Thursday, April 15, 2010

September 1970 Ebony Magazine Ad ...


Rolex Alchemy
September 1970: Ebony Magazine Ad
"Each Rolex earns the recognition it enjoys. You know the feeling." –Rolex

This vintage 1970 Rolex ad is truly amazing if you think about it!!! In medieval days, alchemists, who were the forerunners of modern chemists, used to spend life-times trying to figure out how to turn base metals into gold–to no avail.

From a design and mechanical engineering perspective, the mere fact that Rolex figured out how to take a solid block of gold and turn it into a Rolex Day-Date is really miraculous, in-and-of itself!!! Not to mention, how amazing the design and engineering of the mechanical masterpiece movement in the Day-Date was–both as a piece of engineering innovation and practical, universal design.


I think this is, perhaps, one of the best written and most effective Rolex ads I have ever witnessed. I say this for several reasons:

1. As I mentioned, if you think about what it takes to forge a Rolex Oyster case out of a solid block of gold, platinum or steel, it is still amazing. Even the way the twinlock winding crown protects the movement–as Rolex points out–like a submarine hatch. When you really analyze it, the visual of the Swiss gold bar that somehow magically gets converted into the Day-Date is very powerful.

2. I don't know who wrote the copy on this amazing piece, but it is profound how they managed to tell the complete story of the magical design and engineering of the Day-Date as well as sharing the stunning history Rolex, from Jacques Piccard's record breaking dive, to the people who wear them.

3. The marketing slogan that says "Each Rolex earns the recognition it enjoys. You know the feeling." That is simply brilliant!!!

The primary reason I have invested so much of my life energy in researching and writing about Rolex history for the last 3 years, is because it is so impressive, inspirational and breathtaking!!! If you really break it down, Rolex, is almost like a country–in the sense that their watches are really an international currency, and their history is second to none!!!