...Profiles In Coolness...
James Coburn
Pepsi GMT-Master
Who is the coolest dude to ever wear a Rolex? This is a fascinating question if you think about it since there have been so many. The top of this list would include Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Miles Davis, Robert Redford, and even Pablo Picasso. This being said, there is another person to add to this list that could arguably top the list, and that is actor, James Coburn. Nick Gould the amazing horological journalist discovered the photo of James Coburn rocking his Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master in 1968.
So what makes a dude cool? I would argue coolness is a combination of being handsome, masculine, charismatic, stylish, confident, competent, with and a relative degree of nonchalance and je ne sais quoi—all of which James Coburn possessed in spades.
A Man For All Four Seasons
James Coburn was an unusually charismatic, handsome actor. During his acting career which made up the better part of a half-century he appeared in over 80 movies and 100 TV shows including Bonanza and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. James played many different roles in his career, and in 1998 won the Academy Award for his supporting role in the movie "Affliction."
The Magnificent Seven
James Coburn co-starred in The Magnificent Seven alongside other famous tough-guy actors including Steve McQueen, Yul Brynner and Charles Bronson.
The Great Escape
In 1963 James Coburn co-starred in the great escape alongside James Garner, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. We see the three of them together pictured below in 1963.
Our Man Flint
James Coburn made a series of two movies which debuted in 1966 and 1968 named Our Man Flint, and In Like Flint in which he played a James Bond like character.
Duffy
James Coburn starred in a movie in 1968 named Duffy, where he wore his Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master as seen below.
