The Real History of The Rolex Helium Release Valve

The Real History of 

The Rolex Helium Release Valve?

Amazing Historical Findings

Jose and I have worked closely for years now on trying to put together all the Rolex history puzzles around the development of the Rolex SEA-DWELLER Helium Release Valve. The strange thing about being a Rolex historian is that every time you think you solve another Rolex mystery, you find a new one staring you in the face. Jose just published a new story on Periscope named "THE DOXA HRV" which sheds a great deal of light on the development of the SEA-DWELLER and its helium release valve which I highly recommend reading. 

Below we see legendary U.S. Navy SEALAB saturation pioneer, Dr. George Bond whose nickname was "Papa Topside", and notice he is wearing a Rolex Diving toolwatch which is either a Submariner or SEA-DWELLER.

Jeff's photo below shows an early Rolex Sea-Dweller Helium Gas Release Valve.

A few years ago Jose and I put together he pieces of the Comex puzzle, and in Jose's new story he includes this amazing historical Rolex letter.

Hosni Mubarak Belongs to the Ages

Former President of Egypt

Hosni Mubarak

Belongs to the Ages

1928-2020

Hosni Mubarak passed away and left behind a fascinating legacy. Mubarak is a former Egyptian President (1981-2011), Prime Minister (1981-1982), Vice President (1975-1981) and military leader in the Egyptian Air Force where he served as a Commander from 1972-1975. He was born in 1928 and was ousted from office in 2011. In the photos below we see him wearing his two-tone Rolex GMT-Master on a Jubilee bracelet. I recall also seeing photos of him wearing a Rolex Dayt-Date which I will find and add to this story in the future.

Warren Buffett Full CNBC Interview

Warren Buffett
Full CNBC Interview
Who is the wisest man in the world that wears a Rolex Day-Date? Could very well be the Oracle of Omaha, which is Warren Buffett. This interview is absolutely fascinating.

Scott Carpenter SEALAB Submariner...

Scott Carpenter

SEALAB Submariner

Nick Gould recently discovered this really cool image of NASA Astronaut & SEALAB Aquanaut, Scott Carpenter rocking his really cool Rolex Submariner with a depth gauge on his strap and thought I would share it with you.

Rolex Bubble-Back Unique Queen Mary Dial

Rolex Bubble-Back

Unique RMS Queen Mary Dial

John "Crash" Moittel is a daily reader of Jake's Rolex World. He is also a Trustee of miottelmuseum.com.

He wrote in recently to share some fascinating insight on is RISitus condition. John said:

"Here is a very interesting item that may now be unique—and as such—may be of interest to you. It’s a Rolex “Queen Mary.” I am attaching some photos. The photos didn’t catch it, but in actuality, the name “Queen Mary” is clearly visible on the bow of the ship image."

Seeing this beauty for the first time took my breath away! To the best of my recollection, this is the earliest known "Exotic Dial" Rolex, or, in other words, Rolex dial with graphics on it.

The RMS Queen Mary Ocean Liner is pictured below as she cruises by Manhattan back in the 1930s.

John continued: 

"You seem like the most prolific and eclectic RISitus victim around my newly discovered field of interest so I’d be interested in any medications that you can recommend &/or what you think about my affliction."

RISitus, if you are not familiar with the term, stems from the term WISitus, which is a condition of sorts. "WIS" is the acronym for "Watch Idiot Savant", thus "RIS" is the acronym for "Rolex Idiot Savant". This is a condition I have happily suffered from for four decades now ;-)

John, my best advice is to "Keep Truckin'!!!". WISitus and RISitus, are some of the best conditions one can suffer from, as the cornerstone of them is The Spirit Of Inquiry, or if I am speakin' wif a cockney accent  (fink: Michael Caine), The Spirit Of Enquiry :-)

Wikipedia.com Definition:

RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line (known as Cunard-White Star Line when the vessel entered service). Built by John Brown & Companyin Clydebank, Scotland, Queen Mary along with her running mate, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, were built as part of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service between Southampton, Cherbourg, and New York City. The two ships were a British response to the superliners built by German and French companies in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Queen Mary was the flagship of the Cunard Line from May 1936 until October 1946 when she was replaced in that role by Queen Elizabeth.

Queen Mary sailed on her maiden voyage on 27 May 1936 and captured the Blue Riband in August of that year; she lost the title to SS Normandie in 1937 and recaptured it in 1938, holding it until 1952 when she was beaten by the new SS United States. With the outbreak of World War II, she was converted into a troopship and ferried Alliedsoldiers for the duration of the war.

Following the war Queen Mary was refitted for passenger service and along with Queen Elizabeth commenced the two-ship transatlantic passenger service for which the two ships were initially built. The two ships dominated the transatlantic passenger transportation market until the dawn of the jet age in the late 1950s. By the mid-1960s, Queen Mary was ageing and, though still among the most popular transatlantic liners, was operating at a loss.

After several years of decreased profits for Cunard Line, Queen Mary was officially retired from service in 1967. She left Southampton for the last time on 31 October 1967 and sailed to the port of Long Beach, California, United States, where she remains permanently moored. Much of the machinery, including one of the two engine rooms, three of the four propellers, and all of the boilers, were removed. The ship serves as a tourist attraction featuring restaurants, a museum, and hotel. The ship is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has accepted the Queen Mary as part of the Historic Hotels of America.^[2]

Rolex Studio Shot of the Day: Brian's DEEPSEA...

