Rolex Paradise Revisited Fourtané Carmel-By-The-Sea

Rolex Paradise Revisited

Fourtané

Carmel-By-The-Sea

Where Rolex History Meets The Present

Back in October of 2009, I wrote a detailed article about a magical place named Fourtané Jewelers located in Carmel, California. What makes Fourtané Jewelers magical? Visiting Fourtané is like visiting a Rolex Museum. Fourtané Jewelers is located in the very quaint downtown area of Carmel, California, which is really beautiful.

John Goldberger who is one of the top international Rolex collectors was in Carmel recently for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and when he saw I published this story he send in the next set of photos with the funniest message!!! John was born and raised in Italy, and lives there today. He speaks with and writes with an Italian accent, and in his email he wrote:

Dear Jake,

I send you some interesting photos taken in my last visit on August to this wonderful Rolex cave!

Ciao John.

Wonderful Rolex Cave!!! I love it!!! That really kind of sums up the vintage Rolex department at Fourtané Jewelers as you can see below. It really is a Wonderful Rolex Cave!!! lol lol lol


That is Eric Ku behind the counter, wearing a blue blazer. Eric is certainly one of the most knowledgable vintage Rolex collectors and dealers on Earth.


As you can see, on any given day, Fourtané is sugar-coated with an awe-inspiring collection of vintage Rolex watches.


In the case below, we see a stunning collection of vintage Rolex Day-Dates with exotic colored dial that were popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Ronald Reagan is still the President of The United States, isn't he?


This next image shows the provenance documents for a Rolex Submariner that belonged to Steve McQueen. Where else on planet earth are you going to see a Rolex Submariner that belonged to Steve McQueen? At Fourtané you will!

One of the things that makes Fourtané Jewelers unique is that the store environment feels like you are in a beautiful home, and the sales team are extremely knowledgeable and nice. They are so nice, you feel more like you are at home with close family and friends. In the photo below we see the dog of an employee relaxing under a private desk. Pretty cute!

On this recent trip I took to Fourtané Jewelers, I took a number of photos of beautiful historic Rolex watches, and I want to share them with you in chronological order. Let's start with this first Rolex which is a very early Rolex wrist watch. The wrist watch first really came into existence for men as a timing tool during World War I.

Essentially the first Rolex wrist watches were pocket watches that had fixed lugs welded onto the case, meaning the strap had to be sewn onto the lugs, or the wearer would have to use a slip-through strap like the one picture below.

The watch pictured above has a "Snap-Front" case meaning the watch has a protective cover on the front that covers the entire front of the watch. This watch was probably made around 1917. The photo below shows the same watch as in the photo above, but the snap-front is sitting in the open position.

Next, in the picture below, we see a vintage Rolex Athlete model. In the early years, Rolex had all kinds of interesting names like the Rolex Sky-Rocket. Interesting!!!

In this next photo we see a beautiful oversized Rolex Dress watch that looks great today. I think this model is probably from around 1955, and it has my favorite Dauphine hands.

Next we see, a really unusual Rolex ladies Chinese Lantern pendant watch. Rolex made so many different models throughout their amazing history.

Next we see a Coca Cola Rolex that was given to a Coca Cola employee as a reward for 25 years of service. I imagine you could call this a Coke Rolex–like the Coke GMT?

Speaking of a Coke GMT Master, this next photo is of the original first-generation Coke GMT with a Bakelite bezel. Notice it has no crown guards.

Next we see a very rare, unusual and fascinating first generation Rolex DEEP-SEA. Say What!?!? Rolex has an unusual habit of recycling old watch nomenclature, and the watch below is probably from the mid 1950s.

This next photo is a close-up of the honeycomb dial from the first generation of the Rolex DEAP-SEA pictured above.

Next we see an original generation of the Rolex Milgauss, which is a real beauty. This example is very rare because it has a Tiffany & Co dial, which makes it very rare and valuable.

