It is hard to believe it is already Thanksgiving again on Jake's Rolex World!!! It has been another absolutely amazing year filled with growth and fascinating new Rolex historical content!!! I am now in my 13th year of publishing Jake's Rolex World and I have to say, I feel like I am just getting warmed-up with Rolex history. I have many, many more exciting pieces of the Rolex history puzzle to share with you in the future, as well as some major announcements coming up...
"The First Thanksgiving" painting by Jean Gerome Ferris (1863-1930)
2020 has been a really bizarre year for everybody—but nonetheless I am very grateful to have so many great readers all over the world and I hope you have found some solace and inspiration in all the amazing Rolex history I have shared with you. So many of you have written in over the years to help correct my typos, as well as to share your valuable insight and enthusiasm, for which I am eternally grateful! Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday as it gives us a chance to pause and reflect on how fortunate we all are to be able to experience this amazing miracle, known as life, on this spinning marble we all share–named Earth.
Of course, I realize Thanksgiving is a U.S. holiday, but I believe it's as timeless and universal as a sunset or a smile :-)))
World Cup Soccer wonder, Diego Maradona passed away today at age 60. Many people consider Pelé to be the greatest soccer/football player of all time, but Diego Maradona is definitely in the same pantheon.
So you thought you were into wearing and collecting Rolex watches!?!? You can't help but notice like many NASA Astronauts and Fidel Castro, Diego Maradona has a habit of wearing two Rolex Watches at the same time!!! In the photos below he is wearing two stainless steel Rolex Daytona models.
What is the deal with Maradona wearing two Rolex watches? Kinda reminds me of Seinfeld: "What is the deal with sky divers wearing helmets!?! Do they really think they are going to do anything?"
Speaking of soccer legends, in the photo below we see Diego Maradona with Pelé and notice they are both wearing gold Rolex models...
In the photo below we see Diego at Carnival in 2006 and he is wearing two different Rolex models: one on an Oyster bracelet and the other on a Jubilee bracelet.
To see just how talented Maradona was, check out this crazy video that documents just some of his amazing soccer achievements.
One of Rolex's biggest surprises this year—and the most controversial among Rolex enthusiasts—was the addition of a magnifying glass, or Cyclops, to its new Sea-Dweller model. Since we are on the subject, have you ever wondered what the history of the Rolex Cyclops magnifier date window lens was?
The Rolex Cyclops represents one of the most iconic and quintessential trademark Rolex design language characteristics.
It is interesting to note the Rolex Cyclops was an innovative feature, designed to enhance an innovative feature. The idea is that the small date aperture window was not so easy to see and that by adding a 2.5 times magnifier window to the crystal, it would be much easier to read.
Rolex is the greatest innovator in the history of the mechanical wristwatches. That being said, perhaps Rolex's most outstanding innovation was the advent of the Oyster case in 1926, which was the first truly waterproof wristwatch case. I can't emphasize how innovative figuring out how to make waterproof watches was. In doing so, Rolex revolutionized watches forever...
Rolex quickly followed up with patenting the Rolex Perpetual movement in 1931, which was the first wristwatch that automatically wound itself.
Genesis
One of Rolex's next major innovations came in the form of the Rolex Datejust model, which was the first watch in history to feature a date aperture window complication. The photo below shows the first Datejust model, which Rolex introduced in 1945.
The 1945 Rolex Datejust pictured above and below was loaded with new Rolex innovations that went beyond the date window, including the Rolex Jubilee bracelet. The bracelet was named Jubilee, as it represented Rolex's 40th year in business. The term Jubilee in marriage parlance/nomenclature is typically referred to as the Ruby Jubilee. (FYI, this is the same as the 25th being referred to as the Silver Anniversary, or the 50th anniversary being referred to as the Golden Anniversary.)
There are some other interesting historical takeaway points to note in the photos above. The 1945 Datejust was the first Rolex to feature solid end-links. Also, notice the watch does NOT yet feature the "Datejust" dial designation. This first Datejust model was named Datejust; it just didn't have the designation on the watch dial.
