ROLEX Cellini Dual Time

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

ROLEX Cellini Dual Time

39MM Reference 50529 in Everose Gold

2021 U.S. Open

2021 U.S. Open

...Vintage Rolex Hotness...

Ali MacGraw

1968 Cartier Boutique Rolex Ad

There is nothing cooler in the world of Rolex spotting than discovering a famous person in a vintage Rolex ad rocking a Rolex. It's rare, but it happens. Nicolas from Adpatina.com recently discovered this AMAZING Cartier Boutique Rolex ad from 1968 which features a young Ali MacGraw clad in Bill Blass while sporting her ladies Rolex Oyster in Stainless Steel. Adpatina.com specializes in selling original vintage Rolex magazine advertisements both framed and unframed! 

We know vintage Rolex watches are going through the stratosphere in price, so many people like owning vintage ads, which are far less expensive, but will likely continue going up in price over the upcoming years.

The ad above which features Ali MacGraw when she was a model in 1968. No so long after she became a famous actress and started dating fellow actor, Steve McQueen who she is pictured with below in 1972. 

In an ironic twist of fate Steve is wearing the same Rolex Submariner [Reference 5512] model seen in the ad sans the Cartier logo and he married Ali! 

Nick Gould discovered the photo below of Ali MacGraw wearing her two-tone ladies Rolex Datejust.

Rolex and SailGP

Rolex & SailGP 
Combining cutting-edge technology with extraordinary skill and athleticism

The world of Rolex and sailing is one I am completely fascinated with as it is so extraordinary—as you will see and learn for yourself in this incredible video:

Rolex goes into detail:

SailGP is a global series featuring bold, cutting-edge technology and extraordinary individual skill and athleticism. National teams compete in identical, supercharged F50 catamarans, engineered for intense racing at speeds exceeding 50 knots (nearly 60 mph/100 kmh) in some of the world’s most famous harbours. 

Australia claimed its first victory of Season 2 by beating France and the United States in the UK leg held on Plymouth Sound. Rolex has partnered this highly competitive championship since 2019 as part of an enduring relationship with yachting that dates back more than 60 years. 

Discover more https://on.rolex.com/2VZcSgy 

Rolex has always associated with activities driven by passion, excellence, precision and team spirit. The Swiss watchmaker naturally gravitated towards the elite world of yachting six decades ago and the brand’s enduring partnership now encompasses the most prestigious clubs, races and regattas, as well as towering figures in the sport, including ground-breaking round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester and the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, Sir Ben Ainslie. 

Today, Rolex is Title Sponsor of 15 major international events – from leading offshore races such as the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race, to grand prix competition at the Rolex TP52 World Championship and spectacular gatherings at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup. It also supports the exciting SailGP global championship in which national teams race identical supercharged F50 catamarans on some of the world’s most famous harbours. Rolex’s partnerships with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Ocean Racing Club, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Yacht Club Italiano, New York Yacht Club and Royal Yacht Squadron, among others, are the foundation of its enduring relationship with this dynamic sport.

Taking A Deep Dive Inside The Rolex Submariner 3230 Series Movement

 

...Rolex Macro Shots Of The Day...

Taking A Deep Dive 

Inside The Rolex Submariner 3230 Series Movement

The 3230 & 3235 Movements 

Rolex mechanical movements are absolute works of art, and the all-new Submariner 41MM Reference 124060 (pictured above) features the Caliber 3230 automatic mechanical movement (Pictured below) as well as the 3235 movement for the Submariner DATE model. 

In order for this new Submariner to keep superb mechanical time it depends on Rolex's waterproof 'Oyster' case which Rolex originally patented and brought to market in 1926. Proper movement lubrication is also paramount for excellent timekeeping which is why Rolex developed its own proprietary new lubricants that were developed in-house. Rolex's special state-of-the-art lubricant is not only a trade secret but significantly increases the dependable longevity and timekeeping performance.

Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) once responded to King Lois XVI's request for him to make a perfect watch by saying: 

"Show me the perfect lubricant and I will show you the perfect watch."

—Abraham-Louis Breguet

Automatic Kinetic Energy Winding 

Rolex developed and patented their super innovative 'Perpetual' rotor movement design in 1931, which is considered to be one of the greatest innovations in timekeeping. This free-spinning, self-winding rotor mechanism pivots on a central axle while capturing all the kinetic energy created by the wearers wrist movement, and allows the watch to constantly wind itself while being worn—all without the worry of overwinding.