Next we see a Rolex Submariner [Reference 1670] with an extremely rare Cartier Dial that has a Cartier Dial designation. As standard version of this watch would probably be worth around $7,000, but since it has the extremely rare Cartier designation, it is worth around $150,000!!!

Next we see a photo of a vintage Day-Date with a true Arabic dial, that even has an Arabic Day and Date wheel.

Fourtané Jewelers not only sells beautiful historical and vintage Rolex watches, but Fourtané Jewelers is also a Rolex Authorized dealer, so they not only offer all the current Rolex watches, but they also have some extremely rare Rolex watches you will likely never see in your life.

When I was in Fourtané Jewelers a husband and wife were in the store who are loyal patrons. I noticed the gentleman was wearing a Rolex Day-Date II with a diamond and emerald covered dial I had never seen before. It turns out he bought it from Fourtané Jewelers.

I highly recommend, if you ever get a chance to visit Carmel, California be sure to plan to spend some time in Fourtané Jewelers. Fourtané Jewelers is likely the closest you will ever come to visiting Rolex paradise and a Rolex Museum, except everything is available for purchase.

The Real Meaning Of Thanksgiving: Fernando's Story...

For everything we miss we gain something else, and for everything we gain we miss something else. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fernando's Liberty

The Real Meaning Of Thanksgiving

Putting Things In Perspective

I have an extremely touching, moving story to share with you about a very brave man I recently met named Fernando who has been a great source of inspiration for me–and for many other people–and I believe once you learn his story, he will inspire you as well.

Recently, I received an email from Joshua Bonifas whose family owns Fortané Jewelers which is an amazing store that sells new and vintage Rolex watches.

I have become close with Josh and his younger brother Kris since we held the first Carmel GTG and Vintage Rolex Concours Exhibition in August. Kris and Josh and I share a deep appreciation for Rolex history to say the least!!!

Josh originally shared Fernando's story with me and then Kris shared more details with me and introduced me to Fernando.

Fernando, whose nickname is Sandy, was working on a project to build a new bridge at the San Jose Airport when a 40,000 pound-pile driver mistakenly fell from above him and in a micro-second severed his arms from his body.

Fernando's co-workers instantly rushed him and his severed hands (placed on ice) to Stanford University Medical Center where he was rushed into an emergency operating room where he was operated on by Dr. Matt Miller who saved Fernando's life and tried desperately to save as much of Fernando's arms as possible.

Despite his best effort, Dr. Miller was not able to re-attach Fernando's hands because the nerves in his arms were pulverized by the 40,000 pound pile driver.

Kris Bonifas & Fernando Limon at Fourtané checking out Rolex watches

Fernando was so stunned. He said "I spent my 41st birthday at Stanford starring at my missing arms."

Dr. Matt Miller who saved Fernando's life was Joshua Bonifas' best-friend growing up. When Fernando became conscious and started speaking with Dr. Miller he asked if they found his watch and Dr. Miller regrettably said no.

Noticing Fernando was a little dismayed, Dr. Miller said "Don't worry about your watch that is gone. I am going to write you a prescription for any Rolex you want."

Much to Fernando's surprise, Dr. Miller who was wears a stainless steel Rolex Yachtmaster, pulled out his prescription pad and literally wrote a prescription for "Any Rolex of Fernando's choice" and for the pharmacy to pick-it-up he filled in Fourtané Jewelers in Carmel, California.

Then Dr. Miller handed the prescription to Fernando and said, "My best friend growing up has a store in Carmel named Fourtané Jewelers that has the most amazing selection of vintage Rolex watches. When you are able to travel with your wife Donna, I want you to go down and pick-out any Rolex watch you want and consider it a gift from me."

Fernando said he was a surprised and the extremely kind gesture made him giggle. Fernando mentioned he was amazed by the compassion Dr. Miller showed.

Dr. Miller was extremely inspired by Fernando's spirit and they two of them became close friends, spending much time together.

