Joe Rogan
Interviews MKBHD
Joe Rogan is one of the top podcasters in the world today. I had never heard of Joe Rogan until recently when he interviewed Elon Musk, which was very contreversial as Joe Rogan fired up a joint and passed it to Elon Musk who took a toke off it. Ironically, just before they smoked out together they spoke about Rolex. 

It turns out that Joe Rogan has been wearing Rolex watches for years, and in the photo below we see him wearing a Rolex DEEP-SEA during his recent interview with Marques Brownlee. Marques Brownlee A.K.A. MKBHD is the top tech reviewer in the world today, and he and Joe have a super profound conversation on high-tech.

Joe Rogan is also a famous comedian and he is also a top Mixed Martial Arts Color Commentator. In the photo below we see Joe Rogan wearing a white gold Rolex Daytona.

In this next image we see Joe Rogan wearing a stainless steel and platinum Rolex Yacht-Master.

1958 Tudor Submariner Sets Auction Record Sells for $162,500

1958 Tudor Submariner

Sets Auction Record

Sells for $162,500

Heritage Auction House set a world record for vintage Tudor when they successfully auctioned a 1958 Tudor Submariner earlier this week for $162,500. The Tudor brand was founded by Hans Wilsdorf, who also founded Rolex, and Tudor is still owned by Rolex.

The 37MM Tudor Submariner seen above and below appears courtesey of Heritage Auction house and shows the historic Tudor Submariner Oyster Prince Submariner [Reference 7924] which was manufactured in 1958. It features a luminous radium matte gilt dial, and the watch appears to be 100% original all the way down to possesing the original red-triangle bezel insert. When this watch was originally sold back in the late 1950s it probably sold for around $60!!!

The Tudor Submariner that was aucitoned is know as a Big Crown Submariner. What exactly is a "Big Crown" Submariner? Early Submariner models featured an unusually large 8MM BREVET Crown as seen above, and many famous Rolex historical figures wore this model including Chuck Yeager who is pictured below. Chuck Yeager is wearing a Rolex Submariner "Big Crown" Reference 6538, which also features the red upside down triangle on the bezel.

Elvis Presley also wore a "Big Crown" Rolex Submariner Reference 6538 as seen in the photo below which was taken in 1962.

The most famous person who ever wore a Big Crown Submariner, Reference 6538 was Sean Connery when he played James Bond back in the early 1960s.

The 2018 Formula 1 Recap...

Introduction

Hi Everybody! I would like to introduce you to Jason Burkholder who is not only a Formula 1 fan, but also will be covering racing events in the future for Jake's Rolex World. Jason is only 14 years old, but has been a huge racing fan for 5 years. Welcome on-board Jason!

Jake

...Driven by Performance & Precision... 

The 2018 Formula 1

United States Grand Prix

Recap Austin, Texas. Oct 19-21

Formula 1 is MAGICAL! There, I said it. The first Formula 1 race I watched was in 2012 on Fox when I was 8 years old, and I have to say I have been completely obsessed with F1 racing ever since. Watching cars race around a track at speeds in excess of 200MPH is AMAZING! My Mother, who is super awesome took me this last week to see my first Formula 1 race in person and it completely blew my mind!

Formula 1 racing was founded in 1950 when a number of auto manufactures worked together to form the most elite racing series in the world.

Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas has hosted an F1 race every year since 2012, which was the first F1 Grand Prix to be held in America back in 2007. This year there were two drivers battling for the world drivers championship with just three races to go in the season; Sebastian Vettel driving for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton driving for Mercedes.  

Lewis Hamilton won the Formula 1 series at Circuit of the America's four times in a row and was the favorite to win this race after being fastest in the first two practice sessions. Vettel was handed a penalty for not slowing down enough for a caution and would have to start the race three positions behind where he qualified. 

Things changed in free practice three when Vettel was fastest. The stage was set for a exiting qualifying to set the starting order for Sunday’s race. It did not disappoint; Hamilton finished first by just six thousandths of a second over Vettel who would have to start fifth, and in third was Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen who also drives for Ferrari who would start second.

On Sunday, anticipation was high for a exiting race and the teams and drivers delivered! On the start Raikkonen got a great launch and overtook Hamilton for the lead which was crucial in the championship for his teammate Vettel. Meanwhile Vettel was side by side with another driver Daniel Ricciardo batling for forth when he misjudged the breaking for turn thirteen and made contact which sent his car sideways. Now, in fifteenth, a determined Vettel was making up position after position. 

