...Wrist Shot Of The Day... Single Red SEA-DWELLER Fluted Light Bezel Effect
Recently, I was in a restaurant that had an outdoor room, with a closed canvas canopy above that had black and white stripes on it. I looked to see what time it was and noticed this crazy reflection the canopy was having on the ceramic bezel insert on my Single Red SEA-DWELLER. It almost made it look like it had a fluted bezel. Interesting...
In the photo above we see Lady Gaga wearing her Tudor Heritage Black Bay Red [41MM Reference M79230R] on her special red and black nylon strap...
Understaning Gaga
In the video below, Lady Gaga attends a Yale University symposium on her Born This Way Foundation, which addresses how to "Ignite important conversations about making schools place where all students can thrive".
So who exactly is Lady Gaga, and why did Rolex invite her to be a Tudor Brand Ambassador? In the videos below, celebrities voice their opinion about her amazing career achievements.
THE DIVA
Lady Gaga is a Mega-Star recording artist, and in my mind, she is like a modern Madonna. I say that she is like a modern Modonna in the sense she is a singing and fashion Diva, and like Modonna, never looks the same. Her 'Bad Romance' video below has been watches more than 850 Million times, which is amazing.
Update: In a 10th round TKO, Floyd Mayweather beat Conor McGregor, thus arguably making Mayweather the greatest boxer who ever lived—at least record wise. Specifically, with this 50th consecutive win, Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxed into the history books, surpassing Rocky Marciano's lifetime achievement record from 1956 of 49 wins and 0 losses.
Photo above of McGregor & Mayweather appears courtesy of Eric Jameson/Associated Press
In the photo below, we see Floyd Mayweather Jr., sporting a bejeweled Rolex Ice Masterpiece.
When Worlds Collide
The Hybrid Fight Of The Century
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
v.
Conor McGregor
Back in 2015 I covered the Mayweather v. Pacquiao fight, which was fascinating! The boxing world is about to witness one of the most interesting and seemingly impossible matches in history! When I was a kid, I used to wonder if Muhammad Ali fought Bruce Lee, who would win? But back then, boxing was boxing and Karate was not. But now worlds are colliding, and we have a new genre of fighting, which is upon us and known as 'Combat Sports'.
Having the top MMA fighter go up agains the top boxer reminds me of the 1972 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Commercial from my childhood, which exclaimed, "Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter!?!!"
Tonight the world is about to see the five division boxing champion (WBC, WBO, WBA & Ring Welterweight Champion) Floyd Mayweather Jr, in a boxing match against Conor McGregor, who is the current UFC Lightweight Champion, and former UFC Featherweight Champion, who began his career as a MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), and a featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight.
So how did this all come about? It all began on Conan O'brien's show back in 2015, when Conan asked Conor McGregor "What if you were in the ring with Floyd Mayweather, what do you think would happen?" Watch the video below to learn about Conor's answer...
One thing Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Conor McGregor have in common is they both wear and have HUGE Rolex collections. This fight could almost be named, "Rolex v. Rolex."
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Yellow Gold Rolex Sky-Dweller
42MM Reference 326938 Calibre 9001
In the photo below we see undefeated boxer, Floyd Mayweather wearing his Rolex Sky-Dweller, which is one of many, many Rolex watches in his collection. Mayweather's career achievements are amazing with 49 wins and Zero losses, and 26 of his wins were by knock-out!!! This Saturday evening in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather will be going for his 50th professional career win against Irish UFC Champion, Conor McGregor, and he claims he intends to retire after the fight. Floyd Mayweather is pictured below wearing his Rolex Sky-Dweller.
Conor McGregor
Everose Gold Rolex Sky-Dweller
42MM Reference 326938 Calibre 9001
In the photo below we see Conor McGregor wearing his Rolex Sky-Dweller, and if he looks like a mean dude, it's because he is.
In the photo below we get a close up wrist-shot of Conor McGregor's Rolex SKY-DWELLER.
Conor McGregor is a Rolex fanatic of the highest order, and he owns and wears many different Rolex watches. In the photo below he is wearing a 40MM yellow gold Rolex Day-Date.
The boxing match is schedule for Saturday, August 26 and begins at 6PM ET (Prelims), and the actual Mayweather v. McGregor is scheduled to begin at 9PM ET, at the T. Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Below is a sample of McGregor's combat fighting skills.
I originally published this story back in 2008. This week represents the 40th Anniversary of Elvis Presley's passing, so I thought it would be great to get in the Rolex Time Machine, and explore the wonderful world of The King.
The King's King Elvis Presley Rolex King Midas
I would like to thank Graceland for their extremely kind and gracious assistance with taking the exclusive photos of Elvis Presley's Limited Edition Rolex King Midas for Jake's Rolex Watch Blog. Elvis Presley is known as The King of Rock & Roll. Elvis Presley changed the world with his amazing music. Elvis was extremely handsome, charismatic and ultra-talented.
