Fleetwood Mac Keeping Time With Rolex

Fleetwood Mac

Keeping Time With Rolex

Fleetwood Mac is one of the most successful and iconic bands in history. Fleetwood Mac's blockbuster album, which was released in February of 1977 is considered to be one of the best selling albums of all time, only being outsold by Michael Jackson's Thriller and The Eagles Greatest Hits (1971-1975).

I remember the first time I ever saw Fleetwood Mac play live. It was on July 24,1976, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. I remember how amazing their music was and I remember how sexy and mesmerizing Stevie Nicks was on stage.

The video below, shot in 1977 features Fleetwood Mac singing their hit song "Dreams."

"Thunder Only Happens When It's Raining. Players only love you when they're playing."

Stevie Nicks

Stainless & Gold Lady Datejust

At least four of Fleetwood Mac's members wear Rolex watches as seen below. Let's begin by looking at Stevie Nicks wearing a two-tone ladies Datejust.

One of Stevie Nicks most iconic songs is Landslide which is hypnotically beautiful.

Mick Fleetwood

Yellow Gold Rolex Submariner

Next lets look at Mick Fleetwood, founding drummer of Fleetwood Mac in a recent photos wearing his yellow gold Rolex Submariner. By the way, Mick Fleetwood is pictured on the cover of the Fleetwood Mac album Rumors, which is pictured at the beginning of this story.

John McVie

Stainless Steel Rolex GMT-Master

& Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date

John McVie was a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, as the Bass Player, and in this very groovy photo we see him wearing his Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master.

Christine Anne Perfect is pictured bellow with John McVie, whom she married in 1970, a year after she joined Fleetwood Mac as their first female singer. Christine McVie would go on to write many of Fleetwood Mac's famous hits.

John McVie is pictured below in 1967, just before joining Fleetwood Mac and he is wearing his Rolex GMT-Master. This photo was taken before he joined Fleetwood Mac, and at the time he was in a band named John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.

John McVie is pictured below, again in 1967 holding his Rolex GMT-Master in his hand.

John McVie was one of the founding members of Fleetwood Mac and he is pictured below on the far left, standing next to Mic Fleetwood. Notice John is still wearing his Rolex GMT-Master.

John McVie is pictured below in the late 1970s with Fleetwood Mac singer, Stevie Nicks. Notice John McVie is wearing a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date.

In the Fleetwood Mac group portrait below we see John McVie on the far left wearing his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date, with his wife Christie McVie standing behind him. We also see Mick Fleetwood in the center with Lindsey Buckingham standing behind Stevie Nicks.

John McVie is pictured below in 1994 and notice he is wearing his Rolex GMT-Master, but this time it is on a Jubilee bracelet.

Christie McVie

Yellow Gold Ladies Datejust

and Yellow Gold Lady Date

Christie McVie was the first female singer in Fleetwood Mac and she was married to Fleetwood Mac base player, John McVie, who is pictured above. In the photo below from 1977 you can see Christie McVie wearing her yellow gold Rolex Lady-Date on President Bracelet.

In the next photo we see Christie McVie wearing her yellow gold Rolex Lady-Date on a Jubilee Bracelet.

In the Fleetwood Mac band portrait below we see from left to right, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mic Fleetwood, and Christie McVie wearing her yellow gold Lady Date on a Jubilee bracelet.

The two videos below feature Christie McVie singing lead vocals on one of Fleetwood Macs most iconic songs named:  "You Make Loving Fun".

Protecting Marine Life in The Bahamas

Protecting Marine Life

in The Bahamas

Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF), in partnership with Rolex, works to inspire communities to protect the marine environment of the beautiful low-lying islands. Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, director of the non-profit organization, highlights its grass-roots programmes such as Eco-Schools Bahamas and coral-reef restoration initiatives. Both partners work to galvanize the next generation of underwater explorers and conservationists to combat climate change and sustain a Perpetual Planet.

1983 Cristal Champagne Rolex Magazine Ad

 

1983 Cristal Champagne 

Rolex Magazine Ad

Rolex rarely publishes ads that use other companies product to analogize Rolex products, but this is a rare example from 1983 when they featured Cristal Champagne. 

If you are not familiar with Cristal it really is considered to be the Rolex of Champagne. Cristal is widely regarded by many people to be the first Prestige Cuvée.

Cristal was originally created in 1876 for Czar Alexander who was the Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand duke of Finland from March 1855 until he was assassinated in 1881.

Perezcope.com Goes Deep on Dr. Joe MacInnis' Single Red SEALAB SEA-DWELLER

 

Perezcope.com Goes Deep

Dr. Joe MacInnis

Single Red SEALAB SEA-DWELLER

Last Friday I published my definitive story on Dr. Joe MacInnis' Single Red SEALAB Rolex Holy-Grail SEA-DWELLER which offers tremendous insight into the genesis of the Rolex SEA-DWELLER. Jose from Perezcope has been by my side every step of the way as we stepped through all the discoveries not only with Dr. Joe's watch, but for years now on unearthing the real history of the Submariner and SEA-DWELLER. 

