Sunday, March 10, 2024

Rolex @ Academy Awards




Rolex Goes Rolex- 

Spotting Again

@The 96th Oscars

Rolex went RolexSpotting again with this new video which was launched today by Rolex to celebrate their primary sponsorship of the 96th Academy Awards. Of course this AMAZING Rolex Watch Spotting video does not represent the first time Rolex has created such a video, but is full of fresh footage, much of which I was not familiar with:
Every hero needs an ally

Rolex watches have played their own roles on the wrists of many characters. On screen, heroes embody our desires and passions. And they are unstoppable, each carrying a story that incites emotion and creates memories. The brand stands alongside the people who perpetually reinvent cinema. As part of its Perpetual Arts Initiative and long-standing association with cinema, Rolex is a partner of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Proud Sponsor of the Oscars®.

For frame of reference I am including Rolex's first video which represents the first time they seriously went Rolex-Spotting which was back in 2017, when they became a primary sponsor of the Academy Awards:




ROLEX 

96th Academy Awards

Rolex continues its sponsorship this year at the 95th Academy Awards, which airs Sunday evening (March 10th) at 8 P.M. ET on ABC, which is 5 P.M. PT. The "Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live From The Red Carpet" will kick off at 6:30 ET/3:30 PT. 


Rolex & The Academy Awards have a tremendous amount in common. I would argue, if the Academy Award Oscar trophy was a watch, it would be a Rolex. The photo below comes closest to this notion, as we see Jeff Bridges holding up his Oscar trophy in 2010 when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his Role in the movie titled, "Crazy Heart."

Jeff Bridges has been wearing different Rolex Submariner models his whole adult life, and usually wears an all stainless steel or yellow gold and stainless model, but when he accepted his Oscar for Best Actor he work his father, Lloyd Bridges 18kt yellow gold Rolex Submariner, which you can see on his wrist glowing and matching his Oscar statue.



Both Rolex and Oscar are magnificent icons which symbolize amazing timeless achievement. Both tell deep and meaningful stories. Thus, it comes as no surprise so many Academy Award-winning actors wear Rolex on-and-off screen. Another thing The Oscar's and Rolex have in common is they have both witnessed and been a part of so much incredible history! Rolex tells time, and Oscar tells stories, and both are highly iconic International Marks Of Success & Achievement...Last year Rolex ran this superb commercial during the Academy Awards...


The Academy Awards, commonly referred to as The "Oscars", is an event held annually that began as a tradition in Hollywood on May 16, 1929, at the Roosevelt Hotel. The Academy Awards are overseen by The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and are the oldest entertainment awards ceremony. The Emmy Awards (TV), Tony Awards (Theater), and Grammy Awards (Music) were all modeled upon the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards were first broadcast on the radio in 1930 and were televised on TV for the first time in 1953. Today, the event is watched live in over 200 countries, and streams live over the internet. To date, only 3,000 Oscars have been awarded, which makes them very rare.



Academy Award Winners 

for Best Actor

Wearing Their Trusted Rolex Watches

Let's get in the Rolex Time Machine and go back in time to look at some fascinating Rolex connection-points between Rolex and Academy Award winners. This story showcases many of the disparate actors that have won Oscar's for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, as well Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Writer...






Clark Gable

Rolex Oyster Perpetual

We'll begin be looking at The King Of Hollywood—Clark Gable. Clark Gable really could almost be defined as being the ultimate "Masculine Actor" [Trainspotting reference ;-] 

Clark Gable won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1935 for his appearance in the movie titled, "It Happened One Night." He was also nominated for Best Actor in the 1940 Blockbuster hit titled, "Gone With The Winds", as well as in 1936 for "Mutiny On The Bounty."



The photo below is of Clark Gable's actual Rolex Oyster Perpetual he is seen wearing in the above photo, which has a BROCK & CO designated dial.







Jimmy Stewart

Rolex Datejust

Jimmy Stewart is one of the most famous and beloved actors of all time. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1941, when he co-starred with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story. 






Special thanks to my good pal, and fellow Rolex fanatic, Stan Barrett for letting me know Jimmy Stewart wore a Rolex. In the photo below we see Stan Barrett shaking hands with the famous actor, Jimmy Stewart. In the photo, we see Stan's Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master with crystal clarity. Shenandoah was the first Jimmy Steward movie Stan Barrett was in, and in the photo below we see Stan with Jimmy Stewart on the set of Airport '77 in 1977. BTW, Stan does the best Jimmy Stewart imitation I have ever heard...So good, in fact, he has two versions, one for the younger and one for the older Jimmy Stewart :-)





Sophia Loren

Rolex Lady-Date
Sophia Loren is one of the most beautiful women that has ever lived. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in the 1962 movie titled Two Women.