Hamilton made an early pit stop and in doing so took a big risk by changing his tires early. If his tires were to wear too fast he would have to stop again for new tires and lose a lot of time, which ended up happening. 

Raikkonen and Vettel made their stops both coming out far behind Hamilton. On lap 38 of 56 Hamilton made a pit stop and came out behind Raikkonen. For the next 18 laps Raikkonen controled the race and came across the line for his first victory in 2044 days. The former world champion became the oldest driver to win at 39 and spoiled Hamilton’s hopes of winning the championship in Austin.

Vettel fought hard to make up places and finished fourth which kept the championship going to the next round in Mexico City this weekend on October 27th, 2018. I am including a preview video for you to check out.

Clyde Responds to Ariel Adams Article

Clyde Responds to Ariel Adams Article
Everybody's Talkin'
My pal Clyde, AKA Clyve Watch-Wrangler from the flyover states recently posted a video response to my other pal, Ariel Adams article from ABlogToWatch.com titled 'How Scalpers & Speculators Are Ruining The Watch Purchasing Experience For Many Consumers.' Clyde, as always offers interesting insight into the current Rolex marketplace and valuation dynamics.

Clyde also mentions Captain Danny's recent fascinating article titled "What Is Really Going on with Rolex Supply: Part 2". You can also check out Part 1 of What Is Really Going on with Rolex Supply. We are currently working on Part 3 to this story as we continue to uncover more meaningful and insightful clues—so stay tuned :-) Also, Clyde and I discussed this top in detail back in late August of 2018 which you can watch below.

The 2018 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix

...Driven by Performance & Precision... 

The 2018 Formula 1

United States Grand Prix

Austin, Texas. Oct 19-21

Wanna see some totally radical racing action? Watch the two videos below!!! Note that when you click on the play button on each video, you will have to watch them on YouTube but click to do so and you will see some mind-blowing racing video...

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen just won the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and beat out Red Bull's Max Verstrappen and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. This was Kimi Raikkonens first Formula 1 race win since 2013.

Jason Burkholder took the image below of Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari.

Formula 1 Pirelli 2018

...Driven by Performance & Precision... 

The 2018 Formula 1

United States Grand Prix

Austin, Texas. Oct 19-21

The 2018 Pirelli United States Grand Prix Formula 1 race weekend is upon us and we will be covering the race with live coverage from Austin, Texas with our special correspondent, Jason Burkholder. Rolex is the Official Timepiece of Formula 1 racing as we see in the Rolex Ad below.

The 2018 Formula 1 event will be taking place in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of The Americas which was opened on October 21, 2012, by F1 legend and 1978 champion, Mario Andretti.

The 2018 Pirelli United State Grand Prix runs begins on October 19th with practice laps, and on Saturday the 20th qualifying occurs, then the race is on Sunday, October 21st. While we wait for the qualifying and race to begin, here is an overview of the 2017 US Grand Prix. Fasten your seatbelt...

About Formula 1

Formula 1, which began in 1950, is the world’s most prestigious motor racing com­petition and the world’s most popular annual sporting series. In 2012 the FIA Formula One World Championship was watched by over half a billion unique television viewers in 187 territories and ran from March to November spanning 20 races in 19 countries across five continents. Formula One World Championship limited is part of the Formula One group, founded by CEO Bernie Ecclestone and holds the exclusive commercial rights to the FIA Formula One World Championship™. 

Formula 1 Racing Champion Nico Rosberg

I recently published the following Bernie Ecclestone  interview by Formula 1 racing champion Nico Rosberg:

Formula 1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone is pictured below with former Rolex CEO Gian Riccardo Marini in Geneva, Switzerland in 2012 just after they announced the global partnership between Rolex and Formula 1 racing.

The winning Formula 1 drivers get specially engraved Rolex Daytona models as seen below.

THE ROLEX WAY...

THE ROLEX WAY
The paths are many, the way is one...

Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day: Rolex Yacht-Master II

...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day...

Rolex Yacht-Master II

Hannes who owns the German R-L-X.de forum took these amazing macro shots of the white gold Rolex Yacht-Master II.