Fernando told me when he first went home he felt completely devastated. At first he went into a very deep depression and became despondent. He also said he was afraid to go out into public because he said "I didn't want to be a freak."

As time went by Fernando had an epiphany one day were he said he realized he was getting nowhere by feeling sorry for himself. He realized his attitude was taking a toll on his wife Donna and family and he decided to change his attitude and appreciate all he had to be thankful for.

Fernando realized he had a beautiful, loving family and in reality he could do more than 99+% percent of the things he was able to do before the accident, including driving a car and many other things.

When Fernando got better, he and Donna took a trip to Carmel and they stopped into Fourtané Jewelers where they were greeted by Rosa who is in sales at Fourtané. Fernando told Rosa about how Dr. Miller had prescribed a new or vintage Rolex watch for him. Rosa was extremely moved by Fernando's story and invited Kris Bonifas over and introduced them.

Kris and Fernando had an amazing conversation (as seen in the photo above that Fernando's wife Donna took with her iPhone :-) and Kris started showing Fernando vintage Rolex stories while sharing Rolex's amazing history with Fernando. Fernando said "The Rolex watches were so beautiful!!! "Kris showed me many beautiful watches and explained what Rolex was all about.""

Fernando and Kris spoke for hours and Fernando said he really enjoyed his conversation with Kris. Kris mentioned when he would try to hand the watches to Fernando, he was afraid to hold them with his claw arm because he was afraid of scratching them. Kris figured out a way to wrap the bracelets with a dust cloth so Fernando was able to pick them up and examine them close up.

In the meantime, all the other employees in Fourtané got extremely emotional and were really moved. Fernando ended up having a conversation with a man in the store who was thinking about buying a watch and since Fernando got his diving certification in 1982 he said he thought the all-new Rolex DEEP-SEA was the best watch and the customer agreed and purchased it.

When Kris first shared the story with me, I asked him if Fernando ended up getting a Rolex watch and he said no. When I asked Fernando why he didn't take Dr. Miller up on his offer, he very humbly said, "I couldn't allow him to buy me a watch. He already saved my life and has been so compassionate with me."

I asked Fernando if he could get prosthetic arms so he could eventually wear a Rolex? Fernando responded by telling me that he had a prosthetic right arm but he has not been wearing it since it was so too heavy and made him uncomfortable. He mentioned he was going to try and figure out a way to eventually get arms that would work and be comfortable.

Fernando went on to tell me his dream is to one day be able to go SCUBA diving with prosthetic arms, while wearing a Submariner or DEEP-SEA.

Fernando and I had a really deep conversation and he said:

"Ever since this happened, I see the good in people. As bad as this world can be, there are still great people."

Fernando has chosen to rise above the loss of his hands, which he said he took for granted before his accident. He reflected that despite the loss of his hands, he has so much to look forward to.

If you would like to drop Fernando an email, even to just say hello and wish him a a happy Thanksgiving, you may email him at:

LimonF824@yahoo.com

On a side note, Fernando's story reminds me of something my Aunt Dora Jane used to always tell me. Dora Jane would say:

"It's not what you have that counts. It's what you do with what you have that counts."

In my mind, and it is easy for me to say, but that is the real takeaway point in Fernando's story for everybody, including Fernando. Fernando chose proactively not be a victim of his circumstances, but to take ownership of his life, and that is the greatest thing any man or woman can achieve.

Have a happy and Safe Thanksgiving everybody!!!!

Rolex Destinations: Paradise Found: Fourtané Jewelers: Carmel-By-The-Sea

"At Fourtané Estate Jewelers everything with a past has a future." –John Bonifas

Rolex Paradise Found

Fourtané

Carmel-By-The-Sea

Where Rolex History Meets The Present

I have an amazing story to share with you, about an extraordinary and magical destination in the world of Rolex. A place located in Carmel, California, U.S.A., named Fourtané Jewelers.

