Pepsi in Winter Wonderland

...Wrist Shot Of The Day...

Quentin's Ice-Cold Pepsi GMT

We are heading into Fall in the Northern Hemisphere again, and soon we should see some snow. So I thought it would make sense to take a look at Quentin's vintage Pepsi GMT-Master.

The John Player Special...Exotic Dial Up Close...

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

The John Player Special

Yellow Gold Rolex Daytona

Can it be that it was all so simple then...

...or has TIME rewritten every line?

Adrienne Vittadini 1997 Rolex Explorer Ad

Adrienne Vittadini

1997 Rolex Explorer Ad

I thought it would be interesting to look at this magnificent Rolex Magazine ad from 30 years ago. I remember seeing this Adrienne Vittadini ad 23 years ago, in 1997, and it only took me nine years to find it in high-resolution?!! This is a fairly major piece of Rolex history, and it is probably the first Rolex advertisement that shows a woman wearing a man's 40mm Rolex...

Adrienne Vittadini is an American designer who was born Adrienne Toth in 1944. Andrienne's father was a physician and a staunch anticommunist and was a supporter of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Below we see a photo of Adrienne Vittadini taken in 2018 and, notice, she is wearing a stainless steel Rolex Daytona with a white dial...

In this next photo taken in 2012, we see Adrienne wearing a Lady-Datejust... 

Petter from Hungary wrote in and said:
Hey Jake,
Just saw your post on the blog about Adrienne Vittadini. She was born in Győr - Hungary, my hometown.
Lovely little place, have a look :)
Kind regards,
Petter

1977 Rolex Brochure Cover...

1977 

Rolex Brochure Cover

I am pretty certain this is the first Rolex brochure I ever looked at when I was young...Total Deja Vu when I look at this now!!!

THE BOSS: Bruce Springsteen Vintage Rolex Collector

A True Empresario

On The Night Shift

There is nothing more interesting than when a famous, super-iconic singer covers a song or songs that they just love and do it better than the original singer, and that is exactly what occurred with Bruce Springsteen's hauntingly great cover of The Commodores "Night Shift".

Bruce is unusual, in the sense he performs a significant number of covers—meaning singing songs other people made famous, but he does it so well, and always ads his own unique "Boss-like-flavor", which I find to be infinitely interesting... As usual, he offers a command performance, and one thing Bruce has in common with Rolex is they are both highly charismatic timeless icons that have endured...Bruce is 75 years young, and still going full-speed-ahead...

I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't include the original version of The Night Shift (below) by The Commodores, as it is an amazing classic...and it's filled with Rolex watches...

THE BOSS

Bruce Springsteen

Vintage Rolex Collector

Bruce Springsteen is one of the greatest singer, songwriter, guitarist who has ever lived, and to say he is an international treasure would be an understatement. I first reported on Bruce Springsteen wearing a Rolex Submariner back in 2009, and with this story we learn that 'The Boss' is an avid vintage Rolex collector. Special thanks to Nick Gould for discovering these images of The Boss...

Bruce Springsteen is pictured below back in 1974 in an amazing photo taken by Barry Schneier which appeared in a superb story by Rolling Stone Magazine.

I first became a fan of Bruce Springsteen when I was 14 years old back in 1980 when he came out with his landmark double album named "THE RIVER" which featured highly iconic songs like "Jackson Cage", "Sherry Darling", "Hungry Heart", "The River", "Cadillac Ranch", "Point Blank" and "Fade Away"—just to name a few.

Bruce Springsteen's followed up with what might perhaps be his most famous and iconic album of all time that was BORN IN THE U.S.A. which is pictured below which was released in 1984. 

In the first photo above we see Bruce Springsteen rocking his vintage Pepsi GMT-Master on a Jubilee Bracelet, and in the next image below we see The Boss wearing his Single Red Submariner (Reference 1680).

In this next photo we see Bruce rocking a vintage Rolex Daytona [Reference 6263] when he recently appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

1951 ROLEX Magazine Datejust Ad...

1951 ROLEX Magazine Datejust Ad

BLUEPRINT OF Supremacy

Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative: “Expedition Amazon – Into the Waters”

 

 National Geographic +Rolex 

Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative 

Expedition Amazon - Into the Waters 

Over the course of two years, teams of Explorers on the Rolex and National Geographic Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition have studied the Amazon River Basin from source to mouth – across six countries. In this bonus material to National Geographic’s “Expedition Amazon” documentary, premiering on 10 October, National Geographic Explorers Thomas Peschak, Fernando Trujillo, Thiago Silva and Julia Tavares guide us from the farthest source of the river, the Nevado Mismi in Peru, to the official start of the Amazon at the Brazilian Meeting of the Waters. 

Along the way we meet an adored Colombian rescue manatee named Moechi, and travel to rare Bolivian clearwaters, where gilded catfish are plentiful. Discover more of the Amazon's incredible wildlife, nature, and communities through the immersive experience on National Geographic.

Dimitri Rebikoff and How the Rolex SUBMARINER was Born

...Story Preview...