Notice the date wheel has the date printed in red to make it stand out better. Also, notice there is no Cyclops date magnifier on this first Datejust. Rolex first introduced the Cyclops magnifier lens feature on the Datejust model at Basel Fair in 1948. The name Cyclops came from the mythological Greek one-eyed monster. It is believed Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorfdeveloped the Cyclops as his second wife, Betty Wilsdorf-Mettler had a difficult time reading the date on his Datejust.
Betty Wilsdorf-Mettler (Second Wife of Hans Wilsdorf)
Hans Wilsdorf was very fastidious and used to spend an unusual amount of time getting ready in his bathroom in the morning—sometimes more than an hour. As the story goes, Hans Wilsdorf's wife heard him shouting "I got it, I got it!!!" It turns out when Hans Wilsdorf was washing with his hands a drop of water landed on his Rolex Datejust crystal directly over the date aperture window and he noticed it magnified the date. Hans Wilsdorf went into work and had a watchmaker glue a small magnifying glass over the date wheel, and the Rolex Cyclops Date window magnifier was born. Below is copy of the Rolex Patent (CH 298953) which was originally filed in 1952.
In a letter written in 1953 Hans Wilsdorf wrote: "I am convinced that the new tropical case with the new crystal, and the optical magnification, will give us something new." —Hans Wilsdorf In 1955 Rolex issued a press release that said: "To all watchmakers: we draw your attention to the fact that the watch crystal with the specially shaped magnifying glass lens is a Rolex exclusivity protected in Switzerland and abroad. We will not hesitate to instigate legal proceedings against any counterfeiting." Hans Wilsdorf is pictured below wearing his trusted Rolex Datejust. For the record, I have never seen a photo of Hans Wilsdorf wearing any Rolex model other than a Datejust, which makes me believe it was his crowning achievement and likely favorite Rolex watch.
This innovative feature made it much easier to view the date. This early Datejust was also the first to feature the now classic fluted bezel design. So let's get in the Rolex Time Machine and travel back to the late 1940s and take a look around.
Rolex gave General Eisenhower the 150th Officially Certified Swiss Chronometer Rolex, which is pictured below. When they gave it to him in 1948, it lacked a Cyclops date magnifier window.
In 1953, when Eisenhower sent the watch in for servicing, it came back with not only the updated Cyclops magnifier window, as seen below, but also with an updated dial.
The Rolex Datejust brochure pictured below belonged to Dwight Eisenhower and I discovered it in the Eisenhower Presidential Library archives. Note there is no Cyclops date window on the crystal.
Vintage Rolex crystals were made out of acrylic had the Cyclops lens molded into the crystal structure, so it was not removable.
When Rolex switched over to using synthetic sapphire crystal, the Cylops lens was manufactured separately and later glued to the sapphire crystal. In 2005 when Rolex introduced the 50th Anniversary GMT-Master, they added a new feature that used anti-reflective coating on the bottom of the Cyclops, which made it even easier to read.
Photo appears courtesy of Matthew Becker
Historically, all Rolex professional watches that featured the date function included a Cyclops date magnifier window, with the last holdout being the 40MM SEA-DWELLER, which was recently replaced with the 43MM Single Red SEA-DWELLER which added the Cyclops. As of this writing Rolex still makes the DEEPSEA SEA-DWELLER which also lacks a Cyclops.
...Lume Shot Of The Day... Single Red SEA-DWELLER Palace Of Fine Arts San Francisco, California
I took the Rolex Lume shots seen below in front of the Palace Of Fine Arts in San Francisco, of the Single Red SEA-DWELLER. I could not make up my mind as to which image I like better, so I am sharing both. The first image shows only the markers, hands and bezel pearl glowing, and the lower photo shows much more dial detail.
Walt Disney had an amazing impact on shaping American culture, whether is was with his cartoons, movies, or Disneyland. You might expect to find Walt Disney wearing a Mickey Mouse watch, but instead, he wore a yellow gold Rolex Datejust as seen below. Even to this day, the current CEO of Disney, Bog Iger wears a Rolex.
