I was chatting with Nick Gould and he observed "King Harald has to be the oldest single owner of a GMT-Master!"
King Harald is pictured above and below with his wife, Queen Sonja, and in the photo below taken in 1968 he is rocking the exact same Pepsi GMT-Master pictured above on his wrist. Of course, the fundamental difference in appearance is back in 1968 his Pepsi Bezel was still bright blue and red, and today the patina is so faded, it looks like its silver, almost looking like he is wearing a stainless steel and platinum YACHT-MASTER!
Rich send it a tip with a photo of Queen Máxima of the Netherlands rocking her Rolex saying "Apparently she enlisted in the Reserves last year."
I was not familiar with Queen Máxima, and for a second I confused here with Princess Madeline of Sweden, and then, speaking of Scandinavian Royalty, I wondered if she was related to King Harald of Norway, which she is not. Obviously there are a great deal of European Royals that wear Rolex, but Queen Máxima of the Netherlands is the only female Royal I am familiar with, although her picture below kind of reminds me of Prince Harry. That being said, Prince Rainier of Monaco is probably my favorite Royal rocking Rolex.
Queen Máxima is stunningly gorgeous and seems really cool...
Princess Madeleine of Sweden has been wearing different Rolex models for years, and she is pictured below with her husband, Christopher O'Neill who also wears some very cool vintage Rolex models. In the photo below, taken on Swedish National Day on June 6, 2014, at the Royal Palace, we see Princess Madeleine holding her daughter, Leonore, and her husband Chris is holding Leonore's hand, and notice he is wearing an exotic dial Paul Newman Daytona.
Princess Madeleine of Sweden is pictured below wearing her stainless steel Rolex Daytona.
In the recent photo below taken in early August of 2018, we see Princess Madeleine with her husband and three children. Notice Princess Madeleine and her husband are both wearing Rolex Watches.
In this next photo, we see Princess Madeleine with her husband and she is wearing her stainless steel modern Rolex Daytona and he is wearing his vintage, exotic dial Paul Newman Daytona.
In this next photo, we see Prince Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden holding their son Prince Alexander and notice Princess Sofia is wearing a Rolex Datejust. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland is the brother of Princess Madeleine and the only son and the second of three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.
In the photo below we see Prince Daniel of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, who is the husband of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, and notice he is wearing a white dial Rolex Daytona.
Someone's allocated OP was worn by a queen. Britain's Queen Camilla tried on a 31mm Oyster Perpetual with the beautiful turquoise-blue dial on Monday during her visit to a Rolex authorized dealer in Swindon, England ... the latest sign of the power of that dial color in the Rolex collection.
A crown for a queen (Photo credit: Getty)
We're told she went to the 175-year-old family-run jeweler not to shop for a Rolex but to bring in a vintage Breitling for repairs. Still, Queen Camilla seemed interested in all things watches ... checking out vintage pieces and taking a tour of the sixth-generation workshop, where she spoke to a young female watchmaker.
Also in attendance was Deacon & Son's manager director Richard Deacon and, of course, Richard de Leyser, the CEO of Rolex UK, seen below, who had been briefed of her visit.
(Photo credit: Getty)
(Photo credit: Getty)
Queen Camilla didn’t pull the trigger on the Tiffany-dial OP, we’re told... that could be a future gift idea for King Charles III. After all, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.
In the photo above, the four gentlemen are discussing the Rolex King Midas model, of which King Charles has owned a special version of for many years.
Former Rolex CEO, André Heiniger is pictured again above with his wife Odette Heiniger, Colonel Gerard Leigh and King Charles at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor, U.K.
All four of Queen Elizabeth's children have worn Rolex watches, according to our research, as well as some of her grandchildren. King Charles' son, Prince Harry of Wales, below, is seen rocking a Rolex Explorer II "Orange Hand" while serving as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan.
Prince Harry is pictured below at a Polo match in Sentebale with legendary car racing legend, Sir Jackie Stewart, and Rolex Global Director of Communication and Image Arnaud Boetsch.
Prince Harry, in the photo below, is checking out Arnaud Boetsch's Rolex. Before joining Rolex, Arnaud Boetsch was a top ranked professional tennis player.
Nick Gould just sent in these super cool photos of Prince Rainier III, of Mónaco rocking his Rolex Submariner [Reference 6536] back in 1960. The first image was originally discovered by @rafmeyerschmidt who originally shared it with Nick Gould. Prince Rainier's son, Albert II, who is the current Prince of Mónaco is sitting on his lap with his sister, Princess Stephanie looking on.
These newly discovered photos are significant as we have known for a long time Prince Rainier wore different Rolex watches as you can see later in this article, but the early Rolex Submariner on his wrist is beyond cool...The best scholarship suggests it's a Reference 6536 based upon the Mercedes hour hand...
Back in December of 2021 Rolex launched a campaign that featured a video clip of Princess Grace Kelly from Rear Window so I thought it would be fun to take a look at her amazing lifetime achievements:
...Rolex Super Beauty...
Grace Kelly
1929-1982
Timeless Elegant Beauty
26MM Yellow Gold Rolex Lady Date
Beautiful, Iconic, Timeless, Talented, Feminine, Smart, Charismatic, Elegant, Stunning, Simple, Gorgeous. These are just some of the adjectives that come to mind when I think about Grace Kelly...
