past half-century or regular wear.
With the new Pespsi Rolex GMT-Master that Rolex just introduced at Basel World 2018, if King Harald began with one of them, the Pepsi bezel would obviously never have faded. Some people like the fact the annodized aluminum bezels fade over time to five a more patinad look, while others, including Rolex today, with the shift to cermamic bezel inserts, prefer a bezel that will not be affected by UV light or change in appearance over the decades of wear. For the record, the photo below shows what King Harald's Pespsi bezel would have look liked when he first started wearing it.
...Rolex Super-Coolness... Mario Andretti The Hodinkee Interview
Hodinkee just published this super cool interview with Mario Andretti, which you must watch! Mario Andretti is considered to be on of the greatest if not the greatest racing legends that have ever lived.
During the video, Jon Bues discussed Mario Andretti's Rolex Daytona which is seen below close up.
In the photo above of Mario Andretti's watch collection, we see his Rolex Daytona next to a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date which they don't discuss in the interview or in the article.
I assume Mario Andretti's yellow gold Rolex Day-Date pictured above is the same one pictured below in the 1976 Mario Andretti Rolex Day-Date Ad, which is very cool.
The documentary below on Mario Andretti was filmed the same year as the Mario Andretti Rolex add pictured above from 1976 was originally published.
I was surprised, as Paul Newman is renowned for wearing at least five different Rolex Daytona models, as well as having worn a stainless steel Rolex Datejust, which I documented in detail in "The Complete History Of The Paul Newman Daytona".
In the photos below we see Paul Newman wearing his iconic stainless steel Daytona that has a white exotic dial.
Everybody's favorite scoundrel is back!!! Disney recently released the first official trailer for the highly anticipated upcoming Han Solo prequel movie titled, "Solo: A Star Wars Story" which was directed by Ron Howard. This new movie covers the adventures of young Han Solo in the years prior to the events in the original 1977 'Star Wars' movie. This includes how he met his co-pilot, Chewbacca, as well as the notorious gambler, Lando Calrissian. Alden Ehrenreich is playing Han Solo which was originally played by Harrison Ford.
The image above of Alden Ehrenreich appears courtesy of British GQ, and in the photo below we see a close-up of the detail of his Rolex Oyster.
Alden Ehrenreich is pictured above wearing an early Rolex Oyster with a transitional case. The photo below is of a very similar transitional 32MM Rolex Oyster model, which I am including for frame of reference. It features the same case, hands, winding crown, and dial. It appears his dial differs in the sense it says 'Rolex Oyster' below the 12 O'clock marker, with the words 'Ultra Prima' surrounding the top of the seconds subdial.
What makes this watch 'transitional'? The first Rolex Oyster cases featured soldiered skinny lugs, and the transitional cushion case on this watch was the first one that soldiered thicker lugs that featured a spring bar. The next and final version of this cushion case came later and featured lugs that were machined as part of the case.
The New Han Solo
The new 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' will answer many questions, like how did Han Solo complete the Kessel run in the Millennium Falcon at less than twelve parsecs? It will also cover how Han met his future copilot, Chewie, and Lando, as well as how he got indebted to the interstellar gangster, Jabba the Hutt.
In the photo below, we see Alden Ehrenreich playing the role of Han Solo.
The new 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' official teaser trailer, as well as the official movie trailer, are featured below, which I highly recommend watching. Solo: A Star Wars Story is scheduled to debut at the Cannes film festival on May 15th, and will be in theaters this summer around the world on May 25, which is Memorial Day in the United States.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is the first in a series of upcoming Disney movies that are based upon the earlier history of Star Wars figures. Disney is also working on a Star Wars story movie about young Obi-Won Kenobi, as well as a movie about Boba Fett, which are scheduled to be released in 2019.
Alden Ehrenreich is featured below in an interview before he was chosen to play the role of Han Solo, and he seems like a really cool dude...
Alden Ehrenreich has big shoes to fill in following Harrison Ford in the role of Han Solo, and from what I have seen, he seems to be doing a great job.
Harrison Ford's role as Han Solo in the original Star Wars movies is beyond iconic, and as we see in the picture below, he is holding Carie Fisher in his arms, off-set, while he is wearing his stainless steel Rolex Datejust.
In the photo below we see Harrison Ford's wearing his stainless steel Rolex Datejust off-set when he was filming the original Blade Runner movie.
It's profoundly ironic that both men who play Han Solo on-screen wear silver Rolex watches off-screen!!!
Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.
In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.
This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.
The Hans Wilsdorf Story: Founder Of Rolex
Rolex is one of the most recognizable brands on earth, but very little has been known about its real history. If you really, really want to understand what makes Rolex tick, I very highly recommend you read the fascinating story of Rolex's amazing founder–Hans Wilsdorf.
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