Rolex introduced the Rolex Datejust in 1945, which at the time was a revolutionary watch, since it was the very first watch to have a date window complication. The photo below is of the first yellow gold Datejust model Rolex introduced in 1945. Although the watch pictured below is not Walt Disney's Rolex, I believe it is extremely similar in appearance.
In trying to contextualize what it meant to wear a yellow gold Rolex Datejust in the 1950s and 1960s, we can look to then acting U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who also famously wore a yellow gold Rolex Datejust as seen in the photo below.
As a matter of fact, the original Rolex brochure for the Datejust appears below, along with care instruction and it appears courtesy of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library.
Walt Disney's career and imagination was one of incredible achievement, and it all started with Walt Disney's creating of Mickey Mouse.
Walt Disney is pictured below posing with Mickey Mouse who started the whole Disney Revolution in animated films.
Walt Disney took his world of fantasy and imagination far beyond movies and became a Television Pioneer and also built Disneyland, which brought many of his characters to life for many generations of children around the world.
This magical world included characters like Alice In Wonderland, Donald Duck, Goofy, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella & Sleeping Beauty.
"When a man has a world in his hands, you expect to find a Rolex on his wrist." –Rolex (1965)
In the next 3 photos Walt Disney is pictured below wearing his yellow gold Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee bracelet.
The Disneyland Story
The next six videos tell the story of the beginning of Disneyland and this "Disneyland Story" was first aired on October 27, 1954. Of course, former American General, Dwight Eisenhower was the U.S. President in the White House, and he wore the same model of yellow gold Rolex Datejust that Walt Disney wore.
This first series was known as The Disney Anthology Series and it premiered in 1954 on The ABC Television Network. The series name ended up changing to "Disneyland, Walt Disney Presents," which would later evolve into "The Wonderful World Of Disney."
When we look back in retrospect at the wonderful world that Walt Disney built, we realize how truly remarkable it was and still is. In many ways, the wonderful world of Rolex is very similar to the wonderful world of Disney. The characters that appear in this series bring back so many memories of my childhood, like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy, not to mention Davy Crockett–King Of The Wild Frontier.
I could not help but notice how similar Ronald Reagan was to Walt Disney in the way Ronald Reagan's suits were tailored and their hairstyle as well as the way they communicate. They also seem, at least in my own mind, to have the same 1950s American, can-do attitude and optimism.
Fantasy Can Be More Powerful Than Reality
In many ways, Walt Disney was to entertainment what Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, was to the wristwatch. Walt Disney and Disneyland took you to different worlds, like The World Of Tomorrow, The Pirates Of The Caribbean, The Matterhorn, etc., each a fantasy world in-and-of-itself.
Hans Wilsdorf, based on the different Rolex sport/tool watches took you to different worlds where you could be and airline pilot or test-pilot with a GMT, or an adventurer SCUBA diver like Jacques-Yves Cousteau with a Submariner; or a mountain climbing explorer and conquerer like Sir Edmund Hillary or Tenzing Norgay, if you wore a Rolex Explorer. You could also be a mad-scientist with a Rolex Milgauss, or a race-car driver and entrepreneur like Paul Newman with a Rolex Daytona.
It is extremely profound when you think about the just how amazing the wonderful world of Disney was and what he brought the world. The impact he had on little girls all over the world with Cinderella,Snow White & The 7 Dwarves, Sleeping Beauty and Alice In Wonderland, not to mention in later years, Ariel from The Little Mermaid or Beauty & The Beast.
The one thing all these young, female-centric movies had which impacted young American girls in particular, as well as girls all over the world is it taught them how to all be princesses ;-)
The most important thing that Walt Disney left behind as part of his amazing legacy, was the to make people dream and fantasize about what was possible through the power of imagination. In the United States we call this Yankee Ingenuity, and in the final analysis it really does simply boil down to inspiring people to dream and turn their dreams into reality.
As another Classic Walt Disney movie Pinocchio sings
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true!!!
Walt Disney Shares His Vision For Disneyworld
"Technology extends the purview of the story-teller."
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.
