Back in late July, I posted a story on how Captain Danny had created a really cool Hans Wilsdorf smartphone wallpaper, that got us both so inspired that we discussed creating a dedicated collection of cool Rolex related wallpapers. I mentioned that Captain Danny and planned to build an online library of Rolex images for smartphone wallpaper that would look rad on an iPhone, or Android smartphones. I mean, just look at how dope that Rolex Daytona image looks on an iPhone with all the colors dialed in ππΌπ...
In the future, Captain Danny and I plan to expand the collection of free images, but in the meantime there are a lot of awesome images, so be sure to check them out over on the free Coron.et Wallpapers gallery.
I find it to be totally fascinating that as the world has moved full-speed-ahead into the digital age, many people have stopped wearing watches and instead just use their smartphone which they always have with them, or they wear a smartwatch like the Apple Watch, yet Rolex watches, as anachronistic and old-fashioned as they may be—are more popular than ever—and continue to defy obsolescence as they are built-to-last, and very low-maintenance as they don't require being plugged-in to charge every night, not to mention they don't bother you to death with stupid and unnecessary notifications...
Marcello Mastroianni is pictured below in 1972 with his gorgeous and talented wife, Catherine Deneuve, and in this photo we get a clear shot of Marcello Mastroanni's Rolex Datejust.
Marcello Mastroianni was a major style icon and famous international actor. He was born in Fontana Lori, which is a small village in The Apennines. He grew up in Turin and Rome.
Catherine Deneuve is a French actress, singer model and producer. She is also to be considered to be on of the most beautiful women that ever lived. She is pictured below wearing her Rolex Ladies Datejust on an Oyster Bracelet.
Rolex Datejust
...La dolce vita...
Marcello Mastroianni is perhaps best known for his role in the 1960 Italian Film Noir, La dolce vita which was directed by Frederico Fellini. In the photo below we see Marchello Mastroianni with the stunningly beautiful Swedish model, Anita Ekberg. Of course La dolce vita is Italian for The Good Life.
Marcello Mastroinni and Catherine Deneuve (pictured above) had a daughter named Chiara Mastroianni, and she is pictured below with her father, Marcello when she was a little girl, and you notice his Rolex.
Chiara Mastroianni is pictured below wearing one of her father's Rolex Datejust watches. Chiara Mastroianni is a famous actress and singer.
Paul Schutzer was an American photojournalist who worked for LIFE Magazine. His name may not be familiar but some of his photographs are instantly recognizable, and he is arguably one of the great photojournalists of the 20th Century.
Note from Jake: After Nick wrote this story, Ralf from Germany send in this superb 1965 photo of Paul wearing his Submariner as a real tool watch.
The earliest photo I came across of Schutzer wearing a Rolex timepiece was in 1958. He was covering the inauguration of newly elected Argentina's newly elected president Arturo Frondizi in Buenos Aires.
Schutzer followed Presidential candidate John. F Kennedy during his successful campaign against Richard Nixon in 1960. While traveling onKennedy'strain, Schutzer snapped a photograph of JFK reading through some notes while lying down in his cabin. What makes the photograph so cool, is the fact Schutzer took it through the reflection of the mirror. It shows Schutzer wearing his stainless steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual, while JFK is talking to someone at the door in the background.
"It doesn't just tell time. It tells history"
Schutzer took the iconic photo of Bobby Kennedy with his wife and kids, wearing their pajamas just before bedtime in their home in Maclean, Virginia on April 30, 1957.
The famous photograph below of JFK at his inauguration ball on January 20th 1961, after being elected the 35th President of the United States, was taken by Schutzer.
Paul Schutzer was a regular in Washington D.C. and attended the March on Washington on August 28, 1963 and he shot this magnificently profound photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. standing in the Lincoln Memorial rotunda.
In 1962, Schutzer travelled to Iran to cover the aftermath of an earthquake. Schutzer was wearing his Oyster Perpetual on Oyster bracelet, which is clearly seen on his wrist in the picture below.
In 1964, Schutzer went to Israel, where he took photographs of the Israeli Army and is seen below next to a group of marching female soldiers. His trusty Oyster Perpetual can be seen on his left wrist.
In 1965, Schutzer was sent to cover the Vietnam War, and his photograph of a captured Viet Cong solider was the cover photo for the November 1965 issue of LIFE Magazine.
