Friday, October 31, 2008

Rolex Super Hotness: Ursula Andress...

Ursula Andress is one of the most beautiful women that has ever lived. She co-starred in Dr. No with Sean Connery  in 1962, then co-starred with Peter Sellers playing James Bond in the original Casino Royale spoof in 1967–Groooooovy Baby, Yeahhhh!!!

Swiss Made

Ursula Andress was born in Ostermundigen, Berne, Switzerland and she is so stunningly gorgeous–I just love looking at her...




What Might a Pepsi Rolex GMT Master Ceramic Supercase Look Like?

Hannes for the R-L-X.de German Rolex forum created this mockup of what a Ceramic Rolex Pepsi might look like. All I can say is that I want one...


I Photoshopped Hannes Pepsi to see what it would look like as a Coke:


I could not help myself, I had to see what it would look like with an all blue bezel:



Also in Red:


I think the red bezel would look really cool on a black strap so I did this quick and dirty mockup. I also think this combo would be stunningly cool with a white dial.


Here is the standard GMT Ceramic made today:

John Travolta wearing a Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee Bracelet...


Rolex Ice and Fire


Rolex GMT Masterpiece on The Rocks

I always thought this watch watch that some have dubbed "The Ice" was yellow gold, but apparently it is white gold and it is extremely rare. Apparently Rolex has made less than 25 of them and they don't publish the carat weight of the diamonds. This brilliant sparkling wonder will set you back close to a half a million dollars.


Photo Credit: Magic

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Rolex Hotness: Courtney Cox Wearing Her Trademark Rolex Day-Date...


Best of Friends

Courtney Cox who starred on the hit TV show Friends is pictured below wearing her men's 40mm rolex Day-Date in pink gold with the domed bezel.

Today, women wearing Rolex Day-Dates is all the rage. They typically wear them like a bracelet. Courtney Cox's costar Jennifer Aniston has been seen on Jake's Rolex Watch Blog also wearing a Day-Date.


Rolex Milgauss GV


Bo Knows Rolex

Bo (Space-Dweller) from Denmark took this great photo of his Rolex Milgauss GV next to his favorite Rolex Glass Paperweight.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Black & Blue Twilight...


Winter is on its way

Photo Credit: Hypophse

The Transformer...


Switching From Pepsi To Coke

Dan Pierce owns a beautiful Pepsi GMT Master II that I showed off about 4 months ago. He added a new Jubilee bracelet with the hidden clasp to give his watch a new look and it is awesome as you can see.







A Rolex For All Seasons

Dan wanted to switch up the vibe of his Rolex GMT Master II. He thought the Pepsi bezel (blue and red) had more of a summer vibe so he added a Coke bezel (black and red) to give it more of a winter vibe.

As you can see Dan also has the all black GMT bezel pictured above on the right. So, by just having a GMT with and Oyster bracelet and a Jubilee bracelet and three bezels, Dan has the ability to tranform his Rolex into 6 Different watches. Very, very Cool...


Monday, October 27, 2008

Rolex Explorer II White Dial...

I was in the Apple Store a few days ago checking out the new 15 inch Macbook Pro and this guy was standing at the same table looking at the new 15 inch Macbook and I noticed he was wearing an Explorer II with the white dial. It looked really cool–both the Explorer II and the new 15 inch Macbook.


Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Real Beauty...


Magnificent

Yesterday I was on Rolex.com just looking around and I wandered into the yellow gold GMT Ceramic with the Rolex green dial with Maxi Markers and Supercase and this color combo just took my breath away. I have seen this color combo before, but yesterday it just really started singing to me. Just Beautiful!!!!


The more I look at this watch the more I like it.  It seems to be conservative yet charismatic looking–kinda like Cary Grant or JFK. This watch looks so classic yet modern. I think I like it because in a way it reminds me of my LV Sub in the sense that it is a three color watch–the LV having a green bezel with a black face on a stainless body. There is something really cool about the way the green and gold combo look.

I know that at one point in the 1970s Rolex made a prototype Submariner with a green dial that was never sold or shown to the public, and I wonder if it looked something like this beauty?

Rolex Watches Taken beyond the Breaking Point...


Shattered!!!!!


Ouuuuuchhhhh!!!!

I want you to know it is not easy for me to put up this image on my blog. I only ever share images that show Rolex in their best light but my great Pal Sheldon Smith of www.Minus4Plus6.com sent me an email to let me know he had just finished adding a new section to his Rolex site called "Tough and Broken Rolex Watches."

I have an interesting side story to share with you:

One time, close to a quarter century ago [in the mid 1980s] when I was 18 years old I was having a conversation with my girlfriend Cathy and she said she could not understand why I would pay over a thousand dollars for a stainless steel Rolex Submariner watch. I thought this was strange because my girlfriend before her named Ashleigh liked my Submariner so much that she went out an bought herself a Pepsi GMT Master. Keep in mind this was almost a quarter century ago.

