15th Anniversary Announcement: All-New 5 Volume Rolex History Book Series Coming!!!!

15th Anniversary 

Announcement

Hi Everybody!

It's hard to believe I've entered my 15th straight year of publishing Jake's Rolex World @ RolexMagazine.com, and to celebrate this momentous occasion, I have some superb news to share with you! 

I am finally coming out with a series of Books on Rolex History!!! As we see in the graphic above there will be 5 different books and there is a description at the bottom of this story on each book. If you want to learn everything about the REAL history of Rolex, this series of books will completely blow your mind!!!

I was originally planning to write just one book, but once I hit the 1000 page threshold I realized I would need to break up my book into multiple volumes. The book artwork above and below are the original book artwork that show the front, rear and spine of the book.

Essentially, the original book idea was about the Founding Fathers of Rolex and how they built one of the most timeless, successful and prestigious brands in history. 

As mentioned, I was originally going to write just one book, but once I began putting the book together I soon realized one book could not hold all the information, so after a great deal of analysis and contemplation I decided to break it up into 5 separate volumes that cover the entire Rolex History Arc from the beginning of timekeeping up to today. 

I have probably read every book ever written on Rolex, and I can promise you this 5 volume series will radically surpass them!!!

To date, nobody has come even close to capturing Rolex's true history, which is my solemn commitment with this series...

Volume 1: The introductory volume for this upcoming series begins with a brief overview of the history of horology and timekeeping. It then goes into great detail on the life and times of Rolex Founder, Hans Wilsdorf. It offers all kinds of fascinating new insight on Rolex's development of the Rolex Oyster and Rolex Perpetual, and offers tremendous understanding into what made one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history (Hans Wilsdorf) tick. Hans Wilsdorf, if you really think about it, was the archetype for the original Mad Man, in the sense he really understood the power of bold and memorable branding coupled with superb eye-catching advertising that included testimonies.

Below we see an original 1930s art-deco cosmopolitan Rolex Oyster Perpetual poster that features a distinguished regal man with a walking cane strutting through an urban metropolis. This was a new modern world in which anything was possible, and just like today, it was a story about man and his machines.

PRELUDE 

The 1942 Rolex Error-Proof Oyster Perpetual poster below introduced a new Rolex bubble back model with the now classic "Mercedes" hour hand, as well as the timeless art-deco design language which includes the upside-down luminescent triangle marker at 12, as well as the rectangular makers at 3, 6 & 9, which would later become standard on the Rolex Submariner, GMT-Master, Explorer II and SEA-DWELLER. A bizarre irony of this poster is that ERROR-PROOF RADUIM DIAL is misspelled :-0

The photo below shows a Rolex watchmaker in Geneva, Switzerland in the 1940s working on a Rolex watch under a microscope.

Volume 2: Which is pictured below, focuses on a Rolex executive who up until now people previously new very little about. This volume goes into detail on his background and how he began his career working for Rolex. The following is a short excerpt on our mystery man. 

 The Mysterious

Wizard of ROLEX

                                                   

Switzerland has long been know for its mysterious neutrality, discretion and secrecy. This would include the Gnomes of Switzerland, which include Swiss bankers. But what about Rolex?

Imagine I told you there was a highly enigmatic, mysterious Swiss Marketing Wizard, responsible for the majority of Rolex’s success, including the development of the Rolex Submariner, SEA-DWELLER, Turn-O-Graph, Daytona, GMT-Master, Day-Date, Datejust, King Midas, & Tudor Monte Carlo, but nobody knows he ever existed—not even the people who run Rolex today even know much about him or would recognize a photo of him (like the one below)? 

That's right!?!! I believe out of all the people who view the photo below of the very cool mystery man, and unsung Rolex hero and marketing pioneer, with the cool aviator sunglasses nobody will recognize him!?!! If you recognize him, please prove me wrong, but I would be willing to bet not a single person who initially reads this story will recognize the man pictured below.

