Paul Newman Watching The 1977 Indianapolis 500

...Rolex Super-Coolness...

Paul Newman

Watching The 1977 Indianapolis 500

Exotic Dial Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona 

Rolex is one of the most iconic brands in the world, and when it comes to Rolex icons, there are icons, and there is Paul Newman—who exists in a class all by himself. Paul Newman wore a Rolex better than any other human being in history. The only person who can even come close to Paul Newman in the Rolex-Coolness category might be Steve McQueen.

Forty years ago, during Memorial Day weekend, Paul Newman attended and watched the Indianapolis 500, as we see him in the photo below, and watched fellow racing legend, A.J. Foyt race into the history books.  If you look closely, you will notice Paul Newman is wearing his exotic white dial Daytona on a custom alligator FatStrap.

So let's hop in the Rolex Time-Machine and go back to May 29, 1977 to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana by checking out the video below.  The 1977 Indianapolis 500 was covered by The ABC Wide World of Sports by Jim McKay, and if you watch the live coverage below, at 3:15 racing legend and Rolex Ambassador and racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart enters the video to begin offering his commentary. At 47:45 you get a clear shot of Sir Jackie Stewart sporting his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date. Sir Jackie Stewart had just retired from his racing career just the year before in 1973. 



A. J. Foyt won his fourth Indianapolis 500 Race in 1977, and below we see A. J. Foyt wearing his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date in a Rolex Magazine ad from 1974.

Jackie Stewart was a beloved sports commentator during the 1970s on ABC's Wide World Of Sport and we see him below at the the Monaco Grand Prix, giving Argentinian Formula 1 racing legend, Carlos Alberto Reutemann a Rolex GMT Master wrist watch. American's loved his Scottish accent and colorful personality as a sports commentator.

Paul Newman and Sir Jackie Stewart are pictured below at at the Riverside International Raceway.

David Beckham Becomes Tudor Brand Ambassador

...Tudor Coolness...

David Beckham

Tudor Brand Ambassador

Tudor is a brand owned by Rolex, and they just announced legendary Soccer super-star, David Beckham has come on-board as an official Tudor brand ambassador and appears as part of their #BornToDare campaign. David Beckham said: 

"I was attracted to Tudor by the attention to detail I could see in their watches. I then learned about the history of the brand. One of adventure, pioneer diving and daring expeditions. I was instantly hooked". —David Beckham

David Beckham wearing Two-Tone Tudor Black Bay 

As I previously mentioned, Tudor is owned by Rolex, and Tudor offers watches that typically offer a very cool vintage-style tool watch look, coupled with a pricing structure that makes them much less expensive than their sibling Rolex watches. As an example, the 41MM Tudor Heritage Black Bay S&G model David Beckham is wearing in the photo above, which is also pictured below, retails for $4,975. Compare this with a standard Stainless Steel & Gold Rolex Submariner, which retails for $13,400, and you get the idea. This is arguably a brilliant marketing move by Rolex to offer much less expensive gateway watches that incorporate a great deal of very cool Rolex DNA. 

David Beckham, whose nickname is "DB7", is considered to be one of the greatest soccer players of all time. As a result of his career achievements he has become internationally recognizable icon. David is also considered by many to be a modern fashion & style icon. This is largely based upon his good looks and blend of classic cool style with his modern twist. As a soccer player he could curl three kicks like no other, so much so his free kicking style became his trademark. He was also the first major footballer (soccer player) that came to the United States to play.

I recently wrote extensively about UNICEF Ambassador, Roger Moore, an it is interesting that David Beckham is also a successful UNICEF Ambassador, and in the video below, you can watch a fascinating interview with where David discusses his UNICEF Fund.

David Beckham is pictured below with Soccer legend Pele who is wearing his trademark yellow gold Rolex Day-Date.

As I just mentioned, David Beckham has been a long-time Rolex fanatic, and has worn many different Rolex models, so I though it would make sense to take a look back at many of the different Rolex models he has worn in the past. This first set of photos of David Beckham are from early 2012, and show David at an LA Galaxy press conference wearing a vintage Rolex Datejust.