The photograph of Sophia Loren below is one of my favorites. Sophia Loren has some of the greatest curves ever seen on a woman.


Italian beauty, Sophia Loren is arguably one of the most stunningly exotic and beautiful women that ever lived, as we see in the photos above and below. The two photos below were taken in Venice in 1955.







Charleton Heston

Rolex Day-Date

Below is a Rolex ad from the 1980s that features legendary Oscar Winning Best Actor, Charleton Heston, who wore a Rolex Day-Date. Former Rolex Executive T. Walker Lloyd told me years ago about how he put together the relationship between Rolex and Heston to do this ad, which was pretty fascinating. Charleton Heston won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1959 for Ben Hur. 








Paul Newman

Paul Newman Exotic Dial Daytona Cosmograph

Paul Newman is a high-priest in the world of vintage Rolex collectors and really needs no introduction. Paul Newman is pictured below wearing his trademark Rolex Daytona with the white exotic dial. Paul Newman wore MANY different Rolex watch models in his amazing lifetime.


Accepting An Academy Award On The Set Of The Color Of Money

This first image below was taken on March 24, 1986, and shows Paul Newman accepting an Honorary Oscar via Satellite on the set of The Color Of Money. Notice Paul Newman is wearing one of his trademark Paul Newman Rolex Daytona watches on a FatStrap. This model is kind of the opposite of his white exotic dial you see pictured above. Ironically, Paul Newman would go on to win another Academy Award for Best Actor later that year, for his role in The Color Of Money!!!






The Color Of Money

Paul Newman Stainless Steel Rolex Datejust

Paul Newman won the 1986 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal as Fast Eddie Felson in The Color Of Money.  So this is an Academy Award-winning performance where the actor wore a Rolex.







The Money Shot
Tom Cruise Holding Paul Newman's Rolex Datejust

In the next photo, we see a screen-shot taken from The Color Of Money, that shows Tom Cruise playing with Paul Newman's Rolex Datejust in the movie. Of course, this close-up helps to make a solid positive I.D., as a stainless steel Rolex Datejust. Notice the bezel has no fluting, thus making it a straight stainless steel bezel.


This next image taken on the set of The Color Of Money, show Paul Newman with his co-star, Tom Cruise. Notice Paul Newman is sporting his same black dial Rolex Daytona on a FatStrap. What makes these two images interesting is that Paul Newman wore a stainless steel Rolex Datejust in the movie, but you see that when he was not acting he was wearing his trademark Paul Newman Daytona. 





Rolex Daytona @ The 64 Academy Awards

In the photo below we see Paul Newman with Elizabeth Taylor in 1992 attending the 64th Academy Awards and notice Paul Newman is wearing his stainless steel Rolex Daytona on a Jubilee Bracelet.


The photo below shows Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor 34 years earlier on the set of the 1958 movie, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. One of the most interesting things about this pairing was that they both had crazy blue eyes...








Grace Kelly

26MM Yellow Gold Rolex Lady Date

Grace Kelly won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film titled The Country Girl. She was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the 1954 film titled Mogambo, which she stared in with Clark Gable.



In the photo below, we see Princess Grace of Monaco wearing her yellow gold Rolex Lady Date in 1972. 







Gregory Peck

GMT-Master on Oyster Bracelet

Gregory Peck won the Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1963 movie titled, "To Kill A Mockingbird." He is pictured below holding his Oscar trophy.






Dustin Hoffman

& Meryl Streep

Pepsi GMT-Master on Jubilee Bracelet

Dustin Hoffman is another Academy Award for Best Actor recipient. He is pictured below on the set of Kramer v. Kramer, with his beautiful co-star, Meryl Streep. 


Meryl Streep won the Academy Award in Kramer v. Kramer for Best Supporting Actress. She has also been nominated 20 times for Academy Awards, which is an amazing achievement. Meryl Streep is one of only six actors to have won three or more competitive Academy Awards for acting, including Best Actor/Actress Awards for Sophies Choice in 1982, as well as The Iron Lady in 2011. Meryl Streep is pictured below with Carrie Fisher on the set of Postcards From The Edge, which Carrie Fisher wrote. I assume there will be a big tribute at the 2017 Academy Awards for Carrie Fisher.