Dr. Joe MacInnis' Single Red SEALAB SEA-DWELLER

Reference 1665 [Serial Number 1602912]

The beauty of Jose's story, as usual, is he had access to 100% of my research findings, but drew fascinating different points, which are BRILLIANT! I highly recommend checking out his story titled "DR. JOE MACINNIS’ “SEALAB 3” ROLEX SINGLE RED SEA-DWELLER"

Also, I will be making a game-changing announcement soon that involves Jose and I working together on a super exciting new Rolex project, so stay tuned...

The Beatles Get Back By Peter Jackson

The Beatles 

Get Back 
By Peter Jackson

What is more iconic than Rolex? Not much. But if you said The Beatles, you might be half right. I recently posted this AMAZING Peter Jackson Beatles documentary trailer on PatekMagazine.com that just dropped for his upcoming Beatles documentary which will debut on Disney+ in November. So if you are feeling nostalgic this autumn (in the Northern Hemisphere), like me, this should put a big smile on your face!!! I've yet to find a photo of a Beatle wearing a Rolex, but hey, who knows what the future will bring ;-)

Tomas Diagne Africa's 'Father of Turtles'

Tomas Diagne
Africa's 'Father of Turtles'
1998 Rolex Awards for Enterprise

Rolex Fashion Shot of the Day: Uli's LV Submariner...

Green On Green

Uli's LV Rolex Submariner

If you are a reader of Jake's Rolex Watch you probably know the original Rolex 50th Anniversary LV Submariner is one of my favorite Rolex watches.

To my way of thinking The LV Submariner has the perfect balance of timeless Rolex design language and a colorful, charismatic vibe. I think the green bezel insert is fun, sporty, novel and aquatic–and I love the Maxi-Markers and Fat Hands. This is a really cool color combination–assuming you are not afraid of color.

The Call of the Cloud Forest

The Call of the Cloud Forest

Restoring the dwindling biodiversity of the unique montane cloud forests of Sri Lanka through the Agrapatana Montane Forest Restoration Initiative earned conservationist Rohan Pethiyagoda a Rolex Award for Enterprise in 2000. Since then, he has worked with his fellow citizens to regenerate realms of degraded farmland, tea and rubber plantations and forests in this mist-shrouded region located close to the world-famous Horton Plains National Park. Today, the journey to ecosystem renewal is taking hold, with the native forest starting to recolonize and dozens of long-absent and new species appearing.

Rolex to Hold Physical Exhibition in Spring 2022

ROLEX TO UNVEIL

NEW MODELS ON MARCH 30

Rolex to Exhibit 

For the First Time in Geneva

The Return to the Physical Format

By Danny Crivello

Too early to make your flights and hotel reservations? Nahhh. Breaking news: Rolex will have a physical exhibition of its new collection on March 30, 2022. This is the first time the brand will be exhibiting on its home turf in Geneva. The exhibition will last seven days.

Following the Covid-precipitated cancellation of Baselworld, Rolex has held only one physical exhibition since 2019: The Watches and Wonders salon in Shanghai. But on March 30, 2022, the Palexpo convention center, a building touting over 1 million square feet of space next door to Geneva Airport, will host close to 40 of the biggest watch brands, including Rolex. 

What will the 2022 collection lineup include? Let your imagination run wild... But I've already been invited by The Crown to cover it. Stay tuned!

Rolex 'President' Ad from 1957 Uncovered

FOUND!!

WHY THIS 1957 ROLEX AD

CHANGES WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT

THE ROLEX

'PRESIDENT'

By Capt. Danny Crivello

The Rolex Day-Date, also know as "The Rolex President," is the stuff of legend, worn by a who's who of 20th-century icons, from U.S. Presidents to the Dalai Lama—not to mention NASA astronauts, Miles Davis, Tony Soprano, Jennifer Aniston, Sir Jackie Stewart, Jean-Claude Killy, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Barry White.

The Rolex "President" is not only a nickname given by watch aficionados but also an official term used by Rolex to describe a bracelet reserved for the Day-Date (and for certain versions of the Datejust for ladies in precious metals). 

The Rolex Day-Date bracelet is shaped with semi-circular three-piece links, and its more modern version is fitted with a Crownclasp, Rolex’s concealed clasp. The super-iconic Rolex "President" bracelet is instantly recognizable from across any room.

The Rolex Day-Date is not just about telling the time, but signals and broadcasts success to the world, as well as to the wearer.

Most have attributed the nickname "President" to the fact that the Day-Date was worn by U.S. presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson in particular. Jake covered this in his detailed 18-part series named "The Complete History of The Rolex President."

 

My esteemed colleagues at Hodinkee have written as recently as 2021 that: 

While the Day-Date did in fact begin in 1956, we now know it is not "how it got its nicknamed." To be clear, the fine folks over at Hodinkee do a superb job, and this misstatement is no reflection of the work they do. 