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

Brian's DEEPSEA

Rolex in Japan: An Example to Follow

Rolex in Japan

An Example to Follow?

 By Capt. DANNY CRIVELLO
           

Two thousand nineteen marked an important anniversary in horology, and this one has nothing to do with the Moon. 

Fifty years ago last month, on Dec. 25, 1969, Japanese watchmaker Seiko unveiled the Astron, the world's first quartz watch, unwittingly starting what is dubbed today as the Quartz Crisis because it forced many traditional Swiss watchmakers out of business.

Half a century later, however, in one of the greatest turnarounds in the industry, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said exports to Japan have never been stronger, logging the biggest increase year-over-year for any country. 

Austin Daniels/YouTube

Swiss watch exports to Japan are up a stunning 21%, while in Hong Kong, still the biggest market in the world, it dropped 10%. 

The year 2019 was not an outlier in the Land of the Rising Sun: If we look at the past two years, Swiss watch exports to Japan increased by a mind-boggling 33%. Exports to Japan have surpassed exports to the UK and are catching up with exports to China.

So it's no surprise that watch publication HODINKEE picked Japan as its first international edition. Two months ago, it went live with HODINKEE.jp, providing a mix of translated articles published on HODINKEE.com and original pieces written by Japanese watch journalists.

Fifty years after the quartz revolution nearly wiped out the Swiss watch industry with cheap quartz models, the popularity of Rolex in Japan has never been stronger even spawning new policies for buying Rolex watches.

The new policy, which started in November, restricts the number of Rolex professional models that can be purchased by one customer.

The policy was not instigated by Rolex Japan but was suggested by 20 companies that run official stores in that country. Rolex signed off on the new policy. 

The policy restricts clients to one popular professional model per year—Daytona, GMT-Master II, Submariner, Sea-Dweller, Deepsea, Explorer and Explorer II—and one reference per five years. For example, you can buy a GMT-Master II BLRO ("Pepsi") one year and a GMT-Master II CHNR ("Root beer") the next. If you want to buy two BLROs, however, you'll have to wait five years between the two.

Of course, the main purpose of this policy is to prevent buying for the purpose of watch flipping, as most Rolex professional models command a price on the grey market that is above the recommended retail price in Japan.

The new policy aims to protect the watch enthusiasts who want a Rolex in their collections and is conducted at 67 stores in Japan which share a database of purchases. Customers will have to present a photo ID when purchasing. 

An American businessman in Japan who goes by M. Bu told me recently: "I’m glad such rule exists even though I’m here for work," he said. "I hope such rule is coming to the USA."




Austin Daniels, an American who has lived in Japan for nearly 15 years, is the host of a popular channel on YouTube about Rolex and the Japanese culture. Austin told me that [before the rule] there was a sense of unfairness on the part of potential Japanese Rolex customers. And he felt a rule that limits the amount of desirable pieces a single person can buy addresses that. "It seems to be aimed at maximizing fairness," he said. "I commend Rolex for their aim." 

Should a similar rule be implanted in other countries? Let me know via Twitter or Instagram.

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

...Studio Shot Of The Day...

Red & Black Rolex Daytona

Amanda Holden Got Talent

Amanda Holden might not be super famous on this side of the pond, but the British celebrity—a television star, singer and writer—has hosted the show "Britain's Got Talent" since it first debuted in 2007. BGT's auditions for the 2020 season have just recently started.

Seeing a woman wearing a Daytona is always attractive, in my opinion. But what fascinated me with Amanda was that she'd rock her Daytona no matter what outfit she was wearing. Many choose a watch based on the color of the outfit; not Amanda. It seems that the Everose Gold Daytona is a perfect match for her skin and hair color.

"Britain's Got Talent" has always been a very successful show in the UK, propelling Amanda's career. The launch episode drew an average of 8.3 million people tuning in, a 45% share of the TV audience at the time.

The concept of choosing a Rolex based on your skin tone and hair color was a new concept for me. The Rolex Daytona 116505, which has a 18kt Everose gold case and bracelet, is a perfect Rolex for her, not matter her outfit, just the way the Rolex GMT-Master II with black ceramic bezel is perfect for me. What is the perfect Rolex design for you?

Amanda Holden has taken part in an episode of the British family history show "Who Do You Think You Are?" where she looked into rumored French ancestry on her mother's side of the family, uncovering a Napoleonic-era cross-Channel romance. She pieced together the story of her paternal grandfather, who tragically took his own life.

At 48, her mega-celebrity status in the UK and her beauty can't be overstated.

She has presented various British television shows including The Sun Military Awards, Superstar, This Morning, Text Santa and Give a Pet a Home. 

In 2019, she became the co-host of the Heart Breakfast radio show with Jamie Theakston. At 48, she looks half her age.

And she's definitely got talent! Headstand with a Daytona on her wrist!

1950 Rolex Triple Date Moonphase

...Rolex Studio Shot of The Day...

1950 Rolex Triple Date Moonphase

[Reference 8171: Black Dial]

If you are a regular reader of Jake's Rolex World you know vintage Rolex moonphase models are some of my absolute favorite watches. This stainless steel beauty was sold at auction by Sotheby's back in 2014. It is unique in the sense it features the red date hand with a hyper-faded moonphase disc. BTW, I have been working on a story for some time now titled "The Complete History of the Rolex Moonphase" which I hope to publish soon :-)