Very few people knew Elvis wore a Rolex, but it was not just any Rolex. Elvis wore a limited edition Rolex King Midas (Model Reference Number 9630) which Rolex only made 1000 examples of. The King Midas at the time was the most expensive Rolex money could buy. As a matter of fact, in 1970 a Rolex Day-Date retailed for $1825 and a King Midas retailed for $2500. In 1975 a Day-Date retailed for $3300 and a King Midas retailed for $5500.
This very, very rare limited edition Rolex King Midas was given to Elvis as a token of appreciation for playing 6 days of sold-out concerts in 1970 at the Houston Astrodome Livestock Show & Rodeo.
Elvis is pictured above with his Rolex King Midas in his right hand along with the special Rolex King Midas case that was shaped like an urn.
The following photos were recently taken by a Graceland photographer exclusively for Jake's Rolex Watch Blog. This first image has Elvis Presley's Limited Edition Yellow Gold Rolex King Midas on top of Elvis & Priscilla Presley's wedding bible. Lisa Marie Presley is in the photo with her father, Elvis Presley kissing her head. All the artifacts in these Graceland photos personally belonged to Elvis.
The Return of The King
As always, you can click on the images to get a better view.
Elvis' beautiful Limited Edition Rolex King Midas is pictured above with matching trademark custom Sunglasses. His custom 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Colt 45 is pictured on the left. In the photo below you see Elvis' Diamond TCB (Taking Care of Business) pendant and on the far right you see Elvis' Denver Police Captain's badge next to his Hamilton watch.
In the 1970s Elvis became obsessed with Kung Fu and collecting badges. In Part 3 of The Story of Elvis Presley's Rolex King Midas we will explore Elvis' obsession with badges.
Elvis wore his Limited Edition Rolex King Midas quite a bit and it appears he wore it swimming or in a hot tub because it appears to have water damage on the dial. The King Midas was a hand wound watch that was not an Oyster.
Rolex made 1000 Original King Midas watches and Elvis owned and wore number 343, which ironically was a left handed special for south paws. The back in engraved and reads "To Elvis Presley From The Houston Livestock Show Officers 1970."
The original Limited Edition King Midas was NOT a Rolex Cellini. It had a standard Rolex Midas designation. The words King Midas were engraved on the side of the watch as seen below, and had a winding crown that was shaped like the sun.
When Rolex originally introduced the King Midas in the early 1960s it was the heaviest gold watch money could buy. Years later, Piaget came out with a model named the Piaget Polo that was three grams heavier.
The clasp had KING MIDAS BY ROLEX OF GENEVA etched into the clasp as seen below on Elvis' watch.
In Part 2 of The Story of Elvis Presley's Rolex King Midas, we will look closer at the design details of the Rolex King Midas.
I am currently researching some other Rolex watches that may have been owned by Elvis, but I am not certain they exist. I have some good leads, but I cannot confirm any of them yet. The watch below is a Rolex that Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker allegedly gave Elvis as a Christmas gift, but I cannot confirm its authenticity. If you have photos of Elvis wearing a Rolex, please send them in and I will put them up.
In Chapter 2 named, The Midas Touch we will take a closer look at the Rolex King Midas Limited edition watch and discover its ethos.
Looks like Martin's adorable daughter thought his yellow gold Ceramic GMT Master II Supercase with the forest green dial was edible!!! This photo is so cute!!!!!
This excellent photo from Stefano Mazzariol is of a first generation stainless steel Rolex Explorer II with a cream colored dial and white gold applied indices and matching hands. All later generation versions of this watch have a white dial with black applied indices with black hands.
My good friend and fellow historian, Jose from Perezcope just published an amazing new article named, "ALL SINGLE RED SEA-DWELLERS, SIDE BY SIDE", which is exactly that, a detailed comparison of every known Single Red SEA-DWELLER. Jose and I have been talking about this article for some time now, and to finally see it and read it, is AWESOME!!! Below is a graphic from Jose's article, that shows the 11 known examples of Single Red SEA-DWELLER models, along with Philippe-Pierre Cousteau's Double Red SEA-DWELLER which likely began its life as a Single Red, but received a replacement dial from Rolex. These 11-12 models are so rare, today they are probably worth around $750,000 each. Are there undocumented Single Red prototypes out there? Probably, and you can bet that if and when they surface, Jose will add them to his growing database.
A Dozen Known Examples Of Ultra Rare Rolex Single Red SEA-DWELLER Prototype Models Pictured Above
Jose and I worked together extensively on his most recent poster titled, "History Of The Rolex SEA-DWELLER: Rolex's Conquest Of The Ocean", which can be seen below in its finished form. Just to be clear, I contributed all of my knowledge, and a great teal of feedback on the layout details, but Jose did 100% of the graphics on the poster, so I really played a small role compared to Jose.