Dustin Hoffman won the 1980 Academy Award for Best Actor for his command performance in Kramer v. Kramer. Hoffman is pictured below holding his Oscar trophy at the 1980 Academy Awards and notice he is rocking his Pepsi GMT-Master.







In 1989 Dustin Hoffman again won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his stupefying performance in Rain Man. In the photo below we see Tom Cruise wearing a Rolex Day-Date in Rain Man.






Russel Crowe

Rolex Submariner  

Russell Crowe won the 2000 Academy Award for Best Actor for his amazing performance in Gladiator. 





Russell Crowe received three consecutive Best Actor Oscar nominations in a row for The Insider, Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind. Russell Crowe is pictured above a few decades ago, as well as being pictured below in a recent photo wearing an updated Supercase Rolex Submariner. Over the decades, Russell Crowe has worn many different Rolex models.







Leonardo DiCaprio

Rolex Daytona

Last year, in 2016 Leonardo DiCaprio won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The Revenant. This year, his documentary film Before The Flood offered amazing insight into the state of global warming.










Jamie Foxx

Rolex Submariner  


Jamie Foxx won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2005 for his amazing portrayal of Ray Charles in the movie titled "Ray". Jamie Fox is pictured below with fellow actor David Osokow, and both of them are rockin' Rolex Submariner models.









Nicolas Cage

Rolex Submariner  


Nicolas Cage won the Academy Award for Best Actor in the command performance in the 1994 hit, Leaving Las Vegas. Alcoholic Ben Sanderson, played by Nicolas Cage, pawns his Daytona to sustain his addiction. Nicolas won an Academy Award for Best Actor in his portrayal of Ben Sanderson in Leaving Las Vegas.




The scene 1993 Rolex Daytona scene is covered in the trailer seen Leaving Las Vegas trailer below:





Al Pacino

Rolex Submariner  





Whoo Ah!!!!!


Al Pacino

Best Actor Academy Award Winner 

The Scent of A Woman (1993)

Wearing a Submariner


Nick Gould discovered the fact Al Pacino—when he won his 1993 Oscar for Best Picture for his performance in The Scent of A Woman—was rocking his Rolex Submariner as seen in the AMPAS photo below.





Golden Globe Best Actor 

Al Pacino was also wearing his Submariner when he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture award for his command performance in "The Scent of a Woman" as you can see below in the video:



Trusted Rolex Submariner  

Al Pacino is considered to be one of the greatest actors alive today.  He has been wearing Rolex watches on film and in real life for decades. Pacino won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Scent Of A Woman.




Al Pacino is pictured below with Carrie Underwood at the 2013 Emmy Awards, and you can see he is wearing his trademark Rolex Submariner.




In 1992 All Pacino Starred in Glengarry Glen Ross, in which he wore a two-tone Rolex Datejust, as seen below. Al Pacino was the first male actor to ever receive two acting nominations for two movies in the same year, when he won Best Actor for The Scent Of A Woman, and was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Glengarry Glen Ross.


Al Pacino is pictured below in Glengarry Glen Ross with fellow Academy Award winner Jack Lemmon.



In total Al Pacino has been nominated for 8 Academy Awards over the course of his illustrious career. In the photo below we see a photo of Alex Baldwin sporting his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date, taken from the super iconic film clip below.











Marlon Brando

Rolex GMT-Master  

Marlon Brando is considered by many to the greatest actor that ever lived. Marlon Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice; first in the 1954 movie, On The Waterfront, and in 1972 for The Godfather.





The Fugitive Kind (1960)
All The Crazy Moonphases

In the 1960 move, The Fugitive Kind, starring Marlon Brando, and Joanne Woodward, Marlon Brando fascinatingly mentions his Rolex Moonphase. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time Rolex was mentioned in a Hollywood movie:



Marlon Brando is pictured below in 1962 with his fellow Hollywood leading men including Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, and Gregory Peck.




The Godfather (1972)
Don Vito Corleone

Marlon Brando starred in The Godfather in 1972, which is considered to be one of the best films of all time.








Apocalypse Now (1979)
Rolex GMT Master

In this next set of photos, we see Marlon Brando wearing his Rolex GMT Master in the movie Apocalypse Now. Apocolypse Now was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and Marlon Brando played Colonel Walter Kurtz. Notice his Rolex GMT Master is missing its bezel. The following set of photos were taken by Mary Ellen Mark from Apocalypse Now.












