Monday, June 02, 2014

"The" Rolex President Coming To Auction!!!




"The" Rolex President Coming To Auction!!!
The International Mark Of Success & Achievement





The First Rolex President
President Dwight Eisenhower's Rolex
[1951 Yellow Gold Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee Bracelet]
The 150,000th Officially Certified Rolex Swiss Chronometer

It is hard to believe, but true, the first Rolex watch worn by a U.S. President is coming to auction, which is unprecedented! Just to be clear, Rolex watches worn by U.S. Presidents are not only very rare, but to date, one has never been offered at auction!

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower pictured above wearing his yellow gold Rolex Datejust in the 1950s


This is no ordinary Rolex Presidential watch, but the one that Rolex gave to then Supreme NATO Commander of Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, after he successfully freed Europe from the shackles of Nazi tyranny. Essentially, General Eisenhower was the architect of D-Day, under which he assembled the largest armada in history and sailed across the Atlantic, and stormed the beaches at Normandy to defeat the Nazi's. After winning World War II in Europe, General Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Commander of NATO, under which command, he got everything straightened out and oversaw the rebuilding of Europe.

I will have more details coming up in the future as I learn more about this auction. It is obvious that President Eisenhower's Rolex is arguably the most historically significant watch. 


An Unprecedented Rolex President

President Eisenhower's watch will be available for preview on June 6th in England, and all the details can be seen at the bottom of this post.








Every Rolex Tells A Story

It has been said, that every Rolex tells a story, and when a Rolex is engraved on its case back, also know as a "verso" it adds a unique characteristic, that tells a story. 



The back of President Eisenhower's Rolex is engraved with Eisenhower's 5 Stars, which form a pentagon–in the middle of the stars. The engraving also has his initials DDE, as well as the date he was appointed Supreme Commander Of NATO. I would argue that if every Rolex tells a story, that President Eisenhower's yellow gold Rolex Datejust offers the most dynamic, and wonderful, ultra-succesful story. After all, it really was President Eisenower's Rolex that made Rolex The International Mark Of Success and Achievement. What is your Rolex story?





70th Anniversary of D-Day: Revisiting the historic site of General Eisenhower’s residence, Telegraph Cottage - Kingston, Surrey

Rare artifacts including an extraordinary original oil painting by General Dwight D. Eisenhower of his UK refuge during D-Day operation, his World War II brown leather flight jacket and more, during a special media preview of the internationally renowned Raleigh DeGeer Amyx collection.

To commemorate the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, RR Auction is proud to present a historic collection of museum quality memorabilia relating to General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Commander-in-Chief, Franklin D. Roosevelt, during an upcoming press conference that will take place near the former site of where Eisenhower stayed during the operation, Telegraph Cottage.

On June 6, 1944, when 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Eisenhower would call the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.”

As the location of General Eisenhower's main office while commanding the Allied Expeditionary force, Telegraph Cottage was where the general planned two of the most war's important invasions—as he attests to himself on the reverse of an original oil painting—in Torch, the invasion of North Africa, and Overlord, the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

“Very few people knew that Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander and the man who would take the decision to launch D-Day, was living there,” says Bobby Livingston, VP at RR Auction, “his small staff went to great efforts to maintain his privacy and to avoid reminders of the war, so that the cottage began a kind of refuge and Eisenhower had some brief respite from the pressures of his job.”

Who: Bobby Livingston, Exec VP of RR Auction will be on hand to discuss the historical significance of the items.

Vicky Good - Author, The Warren House Tales, a new book that details the fascinating history of Warren House and six of the families who lived there. Good is a historical researcher and genealogist, whose family is the current owner of the Warren House.

What: Among the Museum quality pieces to be featured at the event: (see attached for complete listing) 

An extraordinary original oil painting by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, depicting his wartime retreat outside of London known as Telegraph Cottage, with handwritten notes in his own hand on the reverse “where I lived while planning both Torch (1942) and Overlord (1944).”

Eisenhower’s Rolex Watch, considered by many the most important and valuable wristwatch in the entire world, a 1951 18K iconic yellow gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust chronometer on a Jubilee bracelet.

President Eisenhower's World War II brown leather flight jacket — which features four-star epaulettes on the shoulders.

President Roosevelt’s personally-owned and -worn top hat, worn for his first presidential inauguration on March 4, 1933.

President Roosevelt’s remarkable personally-owned and -worn blue-black cape custom made of the highest quality manufacture and material by Lewis & Thos. Saltz of Washington, constructed of a fine heavyweight wool with a satin lining and velvet-trimmed collar. FDR’s personally-owned and -used walnut cane with a white bone handle and tip.


All items are part of the internationally renowned collection of Raleigh DeGeer Amyx, and will be included in a live auction event to be held in Boston, MA on September 2014.

Where: Warren House, Warren Road, Kingston Upon Thames Surrey KT2 7HY

When: Thursday 5 June 2014, from 11AM – 1PM

About RR Auction:

Headquartered in Boston’s North End, RR Auction is a globally recognized and trusted source for rare documents, manuscripts, autographs, and historic artifacts. Since its inception in 1980, RR has achieved countless record-setting prices in over 425 successful sales, including Truman Capote’s hand-notated manuscript for Breakfast at Tiffany’s for over $300,000, President Kennedy’s 1963 convertible for $318,000, and a pair of Bonnie and Clyde’s guns for over $500,000. Internationally known and frequently featured in all media outlets—with appearances on NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, Fox News, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, and the London Times—RR Auction prides itself on selling authentic material, thoroughly examined by in-house experts and third-party authenticators, to uphold the guarantee of authenticity. With a stunning full-color print catalog and a massive online presence, RR Auction’s nearly four decades of business continue to grow, achieving record prices for clients around the world. More details can be found online at www.rrauction.com
Raleigh DeGeer Amyx Collection:

More than an assortment of artifacts, this represents the life-long dream of a single man, a personal quest to preserve and share American history—indeed, the Raleigh DeGeer Amyx Collection, with a special focus on the 20th century, embodies the nation's past at its finest. RR Auction is proud to present the internationally renowned collection of Raleigh DeGeer Amyx in a live auction event to be held in September 2014.

VKL Good - Author, The Warren House Tales

Vicky, whose family are the current owners of Warren House, was born in London in 1965 and educated at Wimbledon High School and Keele University where she read International Relations. She is a historical researcher and genealogist, and lives with her husband and young family in Surrey. http://www.warrenhouse.com



The Complete History Of The Rolex President

Years ago, I wrote a super detailed 11 Part story named The Complete History Of The Rolex President, which covers President Eisenhower's Rolex, and exactly how he obtained it from Rolex.


1966 Rolex President's Watch Ad
The Presidents' Watch