...Wrist Shot Of The Day... Quentin's Ice-Cold Pepsi GMT

 

...Wrist Shot Of The Day...

Quentin's Ice-Cold Pepsi GMT

I just stumbled into this really cool GMT-Master 'hand-in-glove' wrist shot in my archive, so I thought I would share it with you...

Back on Top: Rolex Ranks #1 in 2022

THE MOST REPUTABLE

COMPANY

IN THE WORLD. AGAIN.

 By DANNY CRIVELLO    

       

Rolex has earned the top spot as the most reputable company in the world. The data was compiled by the Boston-based Reputation Institute as part of its yearly Top 100 ranking of 7,000 brands across the globe. The institute surveyed more than 230,000 individuals in 40 countries. LEGO took the first spot in 2020 and 2021.

"No other company has enjoyed the title of the world’s most reputable company as often as Rolex," the Reputation Institute wrote in its report. "Rolex was ranked the #1 most reputable company globally for four years (2016-2019), and now again in 2022. The strength of Rolex’s reputation lies in the quality of its products and since 2020, people’s perception on this front has improved significantly."

Rolex's statement about the news:

"Rolex is proud to have been elected as the World’s Most Reputable Company in 2022. This recognition reflects our perpetual quest for excellence.

"Thanks to our values of perfection and to our culture of continuous improvement, we strive to always go further. Our aim is to constantly improve not only our products but also our environmental and social performance, as well as our impact on society. This leadership position encourages us to pursue our efforts for the good of all."

SailGP: Yachting's global racing championship continues to thrill

SailGP
Yachting's global racing championship continues to thrill

SailGP continues to redefine the sport of yachting. It blends cutting-edge technology with athletic sailing talent as national teams of men and women race identical F50 catamarans at speeds exceeding 50 knots in some of the world’s most famous waters. Season 2 of this global championship culminated in San Francisco Bay in March when, after 47 races spread over eight events, Team Australia triumphed in the Grand Final against the United States and Japan, securing the title for a second time. 

Rolex has been a partner of SailGP from the outset as part of its close association with yachting dating back more than 60 years. The synergy between the two organizations is based on a commitment to perform at the highest level in all their respective activities. The partnership encompasses the most prestigious yacht clubs, races and regattas, along with remarkable individuals.

2005 Rolex Explorer II 40MM Polar White Dial

2005 Rolex Explorer II Ad

40MM Polar White Dial

Rolex Coronets

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

Rolex Coronets 

The applied 3-D Rolex Coronet logo is found on the dial of many Rolex Models, including the Rolex Day-Date as well as the Rolex Daytona. The photo below shows several of them on a table before they have been applied to a Rolex Dial. In my opinion, the Rolex Coronet is one of the coolest and most iconic logos in the world. 

Many people say the Rolex Coronet is a crown, while others believe the logo symbolizes a watch on a hand. Don't believe me? Try opening all of your fingers with your palm pointed away from you, and equally, space your fingers until they are organized like the Rolex Coronet as we see in the Rolex magazine ad below from 1978. Interesting!?!!

Arthur C. Clarke

...Rolex Super-Coolness...

Arthur C. Clarke

Science-Fiction Writer, Explorer & Futurist

1917-2008

Yellow Gold Rolex Submariner

Arthur C. Clarke is considered to be one of the top science-fiction writers, and futurists in history. During his brilliant career he wrote more than 100 books! Clarke is probably most famous for co-writing the screenplay for the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is considered to be one of the most influential films of the 20th Century. Arthur C. Clarke is pictured below wearing his yellow gold Rolex Submariner, as he speaks with Prince Claus of The Netherlands, as he receives the Marconi International Fellowship in 1982.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is 

indistinguishable from magic."

 —Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke was British and is considered to be on of the "Big 3" of Science-Fiction, along with Issac Asimov, and Robert Heinlein. Arthur C. Clarke wore a Rolex Submariner as a serious tool-watch, as he was an early pioneer in the world of Scuba Diving. 