Cher

Rolex Yellow Gold Lady Date

Cher is one of the top female recording stars in history, and she also won the 1988 Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Moonstruck. She was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1984 movie titled Silkwood.













Tom Hanks


The Number 1 Box Office Star In History

A Distinguished Career With Rolex Keeping Time

Tom Hanks is one of the most successful actors of all time. He won Academy Awards for Best Actor in 1994 for Philadelphia, an again in 1995 for Forest Gump. He was also nominated for Best Actor in 1989 for Big, as well as for his role in Saving Private Ryan in 1999. He also was nominated in 2001 for Cast Away.











Fay Dunaway
Network
Yellow Gold Stainless Ladies Datejust
1976




The next scene is of Fay Dunaway from the 1976 movie titled "Network". In the scene we see Fay Dunaway wearing her yellow gold and stainless steel Rolex ladies Datejust.





 Of course the most famous line from Network, was "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore."


The next image seen below of Fay Dunaway was taken the morning after she won the 1976 Academy Awards Oscar for Best Actress In a Leading Role, for her performance in Network. 


Faye Dunaway 1977 receiving Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in Network












Michael Caine

Rolex Day-Date

Michael Caine was nominated four times in his career for Best Actor and won to Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor. First in 1987 for Hannah And Her Sisters and in 2000 for Cider House Rules.





...My Name Is Michael Caine...

Michael Caine was unique in the sense he was the first "Cockney" Heartthrob. In other words, he was the first major movie star/hunk with a Cockney (East London) accent. In many ways, his appeal was based upon his "I'm everyman" persona, coupled with the fact that he also had a rugged and regal way about him.









Sir Laurence Olivier

Rolex Datejust


Sir Laurence Olivier won the Best Actor and Best Picture Academy Award in 1949 for Hamlet. In total he was nominated for 12 Academy Awards in his lifetime.








John Wayne

Rolex Datejust & King Midas


John Wayne won the 1970 Academy Award for Best Actor for True Grit. He also was nominated for Best Picture in 1961 for The Alamo, as well as for Best Actor in 1950 for The Sands Of Iwo Jima.









Jeff Bridges

Rolex Submariner


Jeff Bridges on the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2010 for Crazy Heart, as seen in the photo below. Over the course of his enduring career, he has been nominated for a total of seven Academy Awards.







Jeff Bridges is the son of fellow famous actor, Lloyd Bridges.





William Hurt
Rolex Datejust


William Hurt passed away earlier this month, and he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1986 movie titled, "Kiss Of The Spider Woman." He was also nominated for Best Actor in 1987 for Children Of A Lesser God, and again in 1988 for Broadcast News. He also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2006 for his role in the movie named, "A History Of Violence."











Nicholas Cage
Rolex Day-Date


Nicholas Cage won the Academy Award in 1996 for Best Actor for his role in Leaving Las Vegas. He was also nominated for Best Actor in 2003 for his role in the movie titled Adaptation. Nicholas Cage is a big Rolex fan.








Sandra Bullock
Rolex Daytona


Sandra Bullock won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2010 for the movie titled, "The Blind Side." Sandra Bullock is pictured below wearing her stainless steel Rolex Daytona.









Robert De Niro
Rolex Submariner


Robert DeNiro is one of the greatest actors of all time. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1981 for his role in Raging Bull. He also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1975 for his Rolex In The Godfather, Part II.  He has been nominated a total of seven times for Academy Awards.















Denzel Washington 
Rolex Submariner


Denzel Washington won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2002 for his role in the movie titled Training Day. He also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1990 for his role in Glory.







Ernest Borgnine
Rolex Submariner

Ernest Borgnine won the Academy Award for Best actor in 1956 for his performance in the movie titled, Marty.






Liza Minelli
Rolex Lady Date

Liza Minnelli won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1973 for her performance in Cabaret. She was also nominated for Best Actress in 1970 for her role in The Sterile Cuckoo.








Vanessa Redgrave

Rolex Submariner

Next up we have Academy Award-winning actress, Vanessa Redgrave who won the Oscar in 1978 for Best Supporting Actress in the movie titled, "Julia".

In the photos below we see Vanessa Redgrave when she starred in the 1966 film titled, Blow UP. Vanessa wore a Rolex Submariner on a strap as seen below, and was one of the first women in movie history to wear a men's Rolex.