Schutzer was photographed wearing a No Crown Guard Submariner during his time in Vietnam, which is clearly recognisable due to the bezel, dial and Oyster bracelet. I can't tell the exact reference but due to the crown size being small it is either a reference 6536 or 5508 Submariner.
Paul Shuzter was an amazing photographer. “Unfortunately his career was cut short as he was killed while on assignment during the first day while covering the ‘Six-Day War’ in 1967. One thing is for certain and that is the fact his images will live on as part of our historical record.
This is a really unusual white gold Rolex Daytona that was auctioned by Antiquorum few years ago. The thing that makes it unusual is over time the dye from the red hands have migrated onto the subdials, which give it a fascinating patina look.
Keeping The Time Of His Life with a Rolex GMT Master
Who is the greatest Rock n' Roll band of all time? Led Zeppelin–of course!!! Or another way to put it, is that NOBODY ever rocked like Led Zeppelin, and I mean NOBODY!!! I would even go so far as to say that Led Zeppelin is in a class all by itself, just like Rolex is like no other watch. I am really excited to share this fascinating story with you, which has three amazing full-length Led Zeppelin concerts included at the end of the story.
John Paul Jones is a founding member of the Led Zeppelin and is considered to be one of the greatest and most innovative musicians alive today. John Paul Jones has always been really low-key, and kind of quiet, but a giant in the world of music.
John Paul plays many, many different instruments, and in Led Zeppelin he plays bass guitar and keyboards.
If we take a close look at John Paul Jones Two-Tone Rolex GMT Master, we can see it is definitely a vintage Rolex GMT with nipple indices, and a Jubilee bracelet. I saw a photo of him wearing it in 1977, and my best guess is that it was made in the early 1970s. He still wears it today, so we know he is in his fourth decade of wearing it–at least.
Led Zeppelin are one of the best-selling, most innovative, successful rock bands is history. Not only is their music unlike anything else, it is otherworldly. All their songs are unusually long-form, and almost more like a hard Rock n' Roll symphony. It's also interesting to note, that despite being a British band, in many ways they seem a lot more American, which likely makes sense since they were so deeply influenced in their early day by American Rhythm and Blues.
John Paul Jones is pictured below sitting between fellow founding Led Zeppelin band members, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, in a photo taken in 1985 at the Live Aid concert, which represented the first time Led Zeppelin got back together for a reunion after they broke up in 1980, and you can see that John is wearing his two tone Rolex GMT-Master.
John Paul Jones is pictured below in in 1985 wearing his two-tone Rolex GMT-Master.
John Paul Jones is pictured below, chillin' backstage with Jimmy Page in 1977, and John Paul is wearing his Rolex GMT Master.
As I mentioned earlier, John Paul Jones was the quiet giant of Led Zeppelin, and that is easy to understand when he was on stage with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, who rocked like nobody else ever has, or likely ever will. Led Zeppelin was together going full-speed ahead from 1968, to 1980, when they disbanded after their drummer, John Bonham died.
Nobody Ever Rocked Like Led Zeppelin!!!
In many ways Led Zeppelin music definded a generation, and in the photo below we see Robert Plant and Jimmy Page rocking out on the Madison Square Garden stage in 1977.
Stairway To Heaven
Founding Led Zeppelin members, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are pictured below with U.S. President Obama, at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012, where they were presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
In the video below, we see President Obama celebrate Led Zeppelin at the White House.
You can and SHOULD watch Led Zeppelin at the Kennedy Center Honors in the video below which is superbly INSANE!!!!! Heart's rendition of Stairway to Heaven, featuring Ann and Nancy Wilson with John Hohman's son, Jason Bonham is absolutely mesmerizingly otherworldly and outrageous!!!!! I mean it's almost impossible to believe that anybody could ever top Led Zeppelin's own version of Stairway to Heaven, but this version certainly is a great candidate for doing so...It's so great, I could listen to it a million times!!!! Even, Rolex brand ambassador, Yo Yo Ma, is rocking out super hard to Stairway to Heaven...
Next we see a performance from their seminal Robert Plant and Jimmy Page reunion in 1995, as they rock-out to Kashmir.
