Arthur Ashe Three Time Grand Slam of Tennis Winner

    It's that time of the year again, as the dog days of summer have passed, and the end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere sneaks upon us yet again. The demarcation point for most people in the U.S. for the end of summer, is Labor Day, as the days and evenings begin getting shorter and cooler, with the majority of summer behind us in the rear view mirror. 

    Another key dividing line between Summer and Fall is the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, where the finals take place in the Arthur Ashe Stadium. I always tend to associate the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament with 3 things:

                                -Rolex

                                -Great Tennis

                                -The End of Summer

This years U.S. Open began on August 23rd and will conclude on September 13th, thus I thought it would be a great opportunity to hop in The Rolex Time Machine and take a look back at one of the great tennis players in history... 

...Rolex Coolness...

Arthur Ashe

Three-Time Tennis Grand-Slam Winner

A Lifetime Of Achievement With A Rolex President On His Wrist

Arthur Ashe is one of the greatest tennis players in history, and the only African American player to ever win the men's singles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open. Arthur is pictured below sporting his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date. It is amazing how timeless and evergreen Rolex watches are, especially when you realize this photo was taken 54 years ago, in 1970, at the Queen's Club in London.

Arthur Ashe is the first black man in history to wear a Rolex President (Day-Date). I know Bill Cosby wore many Rolex Day-Dates and so did Pele, but I believe Arthur Ashe was the likely the first.

"I only wear Rolex." –Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe pictured above in 1970, at the Queen's Club in London, England

Tighten Up

I really like the photo of Arthur Ashe above and I think Arthur looks really tight and tough and you can tell by the way he is posing that he is extremely proud of his Rolex–which I really digg. For some reason, every time I look at the photo above of Arthur Ashe, the song "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & The Drells starts playing in my head so I thought I would share the video below. Play it and look at the photo above of Arthur...

I first learned of Arthur Ashe wearing a Rolex President (Day-Date) from T. Walker Lloyd who told me a great story about how Arthur said that he only wore Rolex. In the photo below we see Arthur Ashe pictured on the cover of a 1966 issue of Sports Illustrated.

Arthur Ashe is pictured below in 1968 holding up his U.S. Open trophy he received after winning the U.S. Open.

Winning Wimbledon 1975

Arthur Ashe is pictured below holding up the Wimbledon Trophy for having won the Men's Final Tournament in 1975. Arthur Ashe had previously attempted to win at Wimbledon eight times, before finally winning.

Arthur Ashe is pictured below shaking hands with the reigning Wimbledon Championship,  Jimmy Connors in 1975 after Ashe destroyed Connors to win the Wimbledon men's final championship. 

Arthur Ashe is pictured below in 1974 playing golf on a TV show where well-known sportsman competed against each other in a variety of events, and notice he is wearing his Rolex Day-Date while he is playing golf!!! This is something only a REAL Rolex Fanatic would do—play golf while wearing a Rolex President!!!

The video below features Arthur Ashe showcasing his Ashe Comp 2 tennis graphite tennis racket he used when he won Wimbledon in 1975. Arthur Ashe was not only an amazing tennis player, but an equally successful entrepreneur.

Arthur Ashe is pictured below in 1979, while promoting a prototype of his famous Arthur Ashe tennis racquet, which was made by Head. I used to have one of these Head tennis racquets  which at the time was, considered the most state of the art racquet you could buy.

Arthur Ashe is pictured below with the 1982 Davis Cup team which he was the caption of. John McEnroe is pictured next to Ashe.

It is amazing that Arthur Ashe wore a yellow gold Rolex President his entire life. Arthur Ashe died way too young, but he inspired the tennis world like very few ever have or ever will. Arthur Ashe was a man of great achievement and he made it every step of the way with his trademark Rolex Day-Date on his wrist which kept the time of his life!!!

Arthur Asher is pictured below in 1992 in a famous shot of him hugging his Tennis Racquet while wearing his trademark Rolex Day-Date, which was taken three decades after the first image of him at the beginning of this story. It is fascinating to note Arthur Ashe proudly wore a Rolex Day-Date his entire adult life. A year after the picture below was taken, Arthur Ashe died from AIDS, which he contracted from a blood transfusion that contained the HIV virus in the early 1980s. 

Arthur Ashe is featured below in a video he made just before he passed away. Arthur Ashe passed away on February 6, 1993.

The documentary below on Arthur Ashe is AMAZING!!!! I highly recommend watching it! 