This game-changing design is beautifully decorated despite the fact the movement inside the case is never seen by the owner. Methinks Rolex should consider implementing exhibition casebacks to showcase this splendor :-) I mean it really is a shame Rolex owners can't witness and enjoy the beauty of their watch movement. The bridges on the movement are satin finished, circular-grained or snailed while the gear trains and plates are circular-grained. All screw heads are mirror-polished coupled with precisely beveled edges.

The Rolex caliber 32XX Series movements feature a traversing balance bridge which isolates the oscillator from the automatic rotor and results in greatly improved shock-resistance and increased chronometric performance. The photo below brings us in for a close-up of the heart of the Rolex movement which shows the Oscillator with the Paraflex shock absorber precisely positioned on top, which is in the lower center of the photo. On the right side we see the gold 'end shake' screw which is surrounded by 7 micro-adjustment markers which remind me of a Keith Haring painting :-) Ironically, the 7 indexes are for balance height/endshake adjustment but 1/4 of a turn of the gold screw equals only .01MM, so the individual marks aren't very helpful per se.

Paraflex Shock Absorber 

The ruby red and gold Paraflex (pictured above and below) sits atop the Oscillator, which in a mechanical watch keeps precise time. The Rolex Paraflex (pictured below in detail) is an exclusive and highly precise shock absorber Rolex developed and patented in 2005. Rolex has fitted their movements with shock absorbers since the mid 1930s which protect the escapement and balance wheel from shock that might cause the watch to become less precise if dropped or subjected to violent shocks like if you were to swing a golf club while wearing a Rolex. Rolex developed and designed the precise Paraflex geometry with 3D modeling which guarantees it remains properly and precisely positioned without risk of distortion or deformation.

Rolex Oscillator 

The robust in-house manufactured Rolex Oscillator (pictured below) consists of three superlatively manufactured parts which result in optimal frequency response coupled with peerless reliability: 

1. Balance staff which is the skinny silver spooled part with the red ruby. A balance staff is highly subject and sensitive to shock, and thus needs to be robustly designed and manufactured.
2. Large Balance wheel which is the gold outer wheel that features adjustable gold microstella nuts (seen better in second photo below) to ensure it maintains high-precision regulating, which results in increased stability while achieving a perfect balance. 
3. Parachrom blued hairspring which is exclusive to Rolex barely measures one centimeter in diameter.  This in-house manufactured hairspring is made from a special niobium-zirconium-oxygen alloy and is made in an ultra-hot fusion furnace specifically developed by Rolex physicists and engineers for this purpose. 

The proprietary Rolex oscillator beats at 28,800 times per hour, which breaks down to 8 times per second. This results in supremely precise dependability coupled with exacting accuracy.

When I visited Rolex in Geneva in 2013 and toured all four of their factories I saw the super precise machinery that makes the beautiful cobalt blue Parachrom hairspring which completely blew my mind! The Parachrom hairspring is made from a niobium, zirconium and oxygen alloy which has a melting point of 4350.2° Fahrenheit (2399° Celsius) while maintaining a tensile strength of 330-620 MPa. 

The exclusive Rolex Parachrom is made from a paramagnetic alloy which is immune to magnetic fields which would normally effect a standard ferromagnetic hairspring, and is an order-of-magnitude more resistant to shock than normal hairsprings. The Parachrom hairspring measures 1 centimeter in diameter yet it's finer than a human hair. If you were to uncoil the Parachrom it would form a 20 centimeter ribbon that is 50 microns thick by 150 microns wide.

Rolex points out:

"The outermost coil of the hairspring is curled towards the centre to counter the effects of gravity. This allows perfectly balanced and concentric (isochronous) oscillations of the balance wheel-hairspring assembly and contributes to greater chronometric precision whatever the position of the watch."

Rolex Escapement 

The Rolex escapement (pictured below) is not only a conquest of microtechnology, but what makes the famous 'tick-tock' noise (Think 60 Minutes Stopwatch sound ;-) The 'tick' noise is made by the tooth of the escape wheel locks when they move against the pallets of the lever, then when it is released by the oscillators sweeping motion the pallet fork allows the wheel to 'escape' until is locks against the second pallet which results in the 'tock' noise.

 Rolex profoundly points out: 

"The pallet fork continues its infinite pendular beat against the oblique teeth for the escapement wheel precisely 28,800 times every hour—14,400 'ticks' and 14,400 'tocks'. That's 250 Million times per year! We are at the very heart of the Rolex Perpetual movement, where its pace is distilled with chronometric precision."