As a matter of fact, he moved from England to Sri Lanka is 1956, to pursue his fascination with scuba diving, as he discovered the underwater ruins of an ancient Koneswaram temple in Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. He is pictured above and below in 1955 diving in Sri Lanka in Ceylon wearing a Rolex Submariner.

Brilliant Futurist

Arthur C. Clarke was a brilliant futurist, and in the photo below we see him pictured at home in Washington D.C. 1952, holding his book titled The Exploration Of Space. 

In the videos below from 1964 and 1974, Arthur C. Clarke predicts that in the future we will live in a highly computerized, and connected world.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." 

—Arthur C. Clarke 

Science Fiction Writer & Inventor of the Communication Satellite

The photo below of Arthur C. Clarke was taken in 1984 in his office in Sri Lanka and shows him in from of his Kaypro II computer he was using to send his script for 2010 to Hollywood. Notice his Rolex Submariner on his wrist.

2001 

A Space Odyssey 

2001: A Space Odyssey was released in 1968 and  is considered by many to be the ultimate science-fiction movie of all time. In the photo below we see Director, Stanley Kubrick on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey, with Arthur C. Clark who co-wrote the scrips with Kubrick.

Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clark picture above on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1967

I want to draw an analogy that keeps popping into my head as I write this story. I keep thinking about how similar Arthur C. Clarke was to Ian Fleming in the sense they were both born and raised in England, and both later fell in love with tropical worlds, and spent much of their later year writing in beautiful warm climates. 

Sean Connery and Ian Fleming pictured above on the set of Goldfinger in 1964

Arthur C. Clarke having moved to Sri Lanka in 1955, and Ian Fleming living in his Golden Eye villa in Jamaica. In the photo we see Ian Fleming on the set of Goldfinger, where he served as a consultant for making the movie. Of course, Ian Fleming and Arthur C. Clark both wore Rolex watches when they wrote their seminal books that were turned into blockbuster movies.

Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clark picture above on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1967

In the photo below we see Arthur C. Clarke in Sri Lanka, posing with Stephen Spielberg, and Harrison Ford, who stopped by his home to see him in 1983, while they were filming Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom. Notice Arthur is wearing his Rolex Submariner.

The video below was shot in 1995 by the BBC and covers Arthur C. Clarke sharing his top Seven Wonders Of The World, and we see him wearing his yellow-gold Rolex Submariner.

Chillin' In The South Of France Yellow Gold Rolex Daytaona & Ray Bans

...Rolex Hotness...

Chillin' In The Sun

Yellow Gold Rolex Daytona & Ray Bans

Rolex & Tennis

Rolex & Tennis

Rolex's long-standing relationship with tennis dates back more than 40 years, to 1978, when it became the Official Timekeeper of The Championships, Wimbledon. Its support for the game now extends to all four Grand Slam® tournaments – the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open – as well as legends of the sport such as Rod Laver, Chris Evert and Swiss phenomenon Roger Federer, along with today's champions, including Garbiñe Muguruza and Dominic Thiem, and the next generation of stars, notably Bianca Andreescu and Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

Rolex is a key partner at leading team events, the Davis Cup, the Laver Cup and the ATP Cup, and of the organizations that govern the professional game worldwide. Rolex's contribution to excellence in tennis is based on a rich heritage of continuously championing supreme performance and innovation while respecting the sport's finest traditions.

Ferdinand Piëch Porsche Pioneer & Billionaire

Porsche Pioneer & Billionaire

Ferdinand Piëch

1937-2019

Ferdinand Piëch was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche who founded Porsche. Piëch was an engineer and was responsible for creating the Porsche 917 that won Le Mans.

Ferdinand Piëch rocking his GMT-Master at Le Mans in 1969

The image above of Ferdinand Piëch wearing his GMT-Master was discovered by my pal Cam @ Craft & Tailored.

Ferdinand Piëch was also involved in the design of many iconic German cars including the Porsche 911, as well as the Audi Quattro and Volkswagen Phaeton. In the photo below we see Ferdinand Piëch pictured in 1969 on the left with his cousin, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (middle) and his brother, Hans-Michel Piëch on the right. The three of them are largely responsible for the design of the Porsche 911.