Robert Palmer Bradley DeepStar 4000 Pilot—Single Red SEA-DWELLER

Robert Palmer Bradley

DeepStar 4000 Pilot

Single Red SEA-DWELLER

Coming To Phillips Auction House

This story represents a significant piece of the Rolex Submariner/SEA-DWELLER puzzle, which I have been aware of for a very long time, but I never wrote about it until today, as I was never really able to contextualize it properly.

A few days ago, Jose from Perizcope.com published an AMAZING article about Robert Palmer Bradley's Single Red SEA-DWELLER which is coming to Phillips Auction House in Geneva on November 10-11 2018. This is no ordinary Single Red SEA-DWELLER as it is the very first known manufactured example.

I wrote a super detailed review of Rolex's 50th Anniversary Single Red SEA-DWELLER which is fascinating.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this story, I have been aware of this Single Red SEA-DWELLER for a long time, but never put this puzzle piece together with the rest until today. Jose from Perezcope.com and I were discussing parts of this story last year, but when he published his recent story, it kind of woke me up to the significance of this puzzle piece. So let's dive into this amazing piece of Rolex SEA-DWELLER history.

The photo below shows Robert Palmer Bradley in November 1968 during a ceremony at the Kona Kai Club in San Diego, California receiving his Single Red SEA-DWELLER as a gift from Rolex USA and Westinghouse to celebrate the 500th successful dive of the DEEPSTAR 4000 Submersible. If you look closely you will notice Robert Palmer Bradley holding the classic forest green Rolex gift box in his hand that contains the Single Red SEA-DWELLER.

The Westinghouse DeepStar 4000 Submersible is pictured below in San Deigo, California. I believe there is a very high likelihood the man standing next to the side of the DeepStar submersible in the photo below is Robert Palmer Bradley.

In 1968 Rolex had been working closely with Bob Barth of the U.S. Navy SEALAB  to develop the Rolex SEA-DWELLER and Rolex published the following magazine and as a tribute to Robert Palmer Bradley. This 1968 Rolex Submariner features Westinghouse's DEEPSTAR 4000 along with the Submariner. 

Don't forget that the SEA-DWELLER was and remains a Submariner variant. Robert Palmer Bradleys SEA-DWELLER dial is pictured below and notice underneath the red SEA-DWELLER designation is says, "SUBMARINER 500M-1650FT".

As I documented in my most recent story, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the greatest explorer in history not only provided the impetus for Rolex to build dive watches, but the Submariner and SEA-DWELLER were named after him.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau invented the two-man mini Submersible as seen in the photos below, which the Westinghouse DEEPSTAR was based upon.

The following magazine article was published in October of 1962 and features the history of the development of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Sea Saucer.

The photo below is from the National Archives and it has a caption that reads:

"K-81569 Underwater Vehicle Deepstar 4000. This Westinghouse vehicle is lowered into the water to be used to inspect Sealab III while the habitat is on the ocean floor for experiments. Off San Clemente, California, December 1968."

The video below is a documentary on SEALAB III and it features the DEEPSTAR 4000 that Robert Bradley Palmer was piloting at the time.

As I mentioned, definitely check out Jose's amazing article on Robert Palmer Bradley's Single Red SEA-DWELLER on Perezcope.com. Also, Jose and I worked tirelessly on developing THE HISTORY OF THE ROLEX SEA-DWELLER Poster seen below. 

To see all the amazing detail in the SEA-DWELLER Timeline poster below right-mouse-click on it to open it in a different browser window. You can also purchase an amazing high res version of the poster in the Timelines section of Perezcope.com.

PAN AM 1960 Wall Clock Chronometer

PAN AM

50CM 1960 Wall Clock Chronometer

On November 12, 2018, Christie's Auction House will be auctioning this amazing Rolex Chronometer PAN AM wall clock that has a Circa of 1960.

Christie's Lot Notes

A rare find these large size clocks are the ultimate trophy for the collector of Rolex ephemera. Manufactured for Pan Am or Pan American World Airlines by the Hanover Manufacturing, Inc. in Ohio, they were used in the offices of Pan Am, at airport check in desks and perhaps also at Rolex retailers as advertisement for the collaboration between the two firms, resulting in the creation of the celebrated GMT-Master in the mid-1950s.

What Is Really Going on with Rolex Supply: Part 2

What Is Really 

Going on with Rolex

Supply: Part 2

 By DANNY CRIVELLO

                       

In last year's podcast with Jake I mentioned how the CIA could learn much from Rolex when it comes to running an operation discreetly. As one who has covered the business beat professionally for daily newsprints and now tweets daily about Rolex, I can tell you that Rolex news is some of the hardest to come by. There are remarkably zero leaks before a product is unveiled, a feat hardly matched by any American company. 