Yellow Gold Datejust models are so rare to see, I almost mistook it for a Day-Date! David Beckham is married to Victoria Beckham who is also a huge Rolex fan.

David Beckham has alway been an unusually hard-working man. He was also a trendsetter and style icon, as he was one of the first super-stylish soccer players who paid close attention to his appearance. You could say he was one of the first Metrosexual guys in sports. 

In this next set of photos we see David Beckham back in 2009 wearing his stainless steel Rolex DEEP-SEA SEA-DWELLER.

Victoria Beckham

David Beckham is married to recording superstar Victoria Beckham and they are pictured below at an Los Angeles Lakers Game. Notice they are both wearing Rolex watches. David Beckham is wearing a blacked out Rolex DEEP-SEA and Victoria Beckham is wearing a yellow gold Rolex Daytona.

Victoria Beckham

Posh Spice Girl 

Victoria Beckham began her singing career as a founding member of The Spice Girls and is also a solo artist today. Victoria Beckham is considered to be one of the most stylish women in the fashion world today and she is pictured below wearing a 36mm men's Rolex Day-Date on an Oyster bracelet. Victoria Beckham is also a hardcore Rolex fanatic, and she also wears many different Rolex models.

Victoria Beckham used to manage her husbands career and these days, she is an incredibly successful businesswoman and fashion designer. Her Victoria Beckham brand sells all kinds a clothing and accessories, including eyewear, makeup, handbags and shoes.

Victoria and David Beckham are pictured above leaving a restaurant

Victoria is performing in her solo career in the video below

Victoria & David have four children, and are renowned for being amazingly dedicated parents. Their children are renowned for their social-networking prowess.

Weekend of birthday celebrations with my babies x I love you @romeobeckham 💙

A post shared by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) on Mar 13, 2017 at 12:35am PDT

Gordon Ramsay & David Beckham

L.A. Lakers Mini Rolex Superstar GTG & RISitus

This series of photos is so funny!!! Cooking superstar Gordon Ramsay is pictured back in 2010, on the left and soccer superstar David Beckham is pictured on the right–at an L.A. Lakers Game. In the first photo we see Gordon and David, who are both from the United Kingdom, trading Rolex sport watches. It appears they traded to check out each others Rolex watches. David Beckham wears a Rolex DEEP-SEA SEA-DWELLER, and Gordon appears to be wearing a Submariner or SEA-DWELLER.

Just for the record, GTG stands for Watch Get Together, which is when a group of watch enthusiasts get together and talk about each others watches. One of the things that typically occurs at a watch GTG is each person takes off their Rolex and shares it with the other members. 

Around The World with David Beckham

The documentary below offers takes you on a journey around the world to all the continents, with David Beckham.

In all the photos above of David Beckham, he looks so serious, so I thought I would post this image from David Beckham's Instagram account, that shows his softer, family-man side:

And Happy Easter from me and my little friend 🐥

A post shared by David Beckham (@davidbeckham) on Apr 16, 2017 at 1:45pm PDT

James Bond Died

James Bond Died

Yesterday was a sad day as I reported Roger Moore passed away. I must admit, I am really surprised at how many different people are taking it. I just had a close friend send me a text a few minutes ago that simply read, "James Bond Died".

Then two minutes later, they texted again, and simply said, "Roger Moore." I texted them back and sent them a link to my coverage of Roger Moore's passing, which can be in yesterday's story seen below this post.

I spoke with another friend yesterday who said, "I can't believe Roger Moore died? He was such an icon of our childhood." I never really thought about it that way before, but I agree, and I think for everybody who grew up watching Roger Moore play James Bond, this is so true. I kind of feel like when Roger Moore died yesterday, a small part of all of us died along with him.

I remember thinking to myself yesterday, "Wow, that's weird Roger Moore passed away before Sean Connery, since he was obviously the younger of the James Bond actors. He must be younger since he played Bond after Connery. I wonder how much younger he is?" A quick Google search revealed Roger Moore was four years older than Sean Connery!?!?!?!?!? WHAT!?!?? If you look at the photo above of Sir Roger Moore with Sir Sean Connery, Roger looks at least 10 years younger, yet in reality, he was 4 years older than Connery!?!! 