Ferdinand Piëch in pictured below with his Porsche 917 race car on March 12, 1969 at the Geneva Motor Show Press Day event talking to Gerhard Mitter who was a Porsche racing driver.

Ferdinand Piëch was a billionaire who developed the Volkswagen Group which acquired other iconic brands like Lamborghini, Bugatti and Bentley. Ferdinand began his automotive career at Porsche but was forced to leave after a restriction said that no member of the Porsche or Piêch families could work in day-to-day operations at Porsche.

Ferdinand Piëch moved on to Audi where he eventually became the CEO. During his tenure at Audi Ferdinand grew Audi into much larger company that would compete successfully with Mercedes and BMW.

Monte Carlo 2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas

THE KING OF MONTE CARLO

Stefanos Tsitsipas Wins Again 

 

     

Today Stefanos Tsitsipas successfully defended his Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He captured his second ATP Masters 1000 crown in a row... with a Crown on his wrist, a two-tone Submariner 126613LN.

Tsitsipas has now become the sixth player to win back-to-back Monte Carlo titles in the Open Era joining Rafael Nadal, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Thomas Muster, Bjorn Borg and Ilie Nastase.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS

A new generation of tennis players have carried on the perpetual torch of Rolex. Rod Laver, Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Roger Federer—all have kept the time of their lives with a Rolex on their wrists. Now the next generation is here, including 23-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is the highest ranked Greek tennis player in history.

Tsitsipas is the second youngest player ranked in the ATP top 10, and currently has a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world, making him the highest-ranked Greek player in history. Tsitsipas was the champion at the 2019 ATP Finals, becoming the youngest winner of the year-end championships in eighteen years. He has won seven ATP singles titles.

Tsitsipas throwing a football on the Harvard University campus, a Rolex Cellini moonphase on his wrist, an unusual sight as he is always spotted with a white-dial, ceramic Daytona.

At 6-foot-4 (1.93m), Tsitsipas is often nicknamed the Greek God by his fans, especially female fans, because of his striking features. His father is Greek and his mother is Russian of partial Greek descent. Both of his parents are experienced tennis players. His mother was a world No. 1 junior who had a career-high professional ranking inside the top 200 and represented the Soviet Union in the Federation Cup.

 

His parents had been working as tennis instructors at the Astir Palace resort hotel in Vouliagmeni at the time of Stefanos' birth. They originally met at a WTA tournament in Athens where his mother was competing and his father was a line judge.

...Rolex Super-Coolness...

ROD LAVER

Australian Tennis Legend

Yellow Gold Datejust

Special Burled Madrone Wood Dial

36mm Reference 16018

Rolex has published a Rod Laver profile on the "Every Rolex Tells A Story" gallery on Rolex.com. Being a tennis player and huge professional tennis fan, over the past decade I have written many stories about Rolex and tennis, and I have been meaning to write a piece about Rod Laver, so here it is:

Rod Laver is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players in history with an unmatched record he holds to date of having won 200 singles titles. Laver was a dynamic player that excelled on all court surfaces including hard, grass, clay, carpet and wood/parquet.

He began his amateur tennis career being ranked at Number 1 from 1961 to 1962.  From 1964 to 1970, he was ranked as the number one tennis player in the world, which spanned four years prior and three years after the beginning of the Open Era in 1968. 

I have to admit, I am totally fascinated with Rod Laver's yellow gold Rolex Datejust he is wearing in these official Rolex photos. As far as I know, Rolex no longer makes burled wood dials, which is a big mistake in my opinion. In the 1970s through the 1990s Rolex made these wood-based dials with applied yellow gold indexes, that were magnificent. Each wood dial is unique and has a very warm vintage look. 

In 1981, Rod Laver purchased his yellow gold Datejust which was the same year he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. What a cool guy, and what a cool Rolex!!!!

The 1979 Rolex ad seen below is from my Vintage Rolex Christmas Story and shows a yellow gold Day-Date with a similar dial. Rolex refers to this wood as being from a Madrone tree which is an evergreen tree belonging to the genus Arbutus, which grows in North America and Canada, as well as in Europe, and are known for their pale reddish-brown wood.