As the Rolex steel-model shortage continues to be felt, any discovery of financial reports from Rolex or one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries is met with trepidation.

Which brings us to Rolex Watch Company Ltd. The small London-based business is 100-percent owned by Rolex S.A. It employs close to 200 people in the UK, and its main job is to sell all Rolex products to authorized dealers that are in the UK and Ireland. It is interesting to note this organization files financial statements as mandated by British laws.

Its latest annual financial report was released last week and provides a looking glass into Rolex' state of business in the UK in 2017, the first year a shortage of Rolex steel models gripped the market. 

On the issue of shortage, it was always the position of Jake's Rolex World that Rolex does not produce fewer watches in an attempt to keep prices up. Jake's position was simply that demand is surging for Rolex products at a pace that is faster than the company can reasonably manage. Jake wrote an article named “What Is Really Going On With Rolex Supply” in which he laid out all the reasons why he thought Rolex demand was radically exceeding supply. 

For the first time, we have some numbers to back it up. In its report, the British arm of Rolex said revenue from watches sold to authorized dealers has gone up. As I look at the past ten years, it has not only gone up, but reached a record high. It would be difficult to argue that Rolex provides fewer watches to its dealers and at the same time manages to generate the highest revenue in the history of Rolex Watch Company, which even had to bolster its staff to cope with the growth, according to the report.

One argument is that the higher revenue is due to the 2016 price increase of 10%. But sales value is up 23% when comparing 2017 to 2016. Besides the 10-percent price hike is merely offsetting the weakened pound following the “Brexit” in 2016. To summarize:

• Sales value is up 23% when comparing 2017 to 2016.
• Sales value is up 43% when comparing 2016 to 2015.
• Sales value is up 76% when comparing 2017 to 2015.

In 2017, Rolex sales to UK & Irish network of authorized dealers have never been higher, topping £329M in 2017. Its operating profit jumped a staggering 86% year over year. 

I contend that the UK is currently one of the cheapest places in Europe to buy a Rolex because of the weak pound; however, that is difficult to account for all that increase, or to argue that there’s a Rolex' imposed restriction to supply. Rolex generated more revenue in 2017 than in 2016. 

While I'd wish I could see figures for the global market, I believe that if Rolex restricted supply it would have been reflected here in the UK figures. To be clear, these numbers don't reflect sales to customers; it reflects what British and Irish authorized dealers are buying from the Rolex' UK branch. 

And they are buying more than ever because their customers are buying, too.

A Word

About Asia

Few realize how much impact the Asian market has on the Swiss watch industry and thus contributed to the shortage of Rolex inventory. For 2017, the value of the Asian market was half of the world.

According to the most recent data from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Hong Kong and Mainland China have lead the comeback of the luxury watch market’s largest growth in almost five years. 

穷玩车, 富玩表

“The poor play with luxury cars while the rich play with luxury watches.” Chinese maxim.

For example, from January to June of 2018, Hong Kong and Mainland China contributed over $237.6 million in exported sales. That is more than double the entire U.S. market during the same time. This equates to a huge 29.5 percent rise from 2017 in Hong Kong, 13.4 percent in Mainland China.

I contend that these figures are for all Swiss brands, not just Rolex. But Rolex is arguably the most well-known luxury watch brand in China. Rolex’ round face shape is deemed auspiciousness according to Chinese tradition, and its golden crown logo symbolizes status and power. The brand has chosen top Chinese musicians Lang Lang, Li Yundi (featured below) and Yujia Wang as its brand ambassadors. 

The boost is felt like a tsunami in the Rolex market because of a serious slump that followed the Chinese government’s anti-corruption measures, which took effect in 2014. The measures saw harsh punishments to officials and diplomats for engaging in gift-giving.

That anti-corruption campaign led the Swiss watch market’s global export value to tank in 2015 and 2016. According to data by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing, it has certified fewer mechanical Swiss watches in 2016 than in previous past four years. However, in 2017, we observe a jump again, indicating a sudden increase in production to cope with demand. 

China now seems set to lead the recovery of this entire industry, and it’s all due to a large generation of young, affluent consumers who are creating the largest demand for luxury watches in the history of the world.

Follow me on Twitter @RolexMagazine and read more Rolex business news.