Carmel, California is like no other city in the world, and the magnificent photo below taken by Hella Rothwell most beautifully captures Carmel's majestic grandeur.

Image Appears Courtesy of Hella Rothwell

If you are not familiar with Carmel-By-The-Sea it is a magnificent coastal town located about 125 miles south of San Francisco, California in Monterey County on the West Coast of the U.S.A. Carmel is renowned for its majestic scenery and rich artistic history.

As you will learn, Fourtané Jewelers is extraordinary in many, many ways. I have never seen ANYTHING in my life like Fourtané Jewelers!!! In my mind Fourtané Jewelers is Rolex paradise found!!! It's a place where intentional Rolex enthusiasts make a pilgrimage to see their favorite Rolex grail watches. In many ways it is the Mecca of Rolex, or maybe the Disneyland for adult Rolex fanatics–like myself.

The first time I saw Fourtané Jewelers and their Rolex collection I was stunned–much in the same way an adult would be the first time they tour Las Vegas. Everything at Fourtané Jewelers seems bigger than life!!!

Fourtané Jewelers is located in the historical downtown of Carmel, California at the north-west corner of Ocean Avenue at Lincoln Street in an extremely cozy building that seems almost like it is located in a European village.

Fourtané Jewelers has been owned and run for a quarter-century by the Bonifas family and they have the largest collection of new and vintage Rolex watches I have ever seen in my life!!! In the photo below we see Kris Bonifas working with two men who came over from Asia just to attend the recent Rolex GTG and Vintage Rolex Concours at Fourtané Jewelers in Carmel.

Kris Bonifas is an extremely nice man with an encyclopedic knowledge of Rolex watches and history. From talking with him at the Councours and GTG I noticed he is extremely passionate about Rolex.

Kris Bonifas' older brother Joshua Bonifas is the General Manager of Fourtané Jewelers and Josh (as his friends call him) is a Vintage Rolex fan of the highest order!!! To be specific, Josh has an amazingly deep respect for and knowledge of Rolex history.

When Josh talks about vintage Rolex watches and Rolex history his face lights up like a Christmas tree!!! Josh speaks very passionately about the technical aspects of vintage Rolex watches and their place in history. He talks about how he loves the classic design and vintage style and the special Rolex aura that no other watches exhibit.

Josh Bonifas is picture below at a recent historical Rolex event held at Fourtané Jewelers, and we see him speaking with Dan Bennette who recently completed his stint as the President of the Explorer's Club.

In the photo below we see Josh's father, John Bonifas (pictured on the right) speaking with Rolex's Committee Member of The Rolex Awards For Enterprise, and world famous DEEP-SEA Diving pioneer, Dr. Phil Nuytten.

Dr. Phil Nuytten has amazing career achievements and most importantly he is an extremely nice and gentle man. (We will be exploring Dr. Phil Nuytten's career achievements on Jake's Rolex Watch Blog in an upcoming part of the series entitled, The Complete History Of The Rolex Submariner and Sea-Dweller).

In the photo below of Josh Bonifas and Dr. Phil Nuytten they are examining one of the extremely-rare DEEP-SEA-SPECIAL Rolex watches that Jacques Piccard attached to the exterior of his Bathyscaphe Trieste when he took it down to the Marianas Trench in 1960 with U.S. Navy's Captain Don Walsh to set the world-depth record.

Also note that Dr. Phil Nuytten is holding the new DEEP-SEA-DWELLER in his hand and he is wearing his original yellow gold Rolex Submariner on his wrist which he bought in 1969. Also notice there are Rolex diving watches located in the glass vase with the flowers between Josh and Dr. Nuytten!!!

This is the kind of fanatical attention to historical detail I mentioned earlier which Josh exhibits. As a matter of fact, in the late 1920s through the 1940s Rolex dealers used to display Rolex watches in fish-bowls to show-off their waterproof Oyster casing. Josh takes a more elegant approach by putting them in the glass vase!!!