Who is the most beautiful and elegant woman that ever lived? Some might say, Sophia Loren, while others might say Princess Grace is arguably the most beautiful and elegant woman that ever lived. One thing both beauties shared is their taste in the finer things in life, including both wearing Yellow Gold 26MM Rolex Lady Date watches.
In the photo below, we see Princess Grace of Monaco wearing her yellow gold Rolex Lady Date in 1972.
The photo above and below were taken at a swimming competition in Palm Beach, Monte Carlo in 1972. Princess Grace is extremely chic and stylish, and she is wearing a Pucci beach dress. Princess Grace is pictured below while attending a swimming commotion, and she is sitting next to her husband, Prince Rainier, and her their children, Prince Albert, Princess Caroline, and Princess Stéphanie are sitting below them. If you look closely you can see Princess Caroline is also wearing her two-tone Rolex ladies Datejust.
In the two photos below taken in 1978 in New Jersey, we see Princess Grace with her daughter, Princess Caroline, who also wears Rolex watches. It is not so easy to see, but in the photo below we see Princess Grace wearing her Rolex Lady Date.
In the next photo below, also taken in July of 1978 in New Jersey, we see Princess Caroline with her husband, Philippe Junot, and in this photo, we get a good shot of his two-tone Rolex Datejust.
Princess Grace is pictured below with Princess Caroline in 1973, and they are both wearing Rolex watches.
Princess Caroline is pictured below on the cover of People Magazine in 1978, and she is wearing her two-tone Lady-Date Rolex.
Princess Grace is pictured below wearing her yellow gold Rolex Lady-Date.
This next photo shows Princess Grace at home working on an art project collage, and we see her ladies Rolex President bracelet on her wrist.
A Royal Rolex Affair
A Movie Star Becomes Royalty
Grace Kelly grew up in a wealthy Philadelphia family. She met Prince Rainier of Monaco at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival while she was promoting her movie 'To Catch A Thief', which she co-starred in with Cary Grant.
Princess Grace was an amazing style icon known for her timeless femininity. In the photo below we see Grace Kelly with Prince Ranier on January 5, 1956, as they arrive at the Philadelphia Country Club where they announced their wedding engagement.
Notice in the photo above and below Grace Kelly is carrying her Hermes purse, which over time became associated with her. Today it is known as the Hermès Kelly Bag.
Princess Grace and Prince Rainier are pictured below in Monaco during their wedding celebration.
Princess Grace and Prince Rainier are pictured below walking in London, England in 1959.
Princess Grace and Prince Rainier are pictured below visiting at the White House in Washington D.C., with President Kennedy and First Lady, Jackie Kennedy in 1963.
Princess Grace and Prince Ranier had three children: Princess Caroline of Hanover, 1957 (center), Prince Allbert II of Monaco, 1958 (left), and Princess Stéphanie, 1965 (right).
Prince Rainier, like his wife and daughter, also wore Rolex watches. In the photo below we see Rainier sporting a yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master (Mocha).
Prince Ranier is pictured below with his wife Grace, and daughter Caroline, and in the photo, he is wearing his Rolex Day-Date.
Prince Ranier is pictured below with his daughter Caroline at Princess Grace's funeral. You can tell by his facial expression that he is devastated.
In the photo below we see Princess Stephanie, Prince Albert, Princess Caroline and Prince Rainier III several after Princess Grace passed away. Notice Princess Stephanie and Prince Rainier are both wearing Rolex Datejust models.
An Amazing Acting Career
Academy Award Winning Career
To Catch A Thief
1955
Grace Kelly was one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood in the 1950s, and one of her most famous roles was in A Catch To Thief, where she starred beside Cary Grant.
Mogambo
1953
Grace Kelly is pictured below with Clark Gable who she co-starred with in the 1953 movie named Mogambo. As we can see in the press photo below of Grace Kelly with Clark Gable which was a press photo from Magambo,Clark Gable is wearing his Rolex Oyster Perpetual.
Rear Window
1953
Grace Kelly is pictured below with Jimmy Stewart in the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film named Rear Window.
Grace Kelly
Reading The Silent World
Grace Kelly was a huge fan of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and in the photos below we see her reading Jacques-Yves Cousteau's seminal 1954 book, titled The Silent World. Jacques Cousteau went on to create an Academy Award Winning Documentary, which was based on this book.
After reading Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Silent World book, Grace Kelly would become one of Cousteau's biggest supporters. In the photo below we see Prince Rainier III of Monaco with his wife, Princess Grace of Monaco, with Jaques Cousteau.
When we think about Jacques Yves-Cousteau, we often think of him aboard his beloved Calypso which is pictured below as she cruises past Monaco's Oceanographic Institute, which Cousteau was the Director of for 40 years, from 1957 until he passed away in 1997. Monaco's Oceanographic Institute is the oldest Marine Museum in the world, as it was inaugurated in 1910 by Prince Albert, who was Monaco's modernist reformer. You can learn much more about Jacques Cousteau in Monaco in Part 2 of my story on the all-new Single Red Rolex SEA-DWELLER.
In this last photo, we see Jacques-Yves Cousteau standing pictured on the left, with his wife Simone Cousteau, pictured on the far right, along with Princess Grace and Prince Rainier in Monaco.
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.
