...ROLEX PHOTO OF THE DAY...
NEW DEEPSEA CHALLENGE
Winter is coming. For Diracpoint who lives in Canada it's definitely here. He took this rad picture of the brand new Deepsea Challenge which looks completely at home in the snow as it does in the water apparently. Highly legible and super resistant, I'd say it looks perfect with a coat and thick snow gloves.
ROLEX PRE-OWNED PROGRAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
By DANNY CRIVELLO
Rolex's announcement of its new program has generated a great deal of excitement, buzz and questions. Below is a list of popular questions and answers that offer insight into the details of the program:
Will my authorized dealer be required to carry pre-owned Rolex watches?
No. The program is completely optional and many ADs will choose to not set up a pre-owned option.
Who sets the price, Rolex or my authorized dealer?
The authorized dealer sets the price. Rolex has no influence on the price.
Will I see vintage Paul Newman Daytonas for sale at my authorized dealer?
No. The program is not meant for vintage watches, especially watches that need restoration or watches of very high value. Watches that are more than 35 years old will be excluded from the program.
Will I see a Batman on Jubilee for sale which is still in production?
Yes. The new Rolex Batman came out in March of 2019. The specific watch for sale as part of the Rolex CPO program would have to be at least three years old.
Can my authorized dealer set up an e-commerce to sell watches online?
Yes. For the first time ever, Rolex-certified watches will be allowed to be sold online by an authorized dealer. But the authorized dealer will not be allowed to sell them on a e-marketplace like eBay or Chrono24. The Rolex watches can only be listed on the dealer's website.
Can I send my watch to a Rolex Service Center and request a certified pre-owned tag and card?
No. An authorized dealer has to acquire the watch and have full ownership of the watch first. Meaning, the dealer has to purchase the watch before sending it for authentication and certification (there is no consignment allowed). The authorized dealer has three options: he or she can send it to Rolex in Geneva, a Rolex Service Center or use an in-house Rolex certified watchmaker.
Is the watch getting a full service before being sold?
Yes. It is getting the standard service including a polish. It's unlikely there will be any pre-owned unpolished watches for sale at an authorized dealer. Also, the pre-owned watches have to be displayed in a case separately from the new watches.
What if I've changed the configuration of my watch?
The watch will not be accepted if the configuration of the watch doesn't match the serial number or warranty papers. Watches that are less than 20 years will have to be all original.
ROLEX TO CERTIFY
PRE-OWNED WATCHES
By DANNY CRIVELLO
Rolex said the watches will have a "Certified Pre-Owned" seal as well as a guarantee card, delivered at the time of the sale. This card bears the words "Certified Pre-Owned" and serves as an official certificate of authenticity.
Rolex said second-hand watches will initially be available at Bucherer boutiques in six countries -- Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Denmark and the UK -- from the start of December 2022. Other authorized dealers who choose to be part of this program will be able to do so from spring 2023.
Bucherer, in Switzerland, already displays a Rolex Certified Pre-Owned page on its website. Most prices seem to be above retail.
Check out the detailed Q&A here.
DEMOLITION OF
ROLEX USA BUILDING
By DANNY CRIVELLO
Three years ago, I broke the news about Rolex's redesign plans for its iconic home on the corner of 5th Avenue and 53rd Street in New York, a 12-story building Rolex USA has occupied since the 1970s.
Demolition is progressing, and the building is now wrapped with black netting. It has been razed one-third of the way down. Rolex USA set up a temporary location in the Nike building across the street.
The new 25-story replacement, which looks like five cubes stacked on top of each other, will have the corrugated windows that use the fluted motif — more and more seen in Rolex's architectural design language.
After reading the "Avatar" script for the first time, the head of 20th Century Fox had some choice words for the author, according to James Cameron:
"I like this story, it's a good script, but can we get all this tree-hugging, hippie bullshit out of it?"
Mr. Cameron, a lifelong climate activist, refused and told the executive:
"The reason I want to make the film is exactly because of the tree hugging, hippie, hairy-legged, Birkenstocks-wearing bullshit."
That was 15 years ago. On Dec. 16, Mr. Cameron, an Oscar-winning film director and Rolex brand ambassador, will release the sequel to "Avatar." And this time, the movie heavily features underwater scenes. "Avatar: The Way of Water," revolves around the theme of ocean conservancy.