Rather, it is a reflection on how large this legend has grown, how often it has been repeated by watch professionals the world over. 

President Eisenhower, pictured above, is wearing his Rolex Datejust on Jubilee bracelet, which is not a Day-Date and does not have a "President" bracelet.

The wonderful publication WatchTime, to which I'm subscribed, has an even more confusing explanation for the origin of the appellation "President." [Alas, not correct either: Eisenhower had a Datejust, not a Day-Date]

The mistakes are largely Rolex to blame as the brand publishes very little about its history. I'd surmise Rolex's biggest depositary of historical documents are in these pages—composed and assembled through painstaking research.

Did the term "President" really come from LBJ owning a Day-Date?

It's been said that the Internet rewards specialization. And Jake's Rolex World is 100% about Rolex. 

Nick Gould has just uncovered in the archives of an Italian newspaper, La Nuova Stampa, a Rolex advertisement from 1957—four years before JFK was elected, six years before LBJ would be sworn in—with the word "PRESIDENT."

"This alters the timeline on the nickname getting attached to the watch," Nick said.

Come closer (and observe the publication date)...

In the third line below the picture of the Day-Date, we can see the word "PRESIDENT" being used to describe the Rolex Day-Date bracelet, or bracciale, before the ad includes the bracelet code. Translated from Italian, the sentence reads: "Solid 18 carat gold with bracelet << PRESIDENT >> 7286/16". It's 1957, and JFK and LBJ haven't even started campaigning.

Moreover, a 1958 Rolex catalog from the Canary Islands corroborates the use of the word "President" as a name for the Rolex Day-Date's bracelet...

...as well as this 1959 German advertisement with the word Präsident.

It was believed, until now, that Rolex started referring to "President" during LBJ's term in office, as the watchmaker stood to capitalize on (free) exposure from the President's wrist. Below are a couple of Rolex ads published in the mid-1960s, during LBJ's presidential term, one of them referring to "The presidents' watch."

However, thanks to the recent discovery dug up from an Italian newspaper archive, we have proof that the term "PRESIDENT" was used nearly a decade earlier, unrelated to the U.S. presidents of the sixties. 

Jake's Take: Danny and Nick did an amazing job discovering and sharing this previously missing piece of the Rolex history puzzle! Personally, I was shocked with Nick's discovery, and I am not certain what to make of it. It just goes to show that Rolex history seems to be more a moving target than a fixed one. The one thing I would add to this story is that President Eisenhower was wearing a yellow gold Rolex Datejust when the 1957 Italian newspaper ad was published. 

I will also add that a common misconception is the original inaugural 1955-1956 Rolex Day-Date models  [Reference 6511 and 6510] came with the President bracelet, which is not true. The first Day-Date models (pictured above and below) were ONLY equipped and available with a Rolex Jubilee bracelet. 

So the great takeaway from this story is the Rolex President bracelet was named the "President" from day one when it was first launched in 1957.

1956 Basel Fair Rolex Ad introducing the Rolex Day-Date Model

Rolex & Tennis: An Enduring Partnership

Rolex & Tennis
An Enduring Partnership

Rolex Secret Release of 2021: Tiger Roars Louder

 

Rolex's Most Secret

Release of 2021

...Is Also Its Loudest

 Unannounced, 'The Tiger' Appears

in White Gold and on Gold Bracelet 

By Danny Crivello

The Rolex Daytona is the world’s most recognizable sports watch. Two years after the surprise release of the so-called "Eye of the Tiger" Daytona, Rolex has secretly unveiled two new versions of the Tiger, one with a yellow gold bracelet partially set with brilliant-cut diamonds, the other in white gold with Oysterflex.

I held the Tiger in my hand when it was first released at Baselworld 2019 and reviewed it. This is a piece that showcases Rolex's skills and talent not as a watchmaker but as a jeweler—and should be admired as such. The new Tiger has diamond-encrusted lugs and a beautiful gold bracelet with diamond-encrusted center links.

The case reference is now 116598 TBR instead of 116588 TBR. The bracelet reference has also changed: The loudest watch of 2019, which was offered on Oysterflex, just got louder; it is now on a diamond-encrusted, gold bracelet ref. 78HJ08 BR. It has an additional 56 brilliant-cut diamonds over the lugs and case. Luxury meets audacity, there's no other way to put it.

Like its 2019 edition, the tachymeter scale on the bezel was replaced with 36 trapeze-cut diamonds, and the dial was decorated with swirls of black lacquer surrounded by 243 diamonds set in a snake-like pattern. There are eight diamond markers set in yellow gold. Look closer and you can see the 15, 30 and 45 markers in gold Arabic numerals. 

Below is me at Baselworld 2019, when I was handed the "Eye of the Tiger" Daytona on Oysterflex by a Rolex representative. I was one of the first in the world to hold it. You can see my full review here. 

Today, the White Tiger and the Tiger on diamond-encrusted bracelet are nowhere to be found on Rolex's website, but they exist. They're slowly emerging in the wild to customers' amazement!