Rolex Perpetual Music Initiative

Rolex Perpetual Music Initiative 

James Cameron's DeepSea Challenge 3D

 James Cameron's 

DEEPSEA CHALLENGE 3D 

The Review

Back on November 11, 2020 I published a story saying:

 "I have some really exciting news to share with you! YouTube movies just released James Cameron's amazing DeepSea Challenge 3D documentary which you can watch below for free, which will blow your mind—especially if you are a Rolex fan." 

I learned from some readers of Jake's Rolex World that unfortunately this movie is not available in all countries, but I know it is available in the United States. 

I just finished watching (pun intended :-) James Cameron's DEEPSEA CHALLENGE 3D and thought I would write a brief review. Since many people don't work between Christmas and New Years, I thought it would be good to share this again as well as offer some interesting insight. If you are a Rolex-spotter you will have a field day watching this movie as there are Rolex diving models all over the place!

I discovered the image below in the movie which has special meaning for me. You see, I live-blogged James Cameron's DEEPSEA CHALLENGE event live back in 2012 on Jake's Rolex World. At the time of the dive there was zero live coverage or even photos on the internet as they were out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean near Guam, but Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen was out in the middle of the Pacific with his 414 foot super-yacht named "Octopus" following James Cameron's ship and Paul was taking photos of the event and uploading them to an online service named TwitterPick, as Twitter didn't support photo attachments at the time. 

So I was grabbing Paul Allen's images from TwitterPick and publishing them in real time, so my readers could experience the event as if they were there live. We see Paul Allen's Octopus Yacht in the background as she stood by James Cameron's ship.

Paul Allen published the photo below live at 7:15 PST that shows James Cameron's DEEPSEA CHALLENGER Submersible as it was being hoisted back up onto the Mermaid Sapphire after its successful record-breaking dive.

In the photo below we see James Cameron in the cockpit of his Deepsea Challenger submersible and he is wearing his Rolex DeepSea Special. 

It Take a Licking & Keeps On Ticking

The next image is from the movie where James Cameron looks out the viewport of his submersible and points at the Rolex prototype "DEEPSEA CHALLENGE" and says "It's still ticking", even with 16,500 pounds of pressure per square inch."

Below we get a close-up view of the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE Prototype that is pictured above.

Experimental Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE from 2012 Pictured above

Contrast the side profile view of James Cameron's experimental Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE (pictured above) with its grandfather, the DEEPSEA SPECIAL Prototype which is pictured below. Rolex designed the original DEEPSEA SPECIAL prototype in the early 1950s.

Rolex DEEPSEA SPECIAL Prototype from 1960 Pictured above

This next photo shows James Cameron shaking Don Walsh's hand after a successful dive. Don Walsh set the all-time depth record in 1960 with August Piccard in the U.S. Navy Bathyscaphe Trieste. Ironically, one of the most outstanding characteristics about this amazing documentary is that it is the ONLY time in my life I have witnessed an explorer wearing a Rolex tool watch while really pushing the envelope of what is possible. I highly recommend 👆🏼watching this free documentary on YouTube which you can see at the top of this story.

“They may have introduced this new model, but Rolex don’t chase whims, they don’t chase pop culture. They really like tradition, their support of exploration science is tremendous and they love the fact that being part of this exploration closed the ellipse on the Bathyscaphe Trieste expedition in 1960 (the first manned vehicle to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench), because they had a watch then that went down on the outside of that vessel too.” 

–James Cameron 

On The Rolex DEEPSEA D-Blue

Rolex Day-Date 36MM Reference 118138

...Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day...

Rolex Day-Date

36MM Reference 118138

John Denver: The Kings of Country Music Wearing Rolex Series

The Kings of Country Music Wearing Rolex Series

...Rolex Super Coolness...

John Denver

1943-1997

Yellow Gold Rolex GMT-Master

As we move from celebrating the Christmas holiday to New Years I thought it would be great to enjoy some amazing music history with the legendary John Denver.