Anthony Quinn
Rolex Datejust

Anthony Quinn was one of Hollywoods most talented actors. During his amazing career, he was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Actor in 1958 for Wild Is The Wind, and again in 1965 for Zorba The Greek. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1953 for his role in Viva Zapata!, and won again for Best Supporting Actor in 1957 for his role in Lust For Life. I remember seeing Anthony Quinn in the eighties live in the musical, Zorba The Greek, and he was amazing!!!!!! Anthony Quinn is pictured below in the stunning 1990 thriller movie named "Revenge" wearing a two-tone Rolex Datejust.



Anthony Quinn is pictured above next to Kevin Costner who is wearing a Rolex Submariner from the 1990 movie titled "Revenge."







Renee Zellweger
Rolex Day-Date

Renee Zellweger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 2004 movie titled Cold Mountain. She also received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress in 2003 for Chicago, and in 2002 for Bridget Jones's Diary.





Charlize Theron
Rolex DEEP-SEA

Charlize Theron won the Academy Award in 2004 for Best Actress for her role in Monster. She also was nominated for Best Actress in 2006 for her performance in North County.






Academy Award Winners 

for Best Director

Wearing Their Trusted Rolex Watches





Robert Redford

Rolex Submariner  

Robert Redford won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1981 for Ordinary People. He was also nominated for Best Actor in 1974 for his role in The Sting. His 1995 hit movie Quiz Show was also nominated in 1995 for Best Director, and Best Picture.






Martin Scorsese

Rolex Day-Date

Martin Scorsese is considered to be one of the top directors of all-time. He won The Academy Award in 2007 for Best Director for The Departed. He has been nominated for a dozen Academy Awards in his career.






Clint Eastwood

Root Beer Rolex GMT-Master

Clint Eastwood is a famous actor, and he has won several Academy Awards in his career including Best Director and Best Picture in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. In 1993 He won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director for Unforgiven. Clint Eastwood has been nominated a dozen times in his career for various Academy Awards.




John Houston

Rolex Datejust OysterQuartz

John Houston won the 1949 Academy Award for Best Director for his film titled The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre. He also won the Academy Award that same year for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay. In his illustrious career, he was nominated for 17 various Academy Awards.







Alfonso Cuarón

Rolex Submariner

In 2014 Alfonso Cuarón won the Oscar for Best Director, and the photo below shows him at the Academy Awards, and you see he is wearing his Rolex Submariner. Alfonso Cuarón's movie Gravity swept the Oscars by winning a total of 7 Academy Awards, including Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score.














James Cameron

Rolex DEEP-SEA

James Cameron won 3 Academy Awards in 1998; for Best Picture; Best Director and Best Film Editing for his epic movie Titanic. In 2010 his movie Avatar was nominated for the same three Academy Awards.


Back in August of 2013, Rolex produced this superb video interview of James Cameron telling the story of how Rolex engineers in Geneva, were able to design and build the Rolex DEEP-SEA Challenge in only five weeks. It was actually underwater legend, Don Walsh who came up with the idea for Rolex to work with James Cameron in this very special Rolex project.


Chapter 18 of my series named The Complete History Of The Rolex Submariner & SEA-DWELLER, Rolex's Conquest Of The Ocean is titled "Part 18: The Return Of The Rolex DEEP-SEA", covers the entire background of this amazing feat.








Kevin Costner

Rolex Submariner

In 1991 Kevin Costner won two Academy Awards for Dances With Wolves, including Best Picture, Best Director. He was also nominated for Best Actor.





Academy Award Winner 

for Best Documentary

Jacque-Yves Couteau

Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the greatest explorer of all time won three Academy Awards for his documentary work. In 1957, his Documentary titled "The Silent World" won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 1960 Jacques-Yves Cousteau won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film with his movie titled "The Golden Fish." In 1965 his documentary titled "World Without Sun" won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.








Matt Damon

Rolex Explorer


Matt Damon won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his movie, Goodwill Hunting. He was also nominated for four additional Academy Awards in his career.






Mel Gibson

Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master

Mel Gibson won the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture in 1996 for Braveheart. He has also been nominated for Best Director in 2017 for Hacksaw Ridge.






Steve McQueen
Rolex Submariner


Steve McQueen, known as The King Of Cool was nominated for Best Actor in 1967 for his performance in The Sand Pebbles.