In short, the all-new Rolex Submariner is as magnificently beautiful and precisely engineered on the inside as the outside as seen is all these highly detailed illustrative photos.

Tesla Cyber Vehicle Family: Design Concept by Jake Ehrlich

 

Tesla Cyber Vehicle Family

Design Concept by Jake Ehrlich

If you are a regular reader of Jake's Rolex World you may know that I am also a designer. Tesla recently had contest for people to submit ideas for them to make a $25,000 vehicle which I entered. I just published a detailed story on TeslaMagazine.org that shows my design reference I submitted to Elon Musk.

$25,000 Tesla Cyber Mini Concept by Jake Ehrlich

My design reference is based upon the Tesla CyberTruck design language and creates a number of different sized smaller vehicles that can leverage the CyberTruck manufacturing process. If you are interested you can learn much more in my article on TeslaMagazine.org.

24 Hours of Le Mans

Les 24 Heures du Mans gets underway this weekend at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France. The race was delayed from its usual June date to give motorsport fans the chance to attend and watch 62 cars scream down the world-famous Mulsanne Straight at 330km/h. 

The 89th edition of the biggest race in endurance racing will take place on 21 - 22 August. The track is expected to remain mainly dry. There is, however, a risk of storms between 15:00 and 20:00 on Saturday. The winner will take home a black-dial stainless steel Daytona. 

Olivier Nsengimana 2014 Rolex Award for Enterprise Laureate

Olivier Nsengimana

Rolex Award for Enterprise Laureate 

Encouraged by his 2014 Rolex Award for Enterprise, Olivier Nsengimana has galvanized his fellow Rwandans to revive the fortunes of their much-loved grey crowned crane. A symbol of long life and prosperity, which hotels and wealthy citizens used to adorn their gardens, the crane had become scarce due to poaching and farming encroaching on wetlands. But, thanks to a wildlife management project launched by the vet and conservationist, which includes a sanctuary and separate rewilding facility, hundreds of the cranes have been liberated and released, once again flourishing in their natural habitat. As a result, the Laureate’s work is becoming a symbol of renewal in much of Africa.

...Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day... Grahame's Rolex Milsub

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

Grahame's Rolex Milsub

Daytona 500 & NASCAR Legend Richard Petty Rolex Daytona...

The King

Richard Petty

NASCAR RACING LEGEND

Richard Petty is nicknamed "The King" of Racing. He won the Daytona 500 a record 7 times as well as Nascar 7 times along with 200 unfathomable other NASCAR races during his career! I recently discovered the 1973 Rolex ad Richard Petty appeared in which tells the story about how he began wearing Rolex watches in 1964, which means he has now been wearing Rolex watches for 56 years!!!

Petty is considered by many to be the the greatest NASCAR driver in history and today he is 80 years young. Richard Petty represents a key part of NASCAR history, and you can learn much more about this rich history by reading my story titled, "The Complete History Of The ROLEX DAYTONA."

Richard Petty's father was also a racer named Lee Petty who won the Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a 3 time NASCAR winner. Richard Petty is pictured above and below wearing his trademark stainless Rolex Daytona with the black dial. It is hard to find photos of Richard's Daytona, because, like Astronaut John Glenn, he wears his Rolex flipped around his wrist.

William France

Founder of NASCAR

William France Sr., is a key character in the history of the Rolex Daytona and he is pictured below in the Rolex NASCAR ad from 1960. William France grew up in Maryland and when he was a kid, he did not attend school, instead he raced laps in his family Model T Ford.

William France Rolex Zephyr Ad from 1960 pictured above 

In 1965, Rolex formally introduced the Rolex Chronograph as seen in the ad below.

1970 Rolex Daytona Cosmograph Brochure

Richard Petty is pictured below with A. J. Foyt on the 4th of July in 1975.

You are in for a real treat if you watch the Richard Petty Documentary below, which is narrated by Kevin Costner.

Fastnet RADical Rolex Race Preview 2021

Rolex Fastnet Race 2021

The world of Rolex sailboat racing is not only international, but always an amazing spectacle to behold! The videos below showcase some of the exiting action at the 2021 Fastnet race as it nears completion—which is AMAZING!!! Watching these world-class racers compete is not only mind-boggling but majestic...

Rolex Fastnet Race 2021

 

Rolex Fastnet Race 2021

The world of Rolex sailboat racing is not only international, but always an amazing spectacle to behold! This August 8, 2022 video update showcases just some of the exiting action as the 2021 Fastnet race gets underway which is AMAZING!!! Watching these world-class racers compete is not only mind-boggling but majestic...