I responded to Cathy defensively and proudly by saying "Rolex watches are not only timeless but they are indestructible!!!" She looked at me like she was not very impressed. I took my Submariner off my wrist and said to Cathy, "You want to see why a Rolex costs a thousand dollars!?!"

We were standing in a kitchen with a hard tiled floor. I lifted my hand as high above my head as I could and threw my Submariner at the floor as hard as I could. It bounced and made a loud thus noise. You should have seen the shocked look on her face!!! For a brief few seconds I had this terrible sinking feeling of worry...I thought, did I go to far and just ruin my beloved Submariner!?!

I picked the watch up of the floor and it was flawless...not a scratch or a ding. In retrospect I think I lucked out and I have never tried anything foolish like that again.

Back to the story about Sheldon's new page. Today, all Rolex watches come with Synthetic sapphire crystal which typically will NOT scratch. As I understand it, Synthetic Sapphire will shatter before it scratches. Prior to Rolex using synthetic sapphire they used jet-plastic acrylic crystal which is what airplane windshields are made of. Jet-plastic will scratch like crazy but will not shatter.

Sheldon points out "Rolex watches are known for being tough. Here are some images that show the extreme."

To see some extreme examples of Rolex watches that have taken too much abuse you can visit Sheldon's new and fascinating page by clicking here.

Rolex DEEP SEA Shots...

The first stunning image was taken by Reeks1 of his new Rolex SEA DWELLER DEEP SEA.


This next image was taken by Konamoto of the super innovative Rolex Glidelock bracelet adjustment mechanism on his DEEP SEA.


Val Kilmer Wearing a Rolex Daytona in the movie Thunderheart...

Vincent Garra wrote in to let me know that he is enjoying Jake's Rolex Watch Blog and to share with us the fact that Val Kilmer's character in Thunderheart wears a Rolex Daytona. If anybody has higher res screen captures please send them in.

Thanks for sharing Vincent!!!


Jean Claude Killy as a Ski Stunt Double on the Set of the James Bond Movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."

Jean Claude Killy is best known for being a three time gold winning Olympic skier that went on to appear in many great Rolex magazine ads and then on to become a member of the Rolex board in Geneva, but not many people know that he was a stunt-man skier in the James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."

I think Jean-Claude is pictured on the far right below in 1969 along with Peter Hunt who was the director of the James Bond movie.

Update: The guy who I think is John-Claude Killy in this photo looks heavier than John-Cluade so I am not 100% certain that is John-Claude. I will look into it and as soon as I confirm it one way or the other, I will update this post.


Saturday, October 25, 2008

NASA Apollo Astronaut Gene Cernan wearing a Rolex GMT...

I must thank John Towns for sending in this image of Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan wearing a Rolex GMT on the outside of his space suit. Spending time in the NASA archives is very time consuming and difficult for doing research. I refer to my pal John Towns as "Eagle Eyes" because he is so good at finding astronauts wearing Rolex watches. In the future we will be seeing more photos of NASA astronauts wearing Rolex that John found.

I must add that John Town's research prowess is a great source of inspiration for me. I don't know of any other NASA Rolex researchers who are so thorough and dedicated–except for myself :-)

More Rolex on NASA Apollo Astronauts

Click image for detail

This photo of Gene Cernan wearing a Rolex GMT Master on the outside of his suit is particularly fascinating. Why? Because we have seen many NASA Apollo astronauts wearing Rolex GMTs on their wrist but never have we seen a NASA astronaut wearing a Rolex on the outside of their spacesuit on a velcro strap.

If Omega was the official watch of NASA then I would argue that Rolex was the official watch of the NASA astronauts because we have seen so many photos of them wearing Rolex watches on Jake's Rolex Watch Blog.

I have much more fascinating Rolex on NASA Astronaut stories, photos and podcasts coming up!!!

Wrist Shot of the day: Pepsi GMT on a Jubilee...


Magnificent Moonlight Miles...


Miles Magnificent Moonphase

Miles from the Westmidlands in the UK sent in these beautiful images of his magnificent and very rare Rolex Moonphase Reference 6062 with the Rolex Super Oyster case.

Miles bought this beauty from the original owner and it came with all the original papers including the timing certification. The original owner was presented the watch for outstanding work by his company in 1952.

After purchasing this 6062 with the "Egyptian" dial he had it serviced to make is look as great as possible.

I asked Miles if he wears this beauty and he said that he wears it often.

You have to click on these images to check out the detail.


The reason this extremely rare dial is named The Egyptian Dial is because the indices are all pyramid shaped in one way or another and the hands are "dauphin" which is a sword shaped hand that was very popular in the 1950s. This style of design which is Art-Deco in the 1950s is commonly referred to as Populux.

The Rolex Super Oyster Case


Rolex referred to the special case on the 6062 triple-date Moonphase as the Super Oyster Case and if you click on the image above you can see the special engraving on the winding crown. This magnificent watch also came with a domed crystal.