I must begin this story by thanking Nick "Eagle Eyes" Gould for discovering and sharing with me the fact that Chiang Kai-shek wore two different Rolex models, including an OP and a Rolex Bubble Back. Nick is one of the greatest Rolex historians and we have learned and discovered so much together. Thus, I wish to dedicate this story to Nick who has remained a constant source of inspiration and invaluable insight and I just wanted to thank you for being super awesome!!!
This is a fascinating story about a Chinese family that ruled China and Taiwan and wore Rolex watches for at least 3 generations which begins with Generalissimo, Chiang Kai-Shek. Chiang Kai-sheck was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and military commander.
Chiang was the head of the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) party, as well as serving as the General of the National Revolutionary Army, where he was commonly referred to as Generalissimo, and went on to be the leader of the Republic of China (ROC), in mainland China from 1928 to 1949.
Chiang was ultimately defeated during the Chinese Civil War by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949, and he fled to the Island then known as Formosa, which today is commonly referred to as, Taiwan, where he lived until he passed away in 1975. Taiwan is an island 100 miles off the southeastern east coast of China, which is about twice the size of New Jersey. Taiwan today is a technological powerhouse that is the world leader in the fabrication and production of microchips, like you would commonly find in an Apple iPhone.
Chiang Ching-kuo
1910-1988
President of Republic of China (ROC)
Chiang Kai-Shek's only son, Chiang Ching-kuo is pictured below wearing his Rolex GMT-Master, Reference 6542. Chiang Ching-kuo served as the Premier of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1972-1978, and went on to serve as the President of the Republic of China from 1978 to 1988.
Chiang Hsiao-wu
1945-1991
Chiang Kai-Shek's is pictured below walking with his grandson, Chiang Hsiao-wu, who also wore a Rolex GMT-Master [Reference 6542], which you can see in the photo below on his left wrist.
Jake Ehrlich Sr.
1900-1971
As they say, it's a small world after all. Chiang Kai-shek was a client of my grandfather, Jake Ehrlich Sr., who is pictured below wearing a pair of yellow gold cufflinks that Chiang Kai-shek gave him as a gift. The cufflinks are of Chinese foo dogs that guarded the Emperor's Temple in the Forbidden City in China. These dogs were also know as Chinese Guardian Lions.
Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-Shek
In the photo below taken in November of 1943 in Cairo, Egypt af the First Cairo Conference, which was codenamed, SEXTANT we see Chinese Generalissimo, Chiang Kai-Shek, chatting with U.S. President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, while we see Sir Winston Churchill chatting with Chiang Kai-shek's wife, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, Lay-ling.
In the video below, we see Madame, Chiang Kai-shek address the Congress of the United States, during World War II in 1943.
In the photo below we see Chiang Kai-Shek wearing a Rolex Bubble Back on an early Rolex Oyster Bracelet.
A Tale of Two China's & Two Rolexes
Chiang Kai-shek v. Mao Zedong
One of histories greatest rivalries existed between Chiang Kai-she and Mao Zedong, who are pictured together below in August of 1945.
The documentary below goes into great detail on the Chinese Civil War, and explains how the history to make it easy to understand.
Chairman and founder of The People's Republic of China (PRC) Mao Zedong, also wore two different Rolex watches.
The two really cool photos below are of Taiwanese Frogman taken during the Second Taiwan Straits Crisis in 1958 and notice both of them are rocking Rolex Submariner tool watches. The 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis was also referred to as "The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis", and U.S. Secretary of State Christian Herter (1959–1961) was said to have later referred to the antagonism as: "the first serious nuclear crisis".
This event was part of an altercation between the Republic of China (ROC), A.K.A. Taiwan, formerly know as Formosa, prior to 1945and The People's Republic of China (PRC) A.K.A. Mainland China. During this conflict the PRC shelled Kinmen (Quemoy) and Matsui Islands located on the East Coast of Mainland China—part of the Taiwan Straits) as part of a mission to try to take control of Taiwan from the Chinese Nationalist Party, which was also known as the Kuomintang (KMT).
This scrimmage was regarded as a test to explore the United States resolve and defense capabilities of Taiwanese territory. A fierce naval battle ensued near Dongding Island as the Taiwanese ROC Navy defeated an attempted amphibious landing by the Mainland Chinese PRC Navy.
Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.
In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.
This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.