This is the fourth installment in my series named, "The Kings Of Country Music Wearing Rolex." I realize that John Denver not only sang many country hits, like "Thank God I'm A Country Boy", "Take Me Home, Country Roads", and "Rocky Mountain High", but he also crossed-over into many other genres including Folk singing.

John Denver had many other popular songs like "Annie's Song", "Leaving On A Jet Plane", and "Sunshine On My Shoulders." He was born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.in Roswell, New Mexico on December 31, 1943.

When I was a kid growing up in Northern California, I some of my fondest memories are of summer camp, listening to John Denver songs, like Take Me Home, Country Roads. 

When I think about John Denver's music, I think it's really ideal for listening to around Thanksgiving, along with other artists like Simon and Garfunkel. Something about this genre of music is heartwarming and kind of folksy...

In several of the images in this story we see photos of John Denver wearing a yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master, which I think suited him perfectly. It never ceases to amaze me how many guitarists wear Rolex watches.

John Denver was not only a recording and live performance superstar, but he was also an activist and humanitarian who dedicated much of his time and money to trying to take care of issues that effect earth. In my opinion, John Denver was the living embodiment and true symbol of Thanksgiving...

Aye, Calypso, I Sing To Your Spirit

John Denver was one of Jacques Cousteau's biggest fans. Not only did he write the fantastic song "Calypso" but he donated all the proceeds from the song to the Cousteau Society. John also performed concerts and donated the proceeds to the Cousteau Society.

The photo below of Jacques Cousteau was taken on-board the Calypso in 1953, an we see him wearing a prototype Rolex Submariner. Jacques Cousteau, in my opinion, is the greatest explorer that ever lived, and is the living embodiment of the Rolex Submariner.

By the way, John Denver wrote a beautiful song in the 1970s about Jacques Cousteau's Calypso ship and I thought I would share the profound words:

Calypso

By John Denver

To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean

To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm

To work in the service of life and the living

In search of the answers to questions unknown

To be part of the movement and part of the growing

Part of beginning to understand

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to

The things that you've shown us

The stories you tell

Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit

The men who have served you

So long and so well

Like the dolphin who guides you

You bring us beside you

To light up the darkness and show us the way

For though we are strangers in your silent world

To live on the land we must learn from the sea

To be true as the tide

And free as the wind-swell

Joyful and loving in letting it be

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to

The things that you've shown us

The stories you tell

Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit

The men who have served you

So long and so well

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to

The things that you've shown us

The stories you tell

Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit

The men who have served you

So long and so well

John Denver is pictured below on-board the Calypso with Jacques Cousteau and they are talking with media mogul, Ted Turner. This photos was taken on the occasion of Jacques Cousteau's 75th birthday party in Washington D.C., which took place in 1985. In an ironic twist of fate, both John Denver and Jacques Cousteau both passed away twelve years later in 1997.

In the photo below we see John Denver (giving the thumbs-up!) diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Connie Reeder is pictured on the far left, and she sang with John Denver on "Fly Away", which can be viewed below this image.

“To Live on the Land We Must Learn from the Sea” 

–John Denver (Calypso)

Richard Hyman took the photo below onboard the Calypso when they were filming in the Belize Barrier Reef and John Denver gave an impromptu concert for Captain Cousteau and his wife Simone.

Yellow Gold Submariner

 

...Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day...

Yellow Gold Submariner

I first saw this yellow gold Rolex Submariner photo on Instagram which was published by The Rolex Boutique in Tel Aviv, Israel and it blew my mind...

Thomas Kinkade Painter Of Light

...Rolex Super-Coolness...

Thomas Kinkade

Painter of Light

1958-2012

Pepsi GMT-Master & King Tut Submariner

Thomas Kinkade was an American painter, who is one of the most commercially successful artists of the 21st Century. How successful is his artwork today? Apparently, at least 5% of American homes have a copy of one of his paintings hanging in their home. Thomas Kinkade is pictured below sporting a yellow gold Rolex (King Tut: Gold and Cobalt Blue) Submariner.

Thomas Kinkade wore a yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master as seen above, and also wore a Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master as seen in the photos below.

Thomas Kinkade is to the 21st Century, what Pablo Picasso was to the 20th century, as far a being prolific, popular and commercially successful, and ironically they both wore the exact same Rolex model, which was a Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master!