Sylvester Stallone
Yellow Gold Submariner

Last but not least, we see Sylvester Stallone who was nominated in 1977 for Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay for Rocky. He was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 2016 for his role in Creed.



The photo above was taken forty years ago in 1977 and shows Sylvester Stallone wearing his yellow gold Rolex Submariner. The recent photo seen below of Sylvester Stallone shows him wearing the exact same yellow gold Rolex Submariner...talk about timeless...









Lionel Richie
Yellow Gold Day Date

Lionel Richie won the Academy Award in 1986 for Best Original Song for his mega-hit "Say You, Say Me", from White  Nights.












Below is a copy of the Rolex Press Release that covers Rolex partnering with The Academy Awards from 2017.


     
PRESS RELEASE

ROLEX WILL BE A PROUD SPONSOR OF THE 89TH OSCARS® 

New York, 1 February 2017, 9.00 a.m. EST – Rolex will be a Proud Sponsor of the 89th Academy Awards® broadcast live on Oscars Sunday®, 26 February 2017 on the ABC Television Network. The Oscars® ceremony has honored excellence in cinema since 1929. For the second consecutive year, Rolex will also be Exclusive Sponsor of the Oscars Greenroom. 

For decades, Rolex has been linked to the magical and wondrous world of cinema: from its presence in legendary films to its support for young film-makers through its philanthropic program, the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. 


THE ART OF STORYTELLING 

Rolex watches have the power to inspire and Rolex has become a part of cinema’s culture as an iconic symbol of storytelling. 

The history of Rolex is intertwined with that of cinema. Rolex watches have spontaneously featured in many iconic films and have become part of storytelling as an essential element of a film’s plot. Each Rolex watch symbolizes a personality and carries its own story, bringing to life a character and their journey on screen. 

“Rolex supports inspiring individuals and organizations who achieve great heights in both the sporting world and the arts, and the Academy exemplifies this pursuit of defying the odds to reach unimaginable goals. The Academy Awards and Rolex recognize and uphold excellence,” says Arnaud Boetsch, Rolex Director of Communication & Image. 


BOLDNESS OF VISION 

Rolex Testimonee James Cameron represents the pinnacle of film-making, with a boldness of vision and focus on technical innovation dominant throughout his many movies. Titanic, which won 11 Oscars®, is tied for the most awards ever, and Avatar holds the record as the highest-grossing lm in history. 
     
ROLEX PARTNERS WITH THE ACADEMY AWARDS 

Cameron exemplifies the power of details in making stories come alive on screen. Says Cameron: “Great movies are made in details, and not just a few details – every detail. Every character, every prop, and every sequence. A Rolex is not only a beautiful watch and a masterpiece of engineering, it’s very tough. It’s a watch that you can take into any environment and which can stand up to the pressure. So, what you’re saying subliminally to the audience is: that character can take the pressure, too; he or she has what it takes.” 


BEHIND THE CURTAIN 

The Academy, organizers of the Academy Awards, which promote excellence and great talent, offered Rolex the opportunity to host the Greenroom during the ceremony in February 2016 – literally “behind the scenes”. This space was designed by the Rolex Interior Design teams in Geneva, who brought to the Greenroom a combination of classic style and superlative quality that is the hallmark of both the Oscars and Rolex. The 2017 Greenroom will feature a new design and concept. 

SHAPING THE FUTURE 

Furthermore, Rolex is a part of shaping future generations of film-makers and inspiring existing ones with the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, its philanthropic program, set up in 2002 to make a contribution to global culture. The program seeks out gifted young artists from all over the world and brings them together with artistic masters for a year of creative collaboration in a one-to-one mentoring relationship. The Initiative’s film mentors include Academy Award-winning directors Martin Scorsese, Alejandro González Iñárritu and 2016 mentor, Alfonso Cuarón. 

Rolex is maintaining its ties with exceptional individuals and organizations and, in the case of the art of lm-making, the extraordinary accomplishments of those who are capable of challenging the world by pushing the boundaries of their art. 

ABOUT ROLEX 

Rolex, the leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, is headquartered in Geneva and enjoys an unrivaled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster and Cellini watches, all certified as Superlative Chronometers for their precision, performance, and reliability, are symbols of excellence, elegance and prestige. 

Founded by Hans Wilsdorf in 1905, the brand pioneered the development of the wristwatch and is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism invented in 1931. 

Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces all the essential components of its watches in-house, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial, and bracelet. 

Rolex is also actively involved in supporting the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities as well as philanthropic programs.