I believe this photo best sums up the notion that Fourtané Jewelers has a deep respect and appreciation of Rolex history, and indeed it is Where Rolex History Meets The Present.

This next photo is of the Rolex DEEP-DEA-SPECIAL that was on display at the Vintage Rolex Concours Exhibition at Fourtané Jewelers recently.

Pictured below is a vintage 1961 Rolex Magazine ad from Skin Diver Magazine that features the original Rolex DEEP-SEA-SPECIAL that Jacquess Piccard and Captain Don Walsh attached to the outside of their Bathyscaphe Trieste. This is the same Rolex DEEA-SEA-SPECIAL in the two pictures above.

It Was A Very Good Year

2009 was a seminal year for Fourtané Jewelers in many ways. First of all, Sheldon Smith of Minus4Plus6.com and I decided to add a second San Francisco GTG (Get Together) date to our annual GTG calendar in Carmel. Secondly, Fourtané Jewelers decided to have their first Vintage Rolex Concours (VRC) in which they displayed major historical vintage Rolex watches. This included (as seen in the photo below) the first Rolex ever made–straight from Rolex's vault in Geneva, Switzerland!!!

In the photo below we see many more historically significant Rolex diving watches including the ultra-rare SEA-LAB SINGLE RED SEA-DWELLER, and many Double Red SEA-DWELLERS.

I think you could travel the world and never see such an amazing collection of vintage Rolex watches anywhere!!! Pictured below are two very famous COMEX Rolex SEA-DWELLER watches from the famous JANIS IV.

In this next photo I am trying on an original Milgauss which is an unusually interesting Rolex. I really like the duaphine hands with the lightning bolt second hand and the honeycomb black dial with the red Milgauss designation. I also like the pyramid 3,6,9 indices along with the wide bezel.

The photo below is the side profile of the Rolex Milgauss above. If you click on the profile image below and study the details you really get a sense of what makes vintage Rolex design so great!!! Carefully study the detail in the riveted bracelet and the super-elegant Rolex stamped logo on the back of the clasp. The perfectly domed crystal with the extra-wide bezel. What lines!!!!!!!!!!

Back To The Future

In the next photo I am wearing Rolex #1. Rolex #1 is the first Rolex Hans Wilsdorf ever made in 1908. I put Rolex #1 on my wrist next to my LV Submariner on my trademark JAKEe FATSTRAP for comparison sake.

Several things stand out about Rolex #1 in my mind. First is there is that touch of red with the red 12. Second is how small and dainty the watch is by todays standards. Last but not least is the amazing historical significance behind the Rolex #1. To think I am wearing a Rolex that Hans Wilsdorf (the founder of Rolex wore in 1908) wore on his wrist just blows my mind!!!! What history!!!!!!!!!!

Rolex #1 is from Rolex's collection in Geneva Switzerland and was only for display, but as we see in the photo below I am comparing an early Rolex Moonphase [Reference 8171] to my LV Submariner. Despite being made in the 1940s, the first Rolex Moonphase was a large 38mm and was not an Oyster. It is amazing to see these watches next to each other and to notice how similar the lug shape is.

Another great benefit is to actually see these magnificent vintage Rolex watches in person and try them on. I am used to seeing photos of them in books and on the internet, but actually seeing them in person completely gives you a different perspective.

The Rolex Moonphase watches pictured above and below belong to Fourtané Jewelers and are part of their vintage Rolex collection they sell. The beautiful Rolex Moonphase pictured below comes in a Super-Oyster case and is a Rolex reference 6062 Moonphase, which is one of my favorite vintage Rolex watches.

The Steve McQueen Submariner

Fourtané Jewelers, as part of their Vintage Rolex Concours had on exhibit Steve McQueen's Submariner [Reference 5512]. This watch is owned by a private party and was not for sale. In the photo below, I have Steve McQueen's Submariner on my wrist next to my 50th Anniversary LV Submariner. The thing that really strikes me is how totally timeless and similar the two Rolex Submariner design language is, despite being manufactured 4 decades apart.

