Handsome In A Big, Brawny, Uniquely Rolex Sort Of Way
Everything-proof to an ocean depth of 660 feet
Yachting Magazine: March 1966
One of my favorite features on Jake's Rolex World is exploring vintage Rolex magazine ads, and this one is just stunning and eye-opening in an amazing way!!! Why am I so fascinated with older Rolex ads like this 1966 Rolex Submariner ad from March of 1966? Because it conveys Rolex design intent and ethos, and it is just so cool, innovative and authentic.
Rolex history is just so incredible!!! To put things in a proper context, consider the fact this ad came out only 12 years after the Rolex Submariner had been on the market–that's a half-century ago!!!
Summer in the northern hemisphere is rapidly coming to an end, and fall is just around the corner. When I think of summer, I envision barbecues, shorts, flip-flops, and refreshing drinks. I also think of fireworks shared with friends, which brings to mind the music of Jimmy Buffett.
Unfortunately, Jimmy Buffett passed away several September years ago, but his incredible songs continue to resonate with us and serve as perfect anthems as another summer winds down. Jimmy Buffett wore Rolex watches for 5 decades and is perhaps best known for his song, Margaritaville which was a mega-hit in 1977.
Jimmy Buffett's music is known as "Island Escapism", which is a form of country folk music, coupled with pop music, with tropical themes running through his lyrics. This form of music is also know as Gulf & Western. We see Jimmy Buffett pictured above and below in 1977 wearing his Rolex GMT-Master. I could not help but notice the anchor Jimmy Buffett is wearing around his neck in the photo above and below look a lot like the the one that comes in the box with the Rolex Submariner.
Jimmy Buffett pictured back in 1977 rocking his yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master on a Jubilee bracelet
Jimmy Buffett was a Protégé ofJim Croce, who also wore a Rolex sports watch. When Jim Croce died, ABC Dunhill chose Jimmy Buffett to take Jim Croce's place. In the video below we see Jimmy Buffett performing Margaritaville, back in the 1978, and he is wearing his yellow gold Rolex GMT.
In the recent photo below, we see Jimmy Buffett performing with stainless steel GMT Master on his wrist. Jimmy Buffett is more popular today than ever, and he is one of the hardest working live musicians. Jimmy Buffett is a cultural phenomenon in many ways, and has a following of fans which have a commonly used nickname of Parrotheads.
There is even a special nickname for Jimmy Buffett's younger fans, as well for the children of Parrotheads, which are referred to as Parakeets, or Keets. Jimmy Buffett's immense popularity with his highly dedicated fans would be akin to Deadheads who would follow the Grateful Dead all over the place, thus the similarity between Parrotheads, and Deadheads.
Jimmy Buffett is an amazing man, and an accomplished airplane pilot, and sailor, and surfer. His life is filled with many amazing lifetime achievements. Today, Jimmy owns a line of restaurants named Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. He also owns casinos under the same name and other business ventures. The video below was shot on Google campus, and features a great discussion from Jimmy Buffett, as well as a performance.
The photo below shows Jimmy Buffett at game five of the eastern conference semifinals on May 15, 2013, and Jimmy is rockin' a Rolex Sky Dweller.
Jimmy Buffett
Sings National Anthem @ Superbowl Rockin' His Rolex SKY-DWELLER
Jimmy Buffett performed the National Anthem at the 2019 Super Bowl and he was wearing a Rolex Sky-Dweller as seen in the photo below.
Summertime is moving full speed ahead in the northern hemisphere so I thought it would be fun to hop in the Rolex Time Machine and travel back a half-century to examine one of the great aquatic adventure movies.
Peter Benchley's 1975 Jaws movie was directed by Steven Spielberg and it was a mega-hit. Jaws prompted a slew of underwater/aquatic adventure movies and TV shows. This include movies like The DEEP, and TV shows like The Man From Atlantis. I originally published this story many years ago, but today I am very excited to update it with much new information. Special thanks Nicolas @ Adpatina.com for providing the superb Submariner Rolex Magazine ad image below, as well as updated high-res for the Peter Benchley Rolex Ads.
This next photo shows Peter Benchley rocking his yellow gold Rolex Submariner (Reference 1680) in real life.
Nick Nolte wore a Stainless Steel Rolex Submariner as he costarred with Jacqueline Bisset from the movie "The Deep" from 1977, as seen below. I remember tripping on The DEEP when I was a kid. It was a great diving movie.
The DEEP featured an all-star cast including Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset, as well as Robert Shaw, Louis Gossett Jr, and Eli Wallach. Robert Shaw (pictured below in center) also starred previously in Jaws in 1975. Robert Shaw had previously also starred in From Russia With Love (1963), A Man For All Seasons (1966), The Sting (1973), and Force 10 From Navarone in 1978. Eli Wallach is pictured below on the far right, with his back to the camera.
The DEEP was filmed in 1976 in Bermuda, and went on to become the top box office film, second only in popularity to Star Wars in 1977. This action/thriller diving movie was about treasure hunters who were searching for lost ampoules of morphine lost in a shipwreck named 'The Goliath' which sunk in 1943. They also discover lost Spanish gold treasure, which includes a bejeweled gold cross.
Peter Benchley is pictured below with Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset on the set of The Deep and notice Peter is rocking a Rolex Explorer II "Orange Hand" (Reference 1655).
Peter Benchley wrote Jaws and The DEEP, and he is featured below in the two Rolex Submariner ads from 1975.
Bill Russell, who was one of my childhood heroes passed away today at the age of 88. Russell was arguably the greatest NBA basketball player in history, and certainly the winningest having been an 11 time NBA champion.
Russell was also the first black basketball player in the NBA and was a major role model. Nick Gould discovered this superb photos of Russell, rocking his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date.
I will never forget, when I was a kid (more than 40 years ago), Bill Russell was interviewed on 60 Minutes, but Morley Safer. I remember Morley asked Bill:
"Many professional athletes these days have drug and alcohol addictions. Did you ever experiment with drugs?"
Russell responded:
"You know Morley, that's an interesting question, as my two sons asked me the same question to which I responded 'No. I have not tried drugs, which are stupid. There is something to be said for living life at its own speed.'"
For some reason, Bill's eternal words have stuck with me to this day, and I often remember them!
Roberto is from Italy and he has an amazing collection of vintage Rolex watches. He took this stunning image of his pre-Daytona Rolex Chronograph. Notice is has a different scale running around the outside of the dial, along with the secondary scale on the bezel insert.
If we got in the Rolex Time Machine and went back to 1966-1968, and peeked in between some of the pages of Playboy magazine, like James Bond actor, George Lazenby is doing below in the movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, what would we find him staring at?
Well, he could definitely have been staring at this super cool Rolex 1966 magazine ad that appeared in Playboy back then. In case you were wondering the car on the right is 1966 Ford GT40 MKII. And notice it has an early Rolex Daytona in front of it.
Also notice the Submariner in the ad above and below have the rare 3, 6, 9 (Explorer) dial, as well as the slogan, "When a man has a world in his hands, you expect to find a Rolex on his wrist."
If you look closely at the image below, you will notice George Lazenby, in his role as James Bond, took off his Rolex Submariner and placed it on the table in front of him (as seen in bottom left-hand corner) of image below.
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.