DIMITRI REBIKOFF

The Genesis of the Rolex Submariner

A Story of a Man and His Machines

Nicholas Foulkes interesting new book on the Rolex Submariner goes into some detail on the role Dimitri Rebikoff played in the development of what went on become the most famous dive watch in history. I have been working deeply on researching Dimitri Rebikoff's role in the genesis of the Rolex Submariner watch model for many years now, and have been preparing to publish a detailed story with my clarifying findings sometime soon, so the timing seems perfect to share this preview with you now:

In my upcoming story we will hop in the Rolex Time Machine and travel back to yesteryear to learn all about Dimitri Rebikoff (pictured above and below) and his amazing lifetime career achievements from many people I have interviewed who were close with and knew him well. This is an amazing story about a man and his machines he brought to life as necessity compelled. The photo and excerpt below on Dimitri Rebikoff were published in 1957.

The Rolex Submariner is one of the most iconic and famous sport watches on earth. It's handsome, rugged, and sporty, yet super versatile.

The late art-deco design language from the early 1950s that still permeates the Rolex Submariner continues to transcend time. The Submariner can be dressed-down with everything from a pair of shorts and a T-Shirt with flip-flops, to being dressed-up with a formal black tie. The photos below of Hollywood actor and producer, Brian Kelly rocking his Rolex Submariner illustrate this point perfectly as they were taken more than a half-century ago, yet they almost look like they could have been taken yesterday...Brian Kelly played Porter Ricks on the 1960 aquatic show named Flipper.

There are many examples of this from the vintage Sean Connery as 007, rocking his Rolex Submariner while he dives, as well as when he wears his Submariner with his white dinner jacket, and you can fast forward to today and see the greatest tennis player in history, Roger Federer wearing shorts and a T-Shirt or a tuxedo, and the coolest thing is anybody and everybody can accessories a Submariner any way they want and truly make it theirs.

One of the great unanswered questions is 'Where exactly did this timeless Rolex Submariner tool watch come from, and how—precisely—did it get its name? And, how is Submariner properly pronounced? This upcoming story will answer these and many of other seminal questions for the first time.

The Life Aquatic

In this upcoming story we will learn all about how the Rolex Submariner began its humble life as a Rolex Explorer variant, which of course, began its Maratime career as an Oyster Perpetual variant, which we witness with the 1929 Rolex Magazine ad (pictured below) for the then avant-garde Rolex "Oyster" tool watch. 

Just to be crystal clear, on the simplest level, I am saying the Rolex Submariner evolved from the Rolex Explorer, which had previously evolved from the Rolex Oyster Perpetual.

This early 1929 Rolex Oyster advertisement pictured above appears in my upcoming book series in Volume 1 and is the earliest known aquatic themed Rolex Magazine advertisement I am aware of, but suffice it to say Rolex's founder Hans Wildsorf was always very aware of the role it could play in the life aquatic. 

Below we see another magnificent art deco Italian Rolex mermaid Rolex Magazine advertisement which is so beautiful...

Rolex's very first Rolex Magazine advertisement that featured a deep sea diver made its debut in 1948, and featured Italian diver, Adolfo Vanni. Adolfo was a hardhat diver, which means his breathing apparatus was tethered to a ship up on the surface, and in October of 1948 he reached an extraordinary depth 1066 Feet, which is 325 meters, while wearing a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Watch on his wrist. Special thanks to Rolex history researcher, Pierre Jean @therolex_archivist, who discovered this amazing vintage Rolex Magazine ad.

Are You Going to

Basel Fair?

Rolex Showcases Their 

Technological Waterproofing Prowess

Basel Fair was the biggest watch trade show in Switzerland and was founded in 1917. Rolex first exhibited their watches at Basel Fair in 1939, and in 1942, Rolex flexed their technological prowess when they displayed Rolex watches easily withstanding their environment in a tank pressurized to 120 Meters (394 Feet), as we see in the image below that was published in the Revue internationale de l'horlogerie.

If you look closely, you will notice there is an unusually large watch located on the left side of the tank displayed on the bottom image of the page seen above and it features a black dial. Below we get a closer look at the mysterious Rolex Diving Watch from 1942, and it's located in the bottom left hand corner, and appears to have a black dial.

My best guess is this may be the highly elusive Rolex Reference 2533 with a cushion case that was published in a 1935 Rolex Catalog, but unfortunately today there are no known examples out in the wild, although it has been rumored Rolex has an version of it in their private museum collection in Geneva, Switzerland. 

The Rolex Reference 2533 formed the basis for which the original Panerai Watches were based upon, and essentially Rolex took a 47MM Rolex Oyster Pocket Watch as illustrated below, and rotated the case 90 degrees to the right, then soldiered lugs on the case, and removed the hanging watch chain fob as seen below in this image from the ultra-knowledgable horological forensics expert, Jose, at Perezcope.com.

The supreme irony with the oversized 47MM Rolex Oyster pictured above is in many ways it represents the genesis of the Rolex diving watch in the sense it was the first watch destined to conquer the Deep Sea, and when I publish the full version of this article, it will go into great detail on the evolution of this watch model and how it ultimately led to the advent of the Rolex Submariner.

