Thursday, June 08, 2017

There Was Only One Christopher Columbus Rolex Ad from 1957



The Very First Rolex Day-Date Advertisement 


1957 Rolex Day-Date Ad


There Was Only One


Christopher Columbus

It is absolutely amazing how much you can learn about Rolex history from reading vintage Rolex ads. This Christopher Columbus Rolex ad does a wonderful job of summing up the pioneering spirit that went into developing Rolex as a brand. 

Click on the vintage ad below to make it easier to read the text


1956
The Very First Rolex Day-Date

The Christopher Columbus Rolex ad was published in 1957, which was three years before Rolex's founder, Hans Wilsdorf passed away, and it walks the reader up through the history of innovation at Rolex that lead to the Rolex Day-Date, which had just been introduced the year before at Basel Fair in Switzerland in 1956. To the best of my knowledge it is the very first Rolex Day-Date magazine ad—at least that I am award of. The photo below shows a very early Rolex Day-Date from 1956. Notice it has a red DAY-DATE dial designation, as well as a matching red DATE wheel numbers.