Mysterious Pioneering Rolex Marketing Director

What if I told you this Rolex marketing connoisseur (pictured above) was so discreet he evaded history, yet left an indelible imprint on Rolex's ethos & DNA, including the fact he was responsible for developing and bringing the following ultra-iconic Rolex watch models to market?:

• 1945: Rolex Datejust
• 1954: Rolex Explorer
• 1954: Rolex Turn-O-Graph
• 1954: Rolex Submariner
• 1954: Rolex Millgauss
• 1956: Rolex Day-Date
• 1956: Rolex GMT-Master
• 1957: Rolex President Bracelet
• 1962: Rolex King Midas
• 1963: Rolex Daytona
• 1967: Rolex SEA-DWELLER
• 1970: Tudor Monte Carlo
• 1971: Rolex Explorer II

Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? It turns out reality IS stranger than fiction, as such a man existed, and his historical significance represents the holy grail missing Rolex nexus puzzle piece, which for the first time will be revealed and documented in great detail in this set of 5 Rolex History books...

Rolex Revelation

I must begin by thanking Dominique Jeanneret (pictured below) for sharing all of her kind assistance, gracious insight, photos and most importantly, making an indispensable contribution to this exceedingly timely and momentous Book. Dominique Jeanneret is the daughter of our previously mentioned mystery man, former Rolex Director and maverick marketing MAD MAN (literally), René-Paul Jeanneret, and she is also the goddaughter of Rolex Founder, Hans Wilsdorf. 

René-Paul Jeanneret's daughter, Dominique Jeanneret 

(Rolex Founder, Hans Wilsdorf's goddaughter) pictured above 

Dominique Jeanneret's first person accounting as a primary source with her highly insightful recollections and anecdotes regarding her father, René-Paul Jeanneret are invaluable as she witnessed many significant Rolex history events first-hand, which vividly come to life in this spectacular story...Dominique worked for Rolex U.S.A., back in the 1960s which I also cover...

Former Rolex Director, René-Paul Jeanneret's Rolex Crown Money Clip

 appears courtesy of Dominique Jeanneret & Piguet Auction House

The Rolex Executive Who 

Developed The Submariner

René-Paul Jeanneret was not only the Marketing Director for Rolex in Geneva, Switzerland, but was also an avid SCUBA diver who developed the Rolex Submariner & SEA-DWELLER for Rolex. Anonymous photos of René-Paul Jeanneret SCUBA Diving were featured in many vintage Rolex Submariner magazine advertisements including the French one below...(Just to be clear, that is a photo of René-Paul Jeanneret testing an early Rolex Submariner prototype as he SCUBA dives in the early 1950s in Cannes on the French Riviera featured in the Rolex Ad below)! This scholarship level series of books goes into great detail on the previously undocumented development of the Rolex Submariner...

Volume 3: Is ultra-fascinating, with a great deal of previously undocumented history on the development of the Rolex Professional Tool watches as well as many specialty models like the star dialed Rolex Galaxy pictured below from 1953.

All of these volumes have been deeply researched and offer a completely new perspective on a great deal of Rolex history, as well as adding a new level of precision to the Rolex historical timeline.

If you are wondering why I originally planned to name my book ROLEX MAD MEN: How they Created The International Mark of Success, and why I ended up giving that name to Volume 3, it has to do with the fact that there are 2 men in history that were literal MAD MEN, that ended up working for Rolex in Geneva. The parallels between these men and the TV show are uncanny as I go into much more detail in my books. Below is an excerpt from my books which contextualizes the meaning:

MAD MEN

Since the roaring 1920s, Madison Avenue (named after the fourth President of the United States—James Madison) has been highly metonymous with the American Advertising establishment. 

Madison Avenue is a North-South borough of Manhattan in New York City and is considered by many to be the advertising mecca of the world. As we will learn later in this story several of the maverick pioneers of Madison Avenue Marketing in the 1920s ended up having a tremendous impact and influence on Rolex's future success and longevity. Thus, this is the story of ROLEX MAD MEN.

Rolex U.S.A. Headquarters are located one street over from Madison Avenue on 5th Avenue in New York City as we see in the aerial map above. Our Captain Danny posited this was likely not a coincidence as Rolex built their U.S.A. Headquarters so close to Madison Avenue in the 1970s.