Have Rolex Will Travel

If you watch the BBC interview that takes place 36 minutes and 36 seconds into the video above, you will see Arthur Ashe rockin' his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date while being interviewed just after winning Wimbledon in 1975. This is interesting in that the interviewer asked Arthur Ashe if he was materialistic in any way? Arthur Ashe ironically answered: 

"Right now I have very few possessions. Not because I don't want them, or wouldn't want to use them, but because there is no real need for them logically. I don't have a car because I am never in one place long enough."

So what makes Arthur Ashe's answer so ironic? The fact he has so few material possessions, but he is wearing his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date. Also, notice this Rolex Day-Date has a matching Champagne dial, where in the later photos of Arthur Ashe, his Day-Date has a dark dial. Another key takeaway point is that to the best of my recollection, Arthur Ashe is the first tennis player who won Wimbledon who wore a Rolex, and not just any Rolex, but he flagship 'Rolex Presidential' model.

Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day: Rolex Yacht-Master II

...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day...

Rolex Yacht-Master II

Hannes who owns the German R-L-X.de forum took these amazing macro shots of the white gold Rolex Yacht-Master II.

Roland Puton: Former C.E.O. of Rolex U.S.A.

REMEMBERING

Roland Puton

Former C.E.O. of Rolex U.S.A.

 

Belongs to the Ages

1935-2026

They say when it rains it pours, and we just lost a national treasure with the passing of Dolly Parton, and I am sad to report former Rolex U.S.A. President and C.E.O., Roland Puton recently passed away.

I am really saddened, as I knew Roland and interviewed him several times regarding his amazing career achievements with Rolex. He shared his entire history with me, and also really helped me fill in missing puzzle pieces that occurred during his tenure.

Roland was a super low-key, down-to-earth man. He was really, really smart, honest as the day is long, and remarkably humble for a man who achieved so much status in his life.

Roland was born and raised in Switzerland, and attended the SBS Swiss Business School. After graduating he went to work for a company in Switzerland, where he was a top performer. If I recall correctly, he worked for a watch manufacturer. In 1967 Roland Puton was recruited by then Rolex Geneva Director, André-Jean Heiniger to run Rolex 's Canadian division named, Rolex Watch Company of Canada, as he had developed a strong reputation for being an excellent business leader and administrator.

Roland is pictured above on the left just after having joined the Rolex family, and being appointed as Managing Director and President of Rolex Canada. He attended a party in New York, thrown by then Rolex U.S.A. President, Renè-Paul Dentan, who is pictured on the far right, with his beautiful wife Joleen Dentan in the middle. The party was a birthday bash thrown in honor of Rolex, Geneva, CEO, André-Jean Heiniger.

During his tenure as CEO of Rolex Canada, Roland’s performance was so impressive that Heiniger decided to move him permanently to New York to serve as Rolex Executive Vice President, as we see from the mention pictured below from Europa Star Magazine in 1975.

Below we see a photo of the Rolex Executive Team in the United States back in 1977 when they signed the deal to purchase the Rolex Building on Fifth Avenue in NYC. The photo was taken in the office of New York Mayor, Abraham Beame. In this photo we see Rene-Paul Dentan standing behind Rolex CEO, André-Jean Heiniger. Second from the left we see Roland Puton, and we also see future Rolex CEO, Patrick Heiniger on the far right, who was Andre’s son. 

Below is a photo of the 11 story Rolex Building back in the 1970s around the time Rolex purchased the building for $15 Million.

Below we see a Rolex event back in the 1980s with gold legend, and Rolex Ambassador, Arnold Palmer, speaking on the microphone with René-Paul Dentan and Roland PUTON looking on.

Rolan Puton was an honorary director as The Explorers Club in New York, and traveled with them all over the world to exotic locals like Mongolia, and Papua New Guinea.

Roland was on the governance roster of the American Swiss Foundation. He was extremely athletic and loved traveling back to Switzerland to ski in the Swiss Alps, and loved to go helicopter skiing.

In the image below we see Roland Puton sharing a laugh with René-Paul Dentan and Rolex CEO, André-Jean Heiniger at a cocktail party.

Below we see a photo of the Rolex executive team, with Puton and Dentan on the far right with Rolex CEO, André-Jean Heiniger in the center front line with the tan suit. If I am understand it correctly, I think this photo shows all the international Rolex presidents from around the world. I recognize the President of Rolex in United Kingdom standing two men behind Heiniger.  Many of the Rolex photos in this story have never been seen or published before, and appear for the first time in the story.

The image below shows René-Paul Dentan standing with Roland Puton in the center with the Rolex U.S.A. Executive team. Future Rolex U.S.A. President, Allen Brill is pictured third over from the right side in the front row.

In the image below we see Rolex CEO André-Jean Heiniger next to Roland Puton and René-Paul Dentan.

