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.