Paul Newman Daytona

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

Paul Newman Daytona

75 Years After Hiroshima : The Paul Tibbets Story

 By DANNY CRIVELLO

[Note from the author: this story was first published in Aug. 2020 hence the reference to the 75th anniversary.]

My phone lit up with the word "Nuke" on it. I had U.S. Air Force Brigadier General (ret.) Paul W. Tibbets IV in my phone contact under just his pilot callsign. "Time to chat?" Nuke texted. I replied, "For sure."

It's not every day you come across a Rolex GMT-Master that has logged over 1,000 hours in the B-2 Stealth Bomber, including combat missions. This was my most sensitive Rolex article to date and Nuke was calling to tell me what I could show in pictures. 

"We can't show anything that is part of the B-2's defensive management system," he said. "The fuel display is a big no-no," he added. How about the kneeboard? "I see joker and bingo numbers written on it," he replied. "We don't want to show that."

General Paul "Nuke" Tibbets is a former B-2 pilot, instructor and examiner, and the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross award. He has since traded his stealth bomber for a civilian Boeing 747. 

But back in 1999, as a young U.S. Air Force captain with a GMT-Master on his wrist, he had already made aviation history. He lead the world's first B-2 combat sortie, penetrating Yugoslavia's airspace and going undetected against its advanced air defense system. During that stealth night mission, he targeted 16 impact points and blew up military production facilities, including the Smederevo Petroleum Product Storage near Belgrade. A day at the office wearing his trusty Rolex.

 

But it is during some of those long 30-hour missions at high altitude in the B-2 that Nuke had plenty of time to glance at his wrist and remember his grandfather, Paul Tibbets Jr. 

"It was an emotional time when my grandfather gave me the watch," Paul told me. "It's the one thing in life that he valued, that he treasured, that he passed on to me. I felt honestly that he was passing on the torch."

Paul Tibbets' grandfather had also retired as a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force. And if that name sounds familiar, it's because Paul's grandpa made history as well. Paul Tibbets Jr. had one of the most important missions of World War II as the pilot in command of the B-29 Enola Gay on Aug. 6, 1945. He flew to Hiroshima 75 years ago this week to help put an end to World War II.

Obviously, Tibbets Jr. wasn't wearing a GMT-Master at the time, as the model hadn't been invented. But when the World War II veteran went on to become the CEO of the first fractional business jet company in the world, he was among a handful of pilots in the company to be handed a GMT-Master 1675 by a new corporate client: Rolex USA itself. Rolex had gifted the watch as part of an advertising campaign for the GMT-Master.

The watch of the bomber-pilot-turned-CEO was manufactured in 1966. And it stayed on his wrist until his grandson graduated from U.S. Air Force pilot training in 1990. 

"He knew I was fascinated with the watch," Paul told me. "I had commented several times on it." 

Paul spent four years at the U.S. Air Force Academy. On the morning of Paul's pilot training graduation in 1990, the famous Enola Gay pilot attended the ceremony and took off his Rolex GMT-Master.

"He literally slid the watch over to me on the table and said, 'I want you to have it,'" Paul told me. When Paul inquired to have the GMT-Master serviced in 2004, he contacted Rolex SA in Geneva. Rolex, knowing its provenance, restored the watch to specs pro-bono. 

"I don't have a uniform of his," Paul told me. "I don't have his wings. I don't have any of his Air Force memorabilia. The only thing I have is that watch."

The timepiece is as old as Paul. With a 1,259,261 serial, it was manufactured the year of Paul's birth, 1966.

There is a tradition in the military where a pilot takes his first set of wings, snap them in half and give half to someone really important to the pilot while keeping the other half. 

Paul Tibbets IV snapped his first set of pilot wings and gave his grandfather that half. "He is a hero of mine," he told me. And Paul's grandfather gave him the Rolex. Paul described it as a "pretty emotional time." 

"And my grandpa knew that," he said. "My grandpa wasn't really known to be an emotional guy. But I think that's a pretty significant event when he handed me that watch."

"It's the most special relationship between the two of us," he said. "Because when I wear that watch, I think about my grandpa."

I finally asked Paul whether he will give the Rolex GMT-Master to his son, Paul Tibbets V, who is now 18. "That's my plan," he said. Then he added, laughing: "Probably when he gets a little older, and I know that he'll take care of it!"

Special thanks to Dwayne Stich and Nick Gould for their invaluable contribution to this story. Read more Rolex pilot stories by Capt. Danny Crivello here.

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