Roger Was The Best Bond 

I have also been noticing since Roger Moore passed away, many people suggest Roger Moore was the best Bond Actor, which I have heard some people say before. It is a fact both Sean Connery and Roger Moore both played James Bond 7 times each. If I recall correctly, Sean Connery played him 8 times, if you include "Never Say Never". In the past I have written extensively about the link between James Bond and Rolex, which you can explore in my 13 part series titled, "The James Bond Rolex Story: The Complete History Of James Bond Watches."

I think some of the reasons people say Roger Moore was the best Bond, is they grew up watching him on the big screen, thus he is their archetype for a real-life 'super man'. From an informal consensus perspective, I think most peoples favorite Bond actor is probably the first one they watched in a movie. Personally, I enjoyed all the James Bond actors, but I was never really crazy about Timothy Dalton.

Another interesting point Roger Moore pointed out, when discussing the success of the James Bond franchise, is that peoples enjoyment of Bond, is similar to children watching their favorite same cartoons over and over again. Same with repetitive James Bond movies. The Star Wars franchise has become the same way...at the end of the day, deep down inside, these franchises likely appeal to our inner child...

Bonding Over Bond

I remember a story my uncle Chris once told me about how his father took him to the movies to see the first James Bond movie, Dr. No in 1962, when my uncle was 12 years old. I remember seeing Star Wars when I was 10 years old, and I remember how strong of a impact it had on my imagination, as I was old enough to understand what was going on, but young enough to suspend any disbelief. This combination was amazing, and had a very strong positive impact on my imagination. 

I also remember the first James Bond movie, I saw in the movie theater, which was The Spy Who Loved Me, when I was 13. I also remember seeing Moonraker in theaters in 1979. I remember wanting to be like Jame Bond...I am pretty sure I also remember seeing Live & Let Die in movie theaters, because I distinctively remember the highly iconic Rolex Submariner with the spinning sharp bezel that helped Bond escape.

Back to the story about my uncle Chris and his father. They watched Dr. No as part of a double feature at the Grenada Theater on a Wednesday evening in 1962, and Chris' father said: "Son, this movie you are about to watch is about how an ideal man should be!" Essentially, my uncle bonded with his father over watching Dr. No and discussing the details after the movie, about how cool Sean Connery's James Bond character was. 

If you think about the James Bond characters over the years, they really are kind of like a real life archetypical Superman in the sense they are hyper-competent. In other words, they are always extremely super-smart, successful, handsome, cultured, well groomed, and dressed, and bad guys always try to kill them, but instead James Bond ends up killing the bad guys. James Bond also always ends up getting all the beautiful women around him. James Bond is the ultimate Alpha male.

In the final analysis though, it really all boils down to competence. In other words, James Bond really is the ideal man, in the sense he is simple a model for the ideal hyper-competent man that all men are hardwired to appreciate, respect and aspire to deep down inside. The thing about Superman, is he is not supposed to die, is he? Methinks that is why there has been such a strong emotional response to James Bond Roger Moore dying. It turns out, he was a super man, who was real, and was not immortal. 

I don't think I ever watched the entire cult-classic movie named "Trainspotting", but I think I remember a scene where two of the characters are high, and they are watching Sean Connery in a James Bond film, and one turns to the other and one says with a really thick Scottish accent, "That Sean Connery—he's a masculine actor!!!!" I could't find the clip, but this one featuring Ewan McGregor also references Sean Connery in a funny way. I think that part of the storyline in Trainspotting was that they were obsessed with Sean Connery, thus the reference to the movie "Untouchables", which Sean Connery starred in. My curiosity is getting the best of me, so I am going to have to watch Trainspotting in the future:

It's kinda funny (as T. Walker Lloyd would say), they mention Georgie Best in the beginning of the Trainspotting movie clip above, who once famously said:
"I spend a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I squandered." 
George Best, incase you are not familiar, was a professional footballer (soccer) who played as winger for Manchester United. Georgie was a really funny dude, known for his witty quips. He also famously once said, 
"In 1969 I have up women and alcohol—it was the worst 20 minutes of my life." 
He also said:
"I've stopped drinking, but only while I am asleep.', as well as: "I used to go missing a lot...Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World."
Back to Bond: My point is Roger Moore, was really kind of the opposite of Sean Connery in many ways. Sean was a masculine actor, and Roger was a beautiful man, as we see in the photo below from the 1974 James Bond  movie, The Man With The Golden Gun, which showcases Swedish beauty, Britt Ekland. Britt Ekland Tweeted the following on Roger Moore's passing yesterday:

My Bond is gone, am filled with great sadness. Roger was the epitome of Bond, witty, sofisticated, elegant, funny. Rip

— Britt Ekland (@BrittEkland) May 23, 2017

"I Will Miss Him"

-Sir Sean Connery 

Sir Sean Connery paid tribute to fellow James Bond actor, Roger Moore and said:

"I was very sad to hear of Roger's passing. We had a an unusually long relationship by Hollywood standards, that was filled with jokes and laughter. I will miss him."

Pierce Brosnan, who also played 007 paid tribute to the Roger Moore on Facebook when he wrote:

Fellow James Bond actor, Timothy Dalton tweeted the following:

I knew Roger as a kind and generous man. He was a wonderfully engaging and successful actor. My thoughts are with his family. Timothy Dalton

— James Bond (@007) May 24, 2017

Daniel Craig, posted the following tweet on twitter, in which he simply and elegantly said, "Nobody Does It Better — Daniel"

I am devastated to learn of Roger Moore’s passing. The first leading role I ever had as a Bond girl was such a new and frightening world and Roger held my hand and guided me through every process. He taught me about work ethic and humility. He was so funny, kind and thoughtful to everyone around him and in that Roger taught me what a movie star really was and should be. Through his lifelong work with UNICEF he showed me the true meaning of being a humanitarian and giving back. He was my Bond. - Jane Seymour

A post shared by Jane Seymour (@janeseymour) on May 23, 2017 at 7:46am PDT

Last but not least, fellow James Bond Actor, George Lazenby said:

"I liked Roger, he was an genuine fellow, a really good guy."

On a side note, I have an interesting Rolex history corollary to share with you. The James Bond Movie Franchise began in London in 1962, when Sean Connery starred as Bond in Dr. No. Since then, there have only been 6 men in total to play James Bond. Rolex was founded in London in 1905, and since then, there have only been 6 men in total who ran Rolex.

Sir Roger Moore 1927-2007

...Time and Tide Wait For No Man...

Sir Roger Moore 
Belongs To The Ages
1927-2017

This is really sad, but I just learned that James Bond actor, Sir Roger Moore passed away just minutes ago in Switzerland. On a positive note, Sir Roger Moore obviously lived an amazing life, and made it to 89 years of age, which is an excellent run for anybody...Roger Moore played James Bond from 1973 to 1985 in a total of 7 movies, which include Live & Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopus and View to A Kill.

I was just talking to my good pal, Stan Barrett, this morning and he was telling me how sad he felt about Roger Moore's passing. Stan Barrett knew Roger Moore and worked with him in the 1981 movie named Cannonball Run. Stan said:

"When Paul (Newman) was dying, I was by his side and he said to me, 'Stan, you are the last of the good guys'. To my way of thinking, Roger Moore was truly the last of the good guys, in the sense that he was such a great human being. Roger was so personable, and outgoing. He made everybody feel like a star. He was so genuine and always smiling, and upbeat. He would brighten-up any room he walked into. Roger was also an amazing philanthropist, and not just with all the great work he did for UNICEF. So was Audrey Hepburn—by the way—and she introduced Roger to UNICEF. The world lost a great gentleman today with Roger Moore's passing."

Roger Moore Wearing his Single Red Rolex Submariner Reference 1680 on the set of The Man With The Golden Gun in 1974

My first memories of Roger Moore, were from him playing James Bond on the big screen, while I watched him on the small screen at home, in his role as Beau Maverick, beside Jack Kelley in the epic TV Western named Maverick which ran on TV from 1957-1962 in the Untied States. We see Jack Kelley in the photo below with Roger Moore. James Garner was also one of the Maverick stars.