Reality IS stranger than fiction and when I think of Madison Avenue, of course I think of Mad Men, which starred Jon Hamm who is pictured below rocking an iconic Rolex Explorer. Hamm's role as Don Draper was in many ways similar to the role some of Rolex's top visionary marketing men who once worked for J. Walter Thompson (JWT) in New York played in reality in developing and marketing Rolex. 

It is interesting to note Mad Men star Jon Hamm famously played my Grandfather, JAKE Ehrlich Sr., in the Movie "Howl". It turns out, it is a small world after all...

Rolex went crazy with experimenting with R&D in the early 1950s, and created many experimental prototypes like the Rolex Turn-O-Graph pictured below with a white honeycomb dial and magnificent dauphin hands.

Volume 4: Covers the André-Jean Heiniger reign and goes into great detail on how this maverick leader reinvented the Rolex brand and turned it into one of the most prestigious brands on earth today. So far, this is the largest book in the series as it covers 3 decades of Rolex's amazing history...

André-Jean Heiniger was an absolutely amazing leader and is largely responsible for the modernization of Rolex. In the photo below from the S3C private collection we see André-Jean Heiniger, who was the second Director General of Rolex awarding Björn Borg with a Rolex Datejust for having won the Wimbledon Men's finals in 1980.

Volume 5: The last volume covers the reign of Patrick Heiniger and goes into detail on how he radically consolidated the brand, and rebuilt Rolex for the 21st Century. In this volume I also cover the history of Jake's Rolex World, and share a great deal of fascinating insight on what makes Rolex tick today.

Why I wrote this series of 5 Rolex History books?

Around the time I was born, Rolex had a slogan that said “When a man has a world in his hands you expect to find a Rolex on his wrist.” 

If You Have a Rolex on Your Wrist You Will Soon Have

The Whole World of Rolex in Your Hand! 

For the first time in history, this series of books puts the entire history of Rolex in your hands. Every seminal moment; every key character; every epic and essential historic moment. This is Rolex history as it’s never been seen or known before... 

The Apple Book books version look amazing and is optimized for viewing on an iPhone, so if you ever get stuck in line somewhere, time will fly by as you learn a great deal about Rolex's amazing history...

This book series will be the ultimate Rolex companion. It's hyper-engaging and will keep you enthralled for countless hours on end! If you think you’ve see it all in the world of Rolex history you’ll be pleasantly surprised with these books!!! 

This is Rolex’s story about what make them tick as well as my own Rolex journey that made me not only the metaphorical Rolex President of their fan club, but also my story of how I unearthed and shared their forgotten history in many ways...

Just to be clear, these books go far beyond everything I have published to date, and offer a much wider scope and breadth.

Print Book Size: 11 x 14 (will initially be exclusively available for purchase on RolexMagazine.com).

Apple Digital Book Size: 11 x 14 (will be available exclusively on the Apple Books Store, which will be viewable on any Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Digital Apple Books version will continue to be updated as new information and photos are discovered, and will feature exclusive video and audio content not possible in printed version. Apple Books version will make content accessible from everywhere whether on an iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Even though I plan to publish paper versions of my series of books, I really like the digital version as it is so portable. So for instance if you go on vacation, it would be much easier to read all 5 books on the airplane on an iPad, than having to carry physical books with you...Not to mention, the Apple Books version has a great deal of bonus video and audio material, not to mention links to stories on Jake's Rolex World, as well as other web sources...

Book Style: Coffee Table Book with easy to read larger text and a zillion high quality photos. 

Chapters: 50+

Page Number: So far I am up beyond 1400 pages, and expect there to be at least 1500 pages when complete. This will break down to around 300 pages per volume.

Pricing: Yet to be determined.

Publication Date Roadmap: I plan to publish both a printed paper version of my books as well as a digital version on the Apple Books platform. I think it is likely I will first publish a digital version. I also think with the digital version I will roll it out one volume per month until they are all available.

Current development status: The books are primarily complete. I am now working on fine-tuning all the amazing details.

As soon as I get closer to a first publication date, I will update this article and bring it back up to the top of RolexMagazine.com. If all goes as planned we could see the first volume made available digitally on Apple Books in the July 2022 timeframe.