This month, Rolex unveiled the Deepsea Challenge, the watch with the highest depth rating ever commercialized. James Cameron presented the new watch from Rolex's headquarters in Geneva. A day later, the trailer for "Avatar: The Way of Water" made its debut on the internet.
Mr. Cameron's and Rolex's goals are aligned in a way rarely seen before among brand ambassadors. And the filmmaker's partnership with Rolex was formed organically.
"I always knew that Rolex made the best dive watches," Mr. Cameron said. "I was asked if I would become an ambassador for this prestigious brand. I’ve worn a Submariner for over thirty years so it seemed natural to accept."
And when Mr. Cameron needed a new watch for his record-setting solo dive to the deepest point on Earth, in 2012, Rolex built one in just five weeks.
Both Mr. Cameron and Rolex have made preserving the planet their raison d'être. Both have invested dearly in exploration. Both support the cinema. Rolex is also the biggest sponsor of the annual Academy Awards, where Mr. Cameron will likely be nominated in 2023.
On Wednesday, Rolex released a video called "Perpetual Planet."
In the video, Rolex clarified its position on supporting today's explorers: This is no longer about exploration for the sake of discovery or setting records. But to find ways to safeguard the planet and conserve the oceans.
We may think we’ve seen it all. But the world has its limits after all. But why do explorers, adventurers, scientists continue to venture out there again and again? Certainly not just for the record! So, what do they seek, really? To understand more intimately how complex and delicate our planet is? To document its change and how we can affect it for the better? As long as they need it, we will be at their side. Because today, the real discovery is not so much about finding new lands. It’s about looking with new eyes at the marvels of our planet. Rekindling our sense of wonder and acting, here and now, to preserve this pale blue dot and make it perpetual.
While "Avatar" lost the Best Picture Oscar in 2010 to "The Hurt Locker," it went on to be the highest grossing movie for at least a decade. Still, this was a double win for Rolex: "The Hurt Locker" was directed by Mr. Cameron's ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, also a Rolex ambassador.
More importantly, after the release of "Avatar," indigenous leaderships in various parts of the world reached out to Mr. Cameron and shared their experiences.
The movie he'd just made, they all said, was showing the types of things they were actually living.
The lessons from Avatar apply to present-day Earth, too. Indigenous peoples sustain 80% of our planet’s remaining biodiversity – ecosystems essential to our climate, fresh water, and food security. Join me in supporting and uplifting #IndigenousGuardianship by following @NiaTero.
— James Cameron (@JimCameron) October 1, 2022
So for a couple of years, Mr. Cameron went on to become an overt activist, trying to help indigenous tribes, whether it was in the Athabasca tar sands, in Alberta, or down in Brazil with the Belo Monte Dam.
During Mr. Cameron's research into indigenous cultures, he met Raoni, the leader of the Kayapo people who live deep in the Amazon forest. Mr. Cameron said Chief Raoni welcomed him and gave him "gifts of things that had great meaning to him."
Mr. Cameron gave him his Rolex in return: "It wasn’t a sacrifice. It was a token of friendship," he would later said.
"What do I have that has that kind of value that I could give him?" Mr. Cameron said in a Rolex video. "I couldn't think of anything except my watch that had been with me for 20 years and had been through all my experiences."
"It was a Submariner [that] I wore for 20 years, everywhere I went, everything I did, 33 dives to the Titanic making all the films that I made during that period of time. I was wearing the watch the first time I saw Titanic for real through the porthole of a submersible ... and I was wearing the same watch in my black tie when I went up on the stage to get the Oscar for directing 'Titanic' and it was equally appropriate in both places. It's the one constant companion. People come and go; the watch is always there."
But Mr. Cameron did not want to become a "drive-by do-gooder," he said. He wanted to reach a much wider audience—and do it through "Avatar" movies.
As the director of two of the three highest grossing films in the world, Mr. Cameron has essentially become the biggest spokesperson for the Perpetual Planet initiative that Rolex ever had. The new "Avatar" will likely be as popular and, at the same time, raise awareness about the threats facing our oceans even though it is about Pandora's.
"It may be with a somewhat-diluted message because it's interwoven with entertainment," Mr. Cameron said. "But it throws a much broader net and that's important."
