Wednesday, January 30, 2019

2019 24 Hours of Daytona







2019 Rolex 24

Hours of Daytona



A Very Rainy Rolex Race


Rolex has been a sponsor of the Daytona 24 Hours endurance race since 1966 and has remained the title sponsor since 1992. A really cool feature of the 24 Hours of Daytona is that the winners not only get a trophy, but they also receive a highly coveted specially engraved Rolex Daytona two-tine wrist watch that commemorates their win!




The 24 Hours of Daytona race was run this past weekend and in the photo below we see the winners trophy along with the Rolex Daytona watch prize.



This years Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona experienced torrential rain, which caused the race to be cut short by 10 minutes as visibility was reduced to almost zero as seen in the tweet below:




As we see in the photo above the weather was somewhat cooperative at the beginning of the race, but it kept getting worse. The race authorities had to stop the race one, and tried to restart it later, but ended up having to stop it with a second red flag only 10 minutes before the 24 hours ending...



The Rolex 24 of Daytona is an endurance race that was run on January 26-27 at the Daytona International Speedway which is located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The course course consists of a 12-turn track that is 3.56 miles long, which is made up of areas of the NASCAR tri-oval as well as the infield road course.

In the photo above we see the Cadillac DPi.CR






2019 represented the 57th running of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. The race was called short just 10 minutes short of 24 hours as the torrential downpour caused severe flooding.















The 2019 24 Hours of Daytona was won by Fernando Alonso and his team which are pictured below.








In the photo below we see the winning team of the IMSA 24 hour race. From left to right we see, Kamui Kobayashi of Japan, Jordan Taylor, Reneger Van Ser Zande, of the Netherlands, and Fernando Alonso from Spain holding the championship trophy @ The Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, January 27, 2019. Photo taken in Daytona Beach, Florida by Terry Renna.


In the photo below we see the three teams of winners including Wayne Taylor Racing which was the overall winner, as well as BMW's #25 team won the GTLM, along with Crasser Racing which repeated as the GTD winner with their #11 Lamborghini.







The photo above shows all four classes in the winners circle at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona holding their prized Rolex Daytona models and we see:

FROM L-R: #11 GRT GRASSER RACING TEAM, LAMBORGHINI HURACAN GT3, GTD; ROLF INEICHEN (CHE), RIK BREUKERS (NLD), MIRKO BORTOLOTTI (ITA), CHRISTIAN ENGELHART (DEU); #10 KONICA MINOLTA CADILLAC DPI-V.R, CADILLAC DPI, P; JORDAN TAYLOR (USA), RENGER VAN DER ZANDE (NLD), FERNANDO ALONSO (ESP), KAMUI KOBAYASHI (JPN); #18 DRAGONSPEED, ORECA LMP2, LMP2, ROBERTO GONZALEZ (MEX), PASTOR MALDONADO (VEN), SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA (COL), RYAN CULLEN (IRL); #25 BMW TEAM RLL, BMW M8 GTE, GTLM; AUGUSTO FARFUS (BRA), CONNOR DE PHILLIPPI (USA), PHILIPP ENG (AUT), COLTON HERTA (USA).



I couldn't figure out which photo I liked better in between the one above and below so I published both. I think the Official Rolex Event Clock is so cool looking!!!


Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Rolex Oyster Fishbowl Ads



The First Waterproof Watch

How Rolex Brilliantly Used Fishbowls To 
Showcase The Waterproofness Of The Rolex Oyster


When Rolex introduced the revolutionary Oyster in 1926 it was an amazingly useful innovation. In other words, prior to the introduction of the Rolex Oyster, there were NO waterproof watches. It is hard to fathom (no pun intended) a world without waterproof cases, since we take them for granted today, but back in the late 1920s, through the 1960s, having a waterproof watch was a HUGE DEAL.  

In 1926, at age 45, Hans Wilsdorf, founder of Rolex had successfully designed, manufactured and patented the waterproof Rolex Oyster. The challenge he faced was, how to communicate the value-proposition of such a product? 



1926 Italian Rolex Mermaid Oyster Poster

Hans came up with the idea of associating the fantasy of mermaids with the waterproof Rolex Oyster as seen in the 1926 Italian Rolex advertisement seen below.


Since Wilsdorf had a brilliant strategic marketing mind, he realized since human beings reasoned by analogy, if he showcased Rolex watches immersed in fishbowls, people would understand the real innovation the Rolex Oyster case offered, thus on November 9, 1922, Rolex patented an aquarium under Patent #52986, for showcasing fish swimming in the bowl with a submerged Rolex watch. 

The Rolex photo below from the late 1920s features British actress Evelyn Laye, as she demonstrates the waterproof quality of her Rolex Oyster, by submerging it in a fishbowl.



At the same time, as seen in the Rolex illustration below, Hans Wilsdorf came up with a brilliant idea to have authorized Rolex dealers display the waterproof Rolex Oysters watches, in fish-tanks, in their windows–with real fish swimming around the watch!!! This of course gained the fascination of many passer-bys.





1932 British Rolex Oyster Fishtank Magazine Ad






1936 Swiss Rolex Oyster Fishtank Magazine Ad






Pictured below we see an actual Rolex Fishbowl store display, which would have had real fish swimming around, as well as a Rolex Oyster watch. The aqua blue water in the bowl just illustrates the waterline.
The photo below shows a different style Rolex fishbowl showcase, and obviously this one has no water, fish or Rolex inside.