If you grew up watching Maverick, and you play the video below, it will seriously Deja Vu you out when you hear the Maverick theme song.

If highly recommend watching the Roger Moore documentary below, which does a superb job of telling Roger Moore's story of lifetime achievement. 


Sir Roger Moore is pictured below in his later years, after he was done playing James Bond, and we see him wearing his Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee bracelet. 

The $2 Million Dollar Rolex

Stainless Steel Rolex Moonphase

The $2 Million Dollar Rolex

Phillips Spring Auction 

I have been writing a lot lately about the amazing success of the Geneva Spring Auction season record-breaking results. The biggest news of all, was likely the Rolex Moonphase that sold for $5 Million, and this model is very similar in many ways. Not only does it share the same look and Rolex Reference Number of 6062, but both Rolex Moonphase models were auctioned by Phillips. 

On April 29, 2017, I wrote an article about this model, which included the superb wrist shot from Hodinkee that shows this amazing watch on Cara Barrett's wrist. 

Methinks the $5 Million Rolex sale stole the thunder from this amazing watch. I mean, think about it for a second. A Stainless steel Rolex that probably retailed for around $100 in 1953, just sold for $2 Million!?!! That is crazy profound.

Phillips Catalogue Essay

Few watches can cause fervor and excitement among collectors like the mythical reference 6062 and 8171. While Rolex is particularly known for its sports models, such as the Submariner or even Daytona, the manufacture has created some of the most sublime triple calendar wristwatches in the world. Rolex has only ever produced two references that feature a triple calendar complication with moonphases. While the present watch, reference 6062 features a screw down Oyster case back, its sibling reference 8171 is fitted with a snap-on case back. 

Launched at the Basel fair in 1950, reference 6062 was the first automatic wristwatch with date and moonphases that was housed in a waterproof case. Cased in stainless steel, yellow gold and pink gold, the model was fitted with a number of dial variations. Among the most exclusive and desirable versions are ones cased in stainless steel, with no more than two dozen examples having survived in different conditions, surfacing on the market thus far. 

We are delighted to present this reference 6062, which has remained in excellent and unrestored condition. The most impressive stainless steel reference 6062 to appear in the public space in recent years, it presents an opportunity to satiate even the most demanding of collectors and watch scholars.

Featuring Arabic numerals at 3 and 9 o'clock, it features a lacquered silvered finish in the main portion of the dial, along with a ivory grené outer ring, providing great contrast and depth to the watch. The angled date and day apertures demonstrate the dial's originality, along with the sharp track where the moonphase aperture meets the rim of the subsidiary dial. The luminous material is placed exactly where it should be - precisely outside the silver-colored facetted relief hour markers and next to the Arabic numerals, reflecting Rolex's extremely stringent standards in quality. The outer date ring, too, is correct. The printing displays an inky blue hue which one would expect on an original example. The font is correct, with characteristic "open 6 and 9s". Considering the watch is over sixty years of age, it is remarkable that the dial has not been spotted or tarnished. This example remains free of noticeable imperfections in part to its waterproof Oyster case that still bears "Modele Depose" and "Registered Design" on the case back, interspersed with a curved rectangular design. 

This dial, coupled with a stainless steel case, makers for a particularly impressive combination, really embodying the characteristics of a most classic iteration of reference 6062 cased in stainless steel.

During the period, stainless steel wristwatches were often bought for everyday wear. The fact is even more pertinent as stainless steel examples retailed for much less than their yellow gold counterparts, hence at the time, considered not as "valuable". Consequently, many surviving examples are not preserved in their original form, and heavily polished or corroded due to their function as a "tool watch". Barely a handful today exist is original condition, and often break world records when they do appear on the market. 

Examples like the present watch, with its full proportions and facets are completely phenomenal. 

The present watch is furthermore proudly, and prominently illustrated in John Goldberger's book 100 Superlative Rolex Watches on pages 138 and 139. Every detail of the watch is carefully and painstakingly photographed to showcase its beauty.