In working with Jose, I have learned so much from him. Jose is basically what I call a "Horological Forensics Expert", and I remember the first time he told me "Data never lies". As a matter of fact, the reason Jose began making detailed timelines, was not because he wanted to make the most awesome Rolex and Panerai poster, but because he wanted to plot all of the data he had collected on these watches. Some of his findings in his article are really deep and insightful. Since Jose is an advanced graphic artist who tends to pay a tremendous amount of attention to detail, he quickly noticed how beautiful his timelines were, and realized he really was created a work of art, as seen in the poster above. Be sure to check out Jose's story that features and documents all known Single Red SEA-DWELLERS...
I never owned a yellow Rolex Yacht-Master with this mother of pearl dial, with ruby indices, but I totally remember them. They were so cool looking and seeing this photo Deja Vu's me out really hard...
When I think of the term, the Rolex President, I typically think about American Presidents wearing Rolex, but in this case we are going to take a look at French Presidents wearing Rolex. The 1964 Rolex ad showcases Rolex's worldview at the time.
I am fairly certain François Mitterrand wore a Rolex, but I have not been able to find a photo of him wearing one. That being said, in the photo below taken by Marc Riboud in 1974 we see François Mitterrand looking at Michel Rocard's Rolex at an event in Paris. Michel Rocard served as François Mitterrand's Prime Minister from 1988 to 1991.
Jacques Chirac
French President 1995-2007
Next we see Jacques Chirac, sporting his stainless steel Rolex Datejust on a matching jubilee bracelet. Jacques Chirac served as the President Of France from 1995 to 2007.
The photo below shows Jacques Chirac in 2014 at age 81, still wearing his stainless steel Rolex Datejust.
Nicolas Sarkozy French President 2007-2012
In the 1981 photo below, taken long before either was elected president of France, we see Jacques Chirac with his young protege, Nicolas Sarkozy, who went on to become a future President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Nicolas Sarkozy's taste in watches caused a huge controversy in France, when one of his close friends named, Jacques Seguela was quoted as saying: "If you don't have a Rolex by the time you reach 50, then you have clearly failed in your life.."
I am NOT an expert this subject, but I think it is worth exploring. Basically, in February 2009, while Sarkozy was the President of France, apparently some of Sarkozy's advisers told him to tone down his 'bling' image by refraining from wearing Rolex watches and Ray-Ban sunglasses in public. this was just after the huge worldwide economic downturn that had a strong effect on France. Somebody created a FAKE Rolex advertisement that featured Sarkozy wearing a yellow gold GMT-Master on his wrist, along with matching gold Ray-Ban Sunglasses.
This FAKE Ad is interesting as Sarkozy has never been seen wearing a yellow gold watch. He only wears stainless steel or white gold watches. This false internet meme caused a lot of commotion. Nicolas Sarkozy's friend, Jacques Seguela was asked what he thought about Sarkozy taste in wearing expensive jewelry, and Seguela responded, "So what if he owns a Rolex, we can't blame him for that. Everyone has a Rolex. If you don't have a Rolex by the time you reach 50, then you have clearly failed in your life."
After Jacques Seguela made this statement, all hell broke loose in France. The President of Sarkozy's own UMP party responded by saying "It's ridiculous to say owning a Rolex is a mark of success in life." A French newspaper named 'France-Soir' responded by saying, "There is a global financial crisis and people are struggling to make ends meet. Most workers will find this highly offensive." A French news website responded by saying, "This remark is obscene. We would like to shove Seguela's own Rolex down his throat." This statement was kind of ironic in the fact that Seguela does not own or wear Rolex watches.
It is a fact that Jacques Seguela played matchmaker by introducing Nicolas Sarkozy to his gorgeous wife, Carla Bruni, who is a famous singer.
In retrospect it is clear to see the big deal that was made at the time about Nicolas Sarkozy's excellent taste in watches, was, as Shakespeare put it, "Much ado about nothing." At the time, the worldwide economic downturn was very real and I don't mean to discredit the way many people felt at the time. My point is that I think Sarkozy is handsome and looks cool with his Ray-Bay Aviators. To me he typically looks like he just stepped out of a GQ photo shoot.
As far as Rolex being the International Mark Of Success, I think it is all relative. Speaking of successful men who wear Rolex, Warren Buffett's notion that "Success is getting what you want, while happiness in about wanting what you get."
In the photo below, we see Nicolas Sarkozy wearing a non-chronograph Rolex with a black dial, which appears to be either a vintage Milgauus, or a Datejust.
In the next photo we see Nicolas Sarkozy wearing a stainless steel Rolex Datejust which appears identical to the one Jacques Chirac wears.
Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.
In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.
This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.
The Hans Wilsdorf Story: Founder Of Rolex
Rolex is one of the most recognizable brands on earth, but very little has been known about its real history. If you really, really want to understand what makes Rolex tick, I very highly recommend you read the fascinating story of Rolex's amazing founder–Hans Wilsdorf.
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