In the photo below we see Roland Puton standing next to René-Paul Dentan, who he replaced in 1984 as the President and CEO of Rolex U.S.A. When I interviewed Roland we spoke quite a bit about René-Paul Dentan, as I have been working for some time on a book about Dentan. Roland said:

    "When I came to work for Rolex U.S.A., they brought me on-board as I had done such a thorough job reorganizing Rolex Canada. When I came to Rolex U.S.A. as the executive Vice President I was charged by André-Jean Heiniger with reorganizing Rolex U.S.A."

Roland Puton continues:

    "René-Paul Dentan—like me—was born and raised in Switzerland, and came to the United States in 1938, and went to work for Henri Stern at Patek Philippe. At Patek Philippe Dentan was the top salesman. René was so charming and charismatic, he could sing the birds out of the trees—just like Maurice Chevalier. After World War II ended, Rolex Founder, Hans Wilsdorf and his right hand man, René-Paul Jeanneret were aware of Dentan's amazing reputation and sales skills. At the time, Rolex's U.S.A. distributor was an American company, and Hans Wilsdorf wasn't satisfied with their performance and thought Rolex could do much better. 

    "So Rolex bought out their American distributor and started the American Rolex Watch Company, and appointed Dentan as the head of sales. Dentan was a fireball salesman, and was extremely successful in helping Rolex build out the American Market, and in a short period of time, the American market, including South America, and Canada became Rolex's largest marketplace."

    "The great challenge I recognized early in my tenure at Rolex U.S.A., was despite the fact Dentan was an amazing motivational manager and salesman, he wasn't a great business administrator, as Rolex's American infrastructure had a great deal of room for improvement, which is where I came in. Andre Heiniger was so impressed with my business administration skills, he appointed me as President and CEO of Rolex in 1984. After taking the reins, I completely overhauled every aspect of Rolex’s business process and infrastructure and thoroughly modernized all business systems. At the time, Dentan served as the Chairman of Rolex U.S.A., and he and I were very close and work together for many years. Later when he retired, I took his place as the Chairman of Rolex U.S.A. When I retired in the summer of 1999, I left Rolex having made it much better than when I first walked in the door."

As mentioned earlier, I am working on a series of books on Rolex history, and I am working on a book dedicated to how René-Paul Dentan built out Rolex U.S.A. and made it the ultra-successful powerhouse it is today. Below is a copy of the front cover artwork for that book.

The first volume in my Rolex Founding Father's Series is pictured below with Hans Wilsdorf on the cover.

Below we see the artwork from the back of my first book which includes coverage of Dentan, and Heiniger. I am still diligently working on my book series and hope to begin publishing soon.

Over the course of my interviews with Roland he freely shared a great deal of insight with me on his experience with Rolex, and on what made Rolex so special and successful. Roland helped me extensively with putting together many missing puzzle pieces around the launch and history of the Rolex Oyster Quartz models, as he personally was involved every step of the way through the process. 

It's alway such a strange and sad feeling when you have somebody in your address book you can call anytime to speak with, then when they pass away, you realize you can't speak with them anymore. It kind of feels like a light bulb that burned out and will never shine brightly again. Roland Puton was a flawless gentleman, and like EVERY Rolex executive I have ever had the privilege of knowing or speaking with has been extremely smart, gracious and ultra-professional. 

Ironically, the last time Roland and I spoke I told him I wanted to write an article on his career Achievements with Rolex, which he agreed to. Unfortunately, He departed before I had the opportunity to write such an article, so this article will have to suffice. I have many more fascinating details from my interviews with him, which will appear in my upcoming book series on Rolex leadership.

Special thanks to Nick Gould for his assistance on this story.

Rolex Studio Shot of the Day: Explorer II Jubilee...

...Rolex Studio Shot of the Day...

Explorer II on Jubilee

Hannes from the German R-L-X.de Rolex forum took this great shot of his stainless steel Rolex Explorer II on a Jubilee bracelet. This is a rare, but cool combination.

Red Adair: Oil Well Firefighter Extraordinaire...

Red Adair

Oil Well Firefighter Extraordinaire

I have been meaning to write this Red Adair Rolex story since I originally posted a story back in 2008 on a vintage Rolex ad that featured him. Red Adair is legendary oil well firefighter and he appeared in Rolex ads beginning in the late 1960s that featured Day-Date models. Red Adair also wore other Rolex models during his amazing career.

The two photos below of Red Adair were originally published in a 1980 story on Red Adair by the Stars and Stripes, and featured these two photos of him wearing a black dialed Rolex Day-Date with a custom dial made by Rolex that shows an oil well fire.