Original Documentation

The original documentation and COSC certification is pictured below. Original documentation accompanying a Rolex that was made in 1951 is extremely rare. Since the watch was sold in 1951 if you look closely you see that on the COSC certification on the left at the bottom it has cities of the world where Rolex had headquarters and among the cities is Havana, Cuba. Talk about a 1950s watch!!!


If any Rolex designers or marketing personnel are reading this, please bring back this magnificent watch. In my opinion it is one of the most beautiful, elegant and timeless watches ever made.

NASA Astronaut Wally Schirra Wearing His Rolex GMT...


More Right Stuff and Rolex


Wally Schirra was one of the greatest NASA Astronauts in history. He began his NASA career as one of the Original 7 of the Mercury program where he flew his Sigma 7 on a six orbit mission. Then he flew on Gemini 6A with Tom Stafford, and next on Apollo 7.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Rolex Hotness: Tara Reid on the Beach...

Actress Tara Reid on the beach wearing her trademark Rolex Daytona...


Rolex Explorer...


The Beauty of Simplicity


Gerard from the Dutch Netherlands sent in this photo of his Rolex Explorer. Gerard said "This photo is the very first one I took after I bought my Rolex Explorer and it is still my favorite!"

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Praise For The Rolex SEA DWELLER...


Danish SEA-DWELLER


Peter Gross from Denmark wrote in to share his enthusiasm for Jake's Rolex Watch Blog and to share photos of his beloved Rolex Sea Dweller. Here are Peter's words and photos:

Hi Jake,
 
A very big thank you and a whole-hearted admiration for your superb website.
 
It seems to me like the Holy “Watch” Grail finally has been found with Jake's Rolex Watch Blog – and I’ve already invested a significant amount of time dwelling and browsing through many of your fantastic articles.

There are many great sites on the Internet with loads of Rolex articles – but, in my humble opinion your Rolex Watch Blog is the most comprehensive regarding articles, photos, history, podcasts etc.

By the way, I find your podcasts to be very exciting – I'm thrilled to hear other's histories. The funny thing I have noticed with the people in your interviews is that they generally, beside watches of course, share the same passions for good design, cars, computers –especially MAC's and photography. Maybe it is a typical male thing – as I have similar interests :-)

Here is Denmark we see a growing market for mechanical watches, especially high-end models.
 
Last year, I purchased my first Rolex – a Sea-Dweller, and I have a strong feeling that my fascination with mechanical watches, especially Rolex - will become a long lasting obsession…

It’s really difficult to describe, but every time I look at the Sea-Dweller, I know it is just the right model for me. I like the cleaner look – without the cyclops date lens the Submariner has.

Also the overall size is perfect for me - I think that the new Sea-Dweller, Deep Sea will appear way too big on my wrist.
 
I would love to share some B/W images I took of my Sea-Dweller with my Nikon D2x/105 f2.8 macro. 
 
Again – thanks for sharing your huge knowledge and research work.
 
Kind Regards,

Peter Gross
Denmark








Monday, October 20, 2008

Could this be a photo of Jacques Cousteau wearing a Rolex Submariner?


Jacques Cousteau Submariner

Gerard who goes by GJ in some of the forums sent me an email to say how much he is enjoying Jake's Rolex Watch Blog. He also reminded me of an excellent French site named Military Watch that has a page dedicated to examining the watches of Cousteau–which you can visit by clicking here.

On the "Cousteau and Watches" page of the French Military Watch site the writer (whose name I can't find) suggests Jacques Cousteau is wearing a Rolex Submariner in this 1955 photo/screen capture from Jacques Cousteau's movie named "Silent World." Silent World was the first of 3 oceanographic Jacques Cousteau movies to win an Oscar.


It is difficult to tell from the photo with 100% certainty, but to my eyes I would say it really looks like a Submariner.

People protect what they love. –Jacques Cousteau

I have been doing quite a bit of research lately on Jacques Cousteau and I learned Jacques was very close friends with Rene-Paul Jeanneret who was the director of Rolex and is credited for being the driving force behind the development of the Submariner and GMT.

In Gerard's email on the subject of Jacques Cousteau to me he goes on to say:

"Could it be that Rolex sponsored Cousteau's travels?
That idea crossed my mind many, many times...
I think we will never find out as Rolex as a company is one big mystery."

I have wondered the same thing and I believe I am going to answer that question sooner than later. I can't guarantee that I will be able to answer it, but intend to give it my best shot.

Update: Jake's Rolex Watch Blog discovered Jacques Cousteau's Rolex Submariner in March of 2009 and you can check out the article by clicking here.

Phillipe Cousteau Rolex Submariner...

I have been diving deep (pun not intended) into the Jacques Cousteau connection with Rolex and the development of the Submariner. I have many leads I am following up on but I have not yet found a photo of Jacques wearing a Submariner, but here is another photo of his son Philippe Cousteau wearing his Rolex Submariner.


Tip: To see all the photos of Jacques Cousteua and his sons wearing Rolex watches click on the label below that says "Cousteau Family."