Basel Fair 1954

The Birth of Rolex Cosplay

In 1954, Basel Fair radically expanded and modernized their facilities in Basel, Switzerland when they launched Hall 2, which is pictured below in the Ariel photo on the right. If you look closely at the photo below you will see the original Basel Fair Hall 1 on the left. 

Basel Fair Hall 1 and Hall 2 pictured above in 1954 in Basel, Switzerland

Basel Fair in 1954 represents and demarcates a seminal year in which classism gave way to modernism in the world of horology—as the world raced ahead into the space age—and Rolex was there front and center with a cadre of new Rolex Sports Tool Watch models as seen in this page from Europa Star published in 1954. 

Keep in mind that despite the fact the Rolex Submariner today is considered to be an absolute classic design, it was once considered to be extremely bold and modern. At the time many people ridiculed Rolex sport watches saying they were way too big and heavy. 

    "All that was great in the past was ridiculed, condemned, combated, suppressed—only to emerge all the more powerfully, all the more triumphantly from the struggle."

—Nikola Tesla

The Rolex Magazine advertisement seen below for the Rolex Explorer is from 1964 and captures the core essence of Rolex tool watches, as it features the Rolex Explorer, but there is much more to the Explorer than meets the eye.

Where's The Beef?

Where's the Submariner? Show me the Submariner!?!! One of the interesting details I couldn't help but notice in Nicholas Foulkes recently released Rolex History book named Oyster Perpetual Submariner, The Watch That Unlocked The Deep, which I will be reviewing soon here on Jake's Rolex World, is it strangely didn't contain any photos of Dimitri Rebikoff wearing a Rolex Submariner? 

This seems like a supreme irony to me as Rebikoff helped bring the Submariner to life, so I thought I would share some images in this preview, and mention I have many more never before seen exclusive photos coming up in my full article. The photo below shows Rebikoff rocking his prototype Submariner back in 1955 as he is working in his back yard on an underwater lighting "Torpedo".

Talent does what it can... Genius does what it must...

Below we see a Rolex Magazine ad featuring the Submariner from 1957 that was taken during prototype testing.

Speaking of books on Rolex History, I have been working for years now on a series of 15 books, or volumes, that cover the entire historical arc of Rolex, and my chapter on Dimitri Rebikoff is featured in VOLUME 3, which is titled, "The Complete History of Rolex MAD MEN: How They Created The International Mark of Success, by JAKE EHRLICH", and we see the cover art for that volume below.

Speaking of Rolex Mad Men, the reason Volume 3 of my book series is titled "Mad Men" has to do with the role the original Ad Men of Madison Avenue played in making Rolex the most reputable brand on earth today. 

Pictured above we see Jon Hamm rocking a Rolex Explorer as he poses for a photo from the Mad Men series, and I think it is likely derivative of George Lazenby's 1969 photo below rocking a Rolex Submariner while he poses for a publicity shot from the James Bond movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Many people have been asking me when I plan to begin publishing my upcoming series of 15 volumes on the history of Rolex? Essentially, I have been researching and writing the equivalent of an Encyclopedia on Rolex History, which is a massive undertaking. My goal is to leave no stone unturned, and I wan't to make certain I deliver books that are as magnificent as Rolex itself, and as they say, 'good things take time.' As soon as I have a firm ETA I will post a story here on RolexMagazine.com.

In the meantime, I hope you have enjoyed this teaser for my upcoming story on Dimitri Rebikoff, and when I publish this full story later this year, I am certain it will shed substantial light and immense insight on the genesis of the Rolex Submariner that has never been previously documented—so stay tuned...Special shout out to the Uber talented horological historian, Nick Gould for his invaluable contributions to this story...

Also, thanks to Dimitri Rebikoff for his invaluable design and utilitarian engineering contributions to the Rolex Submariner which he wore his entire career, and we see it on his wrist in the exclusive photo below that has never been published before from the collection of Captain Litt, who worked with Dimitri Rebikoff many years ago. In my upcoming article on Rebikoff, we will see many more action photos of him rocking Rolex Submariner watch models which he kept the time of this amazing life with.

ROLEX

The Timeless Time Machine

I put together a bunch of cool images that depict what I illustrated in the story above, as they tell a story without me having to write words beyond this:

Sofi Fahrman: Swedish Journalist

...Rolex Hotness...

Sofi Fahrman

Swedish Journalist

Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona

Yellow Gold Rolex GMT-Master

....Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day....

Yellow Gold Rolex GMT-Master

Bakelite Bezel

The photo below of the vintage Rolex GMT-Master appears courtesy of Christie's Auction house, and is a beauty indeed! This is a very early yellow gold GMT, as it has the sword hands, which lack the traditional Mercedes Marker on the hour had, and it also has the tiny arrowhead on the 24-hour hand. The dial on this watch has nipple markers, and more importantly a very rare original brown bakelite bezel insert, with matching yellow gold 24-hour time numerals.