The image below shows Red Adiar's watch with the special oil well fire graphic.

The Red Adair Rolex Day-Date ad seen below is from 1969.

Red Adair Rolex Day-Date ads ran from the late 1960s through the 1980s, and the one below is similar to the one at the top of this story.

John Wayne played Red Adair in the 1969 movie named "Hellfighters" as we seen from the lobby card below.

Red Adair is pictured below in Kuwait in 1991 during the Gulf War where his company put out all the fires that Saddam Huissen started when they withdrew from Kuwait after their invasion was thwarted by the United States.

...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day... Elmar's Rolex Submariner Hour Hand

...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day...

Elmar's Rolex Submariner Hour Hand

King Harald of Norway A Lifetime wearing a Rolex GMT-Master

King Harald 

of Norway

Belongs to the Ages

1937-2026

A Lifetime wearing a Rolex GMT-Master

King Harald of Norway passed away yesterday. He is seen in the photo below with Queen Sonja taken back in 1968, and he was sporting his Pepsi GMT-Master. King Harald seems to fit into the category, much like legendary Golfer, Jack Nicklaus, who had been a one wife/one Rolex man for more than 50 years. 

Meaning he has exclusively depended on and wore the same Rolex for more than a half-century, while being married only once to the same wife. That makes him a "One Watch Man" literally and figuratively.

In the photo below we see Prince Harald and Princess Sonja, a half-century ago, attending the 1968 Olympics. Notice Prince Harald's wearing his Pepsi GMT-Master, which would go on to become his lifelong companion.

King Harald experienced a very unusual childhood as he moved to the United States as a small child to escape the German occupation of Norway. He dated his future wife for 8 years before marrying her. The challenge is that she was a commoner, and thus he was not allowed to marry her. Finally, he gave his father an ultimatum and said that if he could not marry her he would not get married, thus leaving Norway without an heir apparent to the Norwegian throne.

King Harald Married Sonja Haraldsen in 1968, and later then had two children, Mätha and Haakon.

Pespsi GMT-Master as a Constant Companion

King Harald is pictured below with his two children back in 1977. It is interesting to not that in every photo I have seen of him taken since 1968, if his watch is visible, he always and only wears his Pepsi GMT-Master.

Harald succeeded his father as king in 1991 with his son Haakon becoming his heir apparent. King Harald of Norway and Queen Sonja are pictured below in a recent photo.

King Harald was an Olympic sailor who competed in three summer Olympic games including Tokyo (1964), Mexico (1968), and Munich (1972). 

King Harald's father, King Olav won a gold medal for sailing in the 1928 Olympics. King Harald opened the Lillehammer, Norway Olympic games in 1994 when they were hosted in his country.

1968 Acapulco Summer Olympic Games 

Stainless Steel Reference 5513

Since King Harald competed in the 1968 Summer Olympic games in Acapulco, Mexico I thought I would include this Rolex ad. This first one is from the 1968 Summer Olympic Games which were held in Mexico City, Mexico. The boating events of the XIX Olympiad were held in Acapulco, Mexico, which is featured in the Rolex ad below.

King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway are in their early eighties today, and King Harald is still a sailing fanatic and still wears his Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master as seen in the photos below.

As I mentioned earlier in this story, King Harald has not only been wearing his Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master for a more than a half-century, but it is his constant companion—as I have not been able to find a photo of him wearing any other watch. In the photo below, taken on April 28, 2011, Prince Harald is attending a pre-wedding ceremony dinner in London being held for Prince William and Princess Kate of Britain, and King Harald is wearing a black tie-tuxedo while wearing his Pepsi GMT. I have also seen photos of King Harald wearing his Pepsi GMT-Master with a white tie and tails.

In the photo below we see that the Pepsi bezel insert on King Harald's Rolex GMT-Master has completely faded and turned into a 'Ghost' dial. In other words, it almost looks like he is wearing a stainless steel Rolex Yacht-Master with a platinum bezel, but indeed it is the original Pepsi bezel that has faded over the past half-century or regular wear. 

With the new Pespsi Rolex GMT-Master that Rolex just introduced at Basel World 2018, if King Harald began with one of them, the Pepsi bezel would obviously never have faded. Some people like the fact the annodized aluminum bezels fade over time to five a more patinad look, while others, including Rolex today, with the shift to cermamic bezel inserts, prefer a bezel that will not be affected by UV light or change in appearance over the decades of wear.

For the record, the photo below shows what King Harald's Pespsi bezel would have look liked when he first started wearing it.

You can learn much more about the Rolex GMT-Master by checking out my story titled, "The Complete History Of The Rolex GMT-Master: The Birth Of A True Icon."