Classic Christmas Paintings
Making Spirits Bright

"Every painting is a journey." –Thomas Kinkade

I decided to publish this story today, as a way to get into the Christmas spirit, since Thomas Kinkade's paintings are some of the greatest Christmas themed paintings. Thomas Kinkade's Christmas paintings are extremely ideal and heartwarming, and capture the essence of this most wonderful time of the year.

One could argue that Thomas Kinkade's paintings are similar to Norman Rockwell's in the sense that he is constantly attempting to capture this highly idyllic state of Americana. Thomas Kinkade grew up in Placerville, California, in the U.S.A., which is a city that you would pass through if you were traveling from the San Francisco Bay Area on you way to Lake Tahoe.

A Christmas Present From James Bond...

A Christmas Present 

from James Bond

1974

James Bond and Christmas...If we hop in the Rolex time machine and travel back to Christmas of 1974 we would see this movie poster for "The Man With The Golden Gun" which starred Roger Moore as 007.

Roger Moore wore his Rolex Submariner The 1974 James Bond movie, "The Man With The Golden Gun", as we see in the photo below with gorgeous Britt Ekland...If you want to learn much more about the history of James Bond and Rolex, check out my 13 Part Series titled: "The Complete History of James Bond Watches."

In The Man With The Golden Gun Britt Ekland wore a stainless steel Rolex Lady Datejust on an Oyster bracelet as seen below.

Roger Moore's portrayal of James Bond was interesting in the sense he played the ultimate cad. A Cad is a trashy version of a gentleman who has the appearance of a gentleman, but doesn't follow the moral code of gentlemen. A Cad might be tan year round. Bond is the perfect example of a Cad as he has no friends, kills people on a regular basis and will sleep with your wife—but foreigners and vulnerable women think he's related to the Queen :-)

The photo below shows Roger Moore checking the time on his Rolex single red Submariner [Reference 1680] on the set of The Man With The Golden Gun.

A Special Merry Christmas Message from Jake

 

A Special Merry Christmas

 Message from Jake

Hugh Austin is a reader of Jake's Rolex World from Ireland and he sent in this superb photo of his new stainless steel Rolex Daytona hanging on his Christmas Tree and said "Happy Christmas Jake." 

Cancel Christmas!?!! No Way!!!!

I know these twilight zone-like times are trying for many people all over earth as we navigate through these strange waters, but as somebody once said, "Smooth seas never made a skilled mariner." I could not help but notice Rolex.com was not looking very festive this holiday season which seems uncharacteristic to me. The following Rolex Christmas magazine ad was published in 1942 and I believe its message of optimism is not only as timeless as Rolex watches, but perfectly on-point for the historical challenges humanity is facing today. I've said it many times before, and i will say it again, Rolex's future is in their past... 

Before becoming the first President of the United States, George Washington was a General, and at one of the lowest moments of the Revolutionary War felt like he was going through hell and said, "What should lead us to believe we will make it through this difficult time is that we have been through tougher challenges and made it through them."

1970 Rolex Day-Date Ad

Speaking of Rolex and Presidents, I love this Rolex Day-Date Christmas ad from 1970. In particular, I love the Bokeh balls from the Christmas lights in the background.

Let's remember, Christmas is not about presents. It's about celebrating the joy and magic of being alive—which is perhaps the greatest gift of all. For all my readers I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, then Happy Holidays!!!

If you want to hop in the Rolex Time Machine and travel back with me to yesteryear to explore Rolex Christmas ads, be sure to check out my Vintage Rolex Christmas Ads and Black Tie Guide.

Nadine Mirada Curvy Supermodel

 

...Rolex Hotness...

Nadine Mirada

Curvy Guess Supermodel

It's getting cold in the norther hemisphere with Christmas a few days away so I think it is time for some Rolex Hotness!!! @NadineMirada is gorgeous and she is a top Guess model. As we see in the photos below Nadine rocks a beautiful two-tone Rolex Datejust with a black dial with raised yellow gold Rolex markers.