Steve McQueen was left-handed and wore his trademark Rolex Submariner on his right wrist, so I took this shot of the watch on my right wrist. Very, very cool!!!!

Steve McQueen is pictured below wearing his trademark Rolex Submariner standing next to his forest-green Porsche 911. The Porsche 911, Rolex Submariner and Steve McQueen are three of the most timeless and iconically cool images in the world.

As a side note, in Fourtané Jewelers you will find watches like the Steve McQueen Submariner. You will not find any falsely dubbed watches like the Steve McQueen Explorer which never existed. Why? because Fourtané Jewelers is the real deal. This is based on integrity and a passion for real Rolex history.

Fourtané Jewelers has the largest selection of vintage Rolex watches for sale I have ever seen or heard of in my life!!! They typically have around 150 vintage Rolex watches for sale, which makes visiting their store like a little kid visiting Disneyland. In many ways Fourtané Jewelers is like a Rolex museum–except, most of the time, most of the watches are available for sale.

In the photo below we see one of many cases filled with beautiful vintage Rolex watches!!!

In this next photo we see a case filled with Rolex Cellini watches including Rolex Prince models.

Since Fourtané Jewelers is an authorized Rolex Dealer, in this next case we see modern Rolex watches of every type. Fourtané Jewelers typically has 300 brand-new modern Rolex watches in-stock.

I have to say, the first time I stepped into Fourtané Jewelers, it completely blew my mind!!! They literally had every modern Rolex model I have ever seen–including all the exotic modern masterpiece Rolex watches.

I tried on a whole bunch of modern Rolex watches I had never seen before in person like the all-new Supercase (pictured below) yellow gold Rolex Submariner with the blue ceramic bezel insert. What a watch!!!

I also tried on the 50th Anniversary yellow gold GMT Ceramic Supercase which is probably my favorite yellow gold Rolex. I love the forest green dial with the contrasting yellow gold writing and Maxi Markers. Very cool!!!

Fourtané Jewelers also offers timeless estate jewelry and other fine modern Jewelry. John Bonifas, the founder of Fourtané Jewelers has always had a deep appreciation for high-quality estate jewelry from the most famous jewelers including Cartier, Tiffany & Co, Boucheron, Faberge, Lalique, Castellani, Giuliano, Van Cleef & Arpels and the list goes on an on.

The inaugural San Francisco/Carmel, California GTG (GTG Dinner pictured below) was a huge hit!!! Rolex fanatics flew in from all over the world to attend and we will be having the next Carmel GTG on Saturday, August 7, 2010. This is the Saturday before the Concours de Elegance car exhibition takes place in Carmel, California.

Fourtané Jewelers will also have its 2nd annual Vintage Rolex Concours that same week and from what Josh tells me, there are going to be some amazing historical pieces which should be really fun and fascinating!!!

If you have never attended the Concours de Elegance car exhibition it will blow your mind!!! I just attended it for the first time this year and it took my breath away!!! You can literally feel the magical energy in the air.

Next time you visit Carmel or California make certain to stop by Fourtané Jewelers and check out their mind-boggling collection of vintage and modern Rolex watches. You will never see or experience anything like Fourtané Jewelers!!! I know I haven't!!! Everything from their cozy store to their knowledgeable staff is incredible. Just incredible!!!!

Contact Information:

Fourtané Jewelers

Ocean Avenue & Lincoln at the Pine Inn

Carmel, California 93921

Phone (831) 624-4694

Toll Free: (800) 864-2468

E-Mail: Info@fourtane.com

Website: http://www.fourtane.com

If you are not familiar with Carmel-By-The-Sea it is a magnificent costal town located about 125 miles south of San Francisco, California in Monterey County on the West Coast of the U.S.A. Carmel is renowned for its majestic scenery and rich artistic history.