1964 Rolex Fishbowl Ad

This Rolex Magazine ad from 1964 probably represents the tail end of Rolex communicating waterproofness by using a fish in a fishbowl. Fascinating, uh?!?!

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Lee Trevino & Jack Nicklaus


Lee Trevino & Jack Nicklaus
Two Golf Legends Wearing Rolex


Lee Trevino is considered to be one of the great golfers of the fourth quarter of the twentieth century. Lee won the U.S. open in 1968 and 1971, and he won The Open Championship in 1971 and 1972. He is pictured below with fellow golf legend, Jack Nicklaus. Lee Trevino is of Mexican American descent and is considered to be an icon and role model in the Mexican American community.



The photo below shows Lee Travino and Jack Nicklaus together at the 1971 U.S. Open. Lee Travino duked-it-out with Jack Nicklaus in an 18 hole playoff, and prevailed.



It appears Lee Trevino is wearing a stainless steel Datejust in the photo above and a GMT Master or Submariner in the photo below.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Lume Shot Of The Year Kurt's All-New Super-Case Stainless Submariner...


...Lume Shot Of The Day...

Kurt's Super-Case Ceramic Stainless Submariner

Friday, January 18, 2019

2018 Rolex Series Golf Video


2018 Rolex Series Golf

Rolex has been sponsoring golf tournaments for more than 50 years, dating back to 1967 with its seminal relationship with golf legend, Arnold Palmer. To learn much more about Rolex & Golf check out the really cool video at the top of the Rolex's golf world page.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

The 3 Most Popular American's Wore Gold Rolex Watches


...MIT Pantheon Study...

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
Deep Research Reveals Most Historically Popular Americans


The Three Most Historically Popular Americans
Wore Yellow Gold Rolex Watches

What do Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Elvis Presley & Walt Disney all have in common? According to the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (MIT) Pantheon study, they are ranked as the top three most popular Americans in a list of the 25 Most Famous Americans

This behemoth Massachusetts Institute Of Technology undertaking was completed by the MIT Media Lab, which gauges the "global popularity of historical characters". This is achieved by many methods, including the analysis of data on Wikipedia page views.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, another thing the top three most historically popular American's have in common is they all wore yellow gold Rolex watches!!! That is a pretty profound statistic if you think about it. Below is a list of all famous American's who wore/wear Rolex:


#1. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Yellow Gold Rolex Datejust


It is not surprising to learn that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most popular American in history today, and it is also does not surprise me that he wore a yellow gold Rolex Datejust. Over the years, I have written, what is arguably the most detailed and comprehensive biographical story of Dr. Kings life achievements, which I highly recommend reading.








#2. Elvis Presley
Yellow Gold King Midas


I am also not surprised that Elvis Presley is the second most popular American today. Years ago, after discovering Elvis Presley wore a Rolex King Midas, I worked with Graceland to obtain exclusive photos of his super-cool, limited-edition Rolex King Midas, so I could best share this very cool story.









#3. Walt Disney
Yellow Gold Rolex Datejust


Walt Disney created an amazing world of imagination that is even more popular today, and Disney's long-term success arguably parallels Rolex success, in the sense that truly timeless things endure. In the past I wrote extensively about Walt Disney's success, and showed photos of him wearing his yellow gold Rolex Datejust.







More Top 25 Popular American's Wearing Rolex

Other notable Americans who wore Rolex watches are listed below. As one third of the top 25 most popular American's in history wore/wear Rolex watches, which is impressive. 

This is particularly impressive when you discover many of the most famous American's today lived long before Rolex was founded and that list includes Thomas Jefferson at #24, Mark Twain at #21, Jimi Hendrix at #11, Thomas Edison at #8, George Washington at #7, Edgar Allan Poe at #5, and Benjamin Franklin at #4.



#9. Johnny Depp
Rolex Submariner

Actor Johny Depp is pictured below wearing a Rolex Submariner and he is hanging out with his pal, Terry Richardson who is a famous fashion and portrait photographer, who is rocking a Rolex Day-Date.









#10. Abraham Lincoln


Abraham Lincoln was rated number ten, and although he did not wear a Rolex, since Rolex did not exist in the time of his life, it is fascinating to note Rolex made a "Lincoln" model, which is pictured below.









#12. Andy Warhol
Yellow Gold Lady Date

Women have been wearing men's Rolex watches since Pussy Galore first sported a Pepsi GMT-Master in 1964 when she co-starred next to Sir Sean Connery in the James Bond movie named Goldfinger. Slowly but surely women began wearing men's Rolex watches, and today, to a large extent all Rolex watches have become unisex. But what about men wearing women's Rolex watches? There have been a few, which include ultra-famous pop artist and photographer, Andy Warhol, as seen below. Warhol also wore men's size Rolex watches as well. Dude looks like a Lady!?! 








#16. Brad Pitt
Yellow Gold Rolex GMT-Master


Alright, so who is cooler than Brad Pitt today? In many ways, he is similar to a modern Steve McQueen. Brad Pitt has worn many different Rolex models throughout his amazingly successful career.







#17. Michael Jackson
Rolex Daytona


The King Of Pop and his fellow Jackson 5 brothers all wear Rolex. I have not done a story yet on Michael Jackson, but in the future I plan to.







#22. Earnest Hemingway
Rolex Oyster Perpetual


Earnest Hemingway is arguably one of the most loved writers of the 20th Century. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. I have never published photos of Hemingway wearing his Rolex Oyster Perpetual in the past, so this is the first time. In the future, I plan to write a detailed story about his love of Rolex.