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."

1962 Stein Eriksen Rolex Explorer Skiing Ad

Stein Eriksen

1927-2015

Rolex Explorer Skiing Ad

Winter Olympics Skiing Gold Medal Winner

Jean-Claude Killy's is the man people think of when they think of Rolex and Skiing, but the best Olympic Skier prior to Killy, was is Stein Eriksen. It is fascinating to realize that J.F.K., was the President Of The United States when this 1962 Rolex Explorer ad was published in magazines!!!

In the two photo below, we see Stein Eriken with his grandson, and we see him wearing his Rolex Explorer II.

"Be tough, be confident, but you will never be a whole person if you aren't humble."

–Stein Eriksen

Stein Eriksen was born in Norway and lived an amazing life!!! In the 1952 Winter Olympics, held in Oslo, Norway, he won the gold medal for Giant Slalom and Silver for Slalom. Stein Eriksen was born in 1927 and passed away in December 2015. The photo of him below taken at age 83!!! 

Stein Eriksen was also the first man to win three gold medals at the world championship which was held 61 years ago in Are in Sweden. He was the first skier to win Gold, in Slalom, Giant Slalom and Downhill at a single World Championship held in 1954.

Growing up Stein Eriksen was a gymnast which he incorporated into his skiing skills and he was the first skiing superstar. He is pictured below in the early 1950s. Stein Eriksen was a pioneer in modern skiing and his elegant skiing technique where he kept his legs, skis and boots together is considered to have have revolutionized freestyle skiing. 


With his gymnastics background, Stein Eriksen is renowned for inventing the freestyle skiing areal, which went on to become a freestyle skiing event.

Since Stein Eriksen was the pioneer of ariels, he must have seriously freaked-out spectators!!!

After Stein Eriken retired from professional skiing, he moved to the United States and served as the Director Of Skiing at Deer Valley Resort located in Park City, Utah.

Keeping Up with Lindsey Vonn

...Rolex Hotness...

Keeping Up With 

Lindsey Vonn

Rolex Ambassador, @ Lindsey Vonn, is a fast moving woman! Literally and figuratively, as she prepares to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics which begin on February 9th. 

Today the New York Times Magazine published a fascinating story in "The Olympic Issue," titled "The Workout That Saves Lindsey Vonn From Wipeouts." The first three black and white photos of Lindsey Vonn above and below are from that NYTM article. It's interesting to see Lindsey wears her Rolex Day-Date while she is working out.

Against the pain. Against the doubt. Against the odds. I will rise. #AboveTheNoise @beatsbydre @g_eazy

A post shared by L I N D S E Y • V O N N (@lindseyvonn) on Jan 29, 2018 at 11:30am PST

The photo below of Lindsey Vonn was taken several days ago on January 26, 2018, as she races down on her first alpine sky run at the Women's World Cup combined race in Linzerheide, Switzerland.

Photo of Lindsey Vonn  appears courtesy of AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati

I'm no @alyraisman or @simonebiles but it's not too bad for an old lady! 😜🤸🏼‍♀️

A post shared by L I N D S E Y • V O N N (@lindseyvonn) on Jun 30, 2017 at 11:30am PDT

Black tie meets black dial #Rolex

A post shared by L I N D S E Y • V O N N (@lindseyvonn) on Dec 6, 2016 at 5:07pm PST

Definitely my favorite @Rolex from #Baselworld2016. Classy as ever. #goals #Pearlmaster #101031

A post shared by L I N D S E Y • V O N N (@lindseyvonn) on Mar 20, 2016 at 1:50am PDT

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Rolex Coolness: Jean-Claude Killy-Stainless Steel Rolex GMT Master II

...Rolex Ultra Super-Coolness... 

Jean-Claude Killy

Stainless Steel Rolex GMT Master II

Rolex Board Member

I have been meaning to put together a comprehensive article on life-long Rolex Ambassador, Jean-Claude Killy, in the same way I wrote a detailed overview of Sir Jackie Stewart's lifetime career as a Rolex Ambassador. Following is an overview of Jean-Claude Killy's life as a Rolex Ambassador. In the future, as time permits, I will continue to update this amazing man's life story until it is complete.

Jean-Claude Killy is one of the greatest skiers in history, if not the greatest. He swept the 1968 Winter Olympics by winning three gold medals in alpine events. Today, Jean-Claude is still deeply involved with Rolex serving as a member of the Rolex board of directors. 

1968 Winter Olympic Super Champion

Jean-Claude Killy won 12 out of 16 World Cup races during the 1966-1967 racing season. Next, at the 1968 Winter Olympic games in Grenoble, France, he won not only won the good medal in Downhill, but also swept in the Giant Slalom, and Slalom to achieve his Alpine sweep.

The Real Speed Racer

Jean-Claude Killy was really into racing and cars even before he won at the 1968 winter Olympics. We see Jean-Claude pictured below in March of 1967, when he visited racing legend and specialty car maker, Carroll Shelby. Jean-Claud is pictured below posing with a 1967 Shelby GT500. Jean-Claude ended up driving the GT500 at the Riverside track racing school. 

We see Jean-Claude Killy pictured below 1968 rockin' his Porsche 911 around the Nürburgring racetrack in a 1000KM race.

We see Jean-Claude pictured below in 1969 at L-Mans with race car legend, and fellow Frenchman, Bob Wolleck. Before becoming a race car driver, Bob Wollek was also a member of the French National Skiing Team between 1966-1968.

How cool does Jean-Claude Killy look in the photo above with the cool shades, muscle-T, and Levi's rockin' a Rolex Day-Date. Talk about Super-Cool French Style!!!

In this next photo we see Jean-Claude pictured at L-Mans with Steve McQueen.

1969 Chevy Camaro

Speaking Of Jean-Claude Killy coolness, I love this Killy ad for the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible with the skis on the back of the convertible and the hotness riding shotgun =D

Jean-Claude Killy is pictured below in 1972, at Appalachian Ski Mountain, which was the first of many visits he made to the French Swiss Ski Collect, located at the Bowling Rock Resort.

The Rolex Explorer II 

Orange Hand Ads

Reference 1655

1980 Rolex Explorer II 

Orange Hand Ad

Reference 1655

I realize the ad above is hard to read, and here is what it says:

Robust and versatile. Rolex Explorer II meets your need for timekeeping integrity in high mountain skiing. Choice of Jean-Claude Killy, three time Olympic gold medalist in the same year. This self-winding, officially certified superlative chronometer in stainless steel with matching bracelet is also pressure-proof in its formed Oyster case down to 300 feet. A luminous red hour hand points exact time on fixed 24 hour bezel. Like championship racing, uncommon endurance is built into Explorer II.

...Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day.,,

1971 Rolex Explorer II

Reference 1655

I thought since we just saw three Jean-Claude Killy Rolex Ads for the Rolex Explorer II Orange hand, it would make sense to take a closer look at the reference. Rolex introduced the Explorer II in 1971, and it had an orange hand to keep track of the time in a second time zone, and was also designed to enable the wearer to read a 24 hour clock to be able to determine the am/pm in the dark in caves, or at the North or South Pole. A few years ago, Rolex brought back the orange hand Rolex Explorer II, which is based upon this cool retro-design.

Jean-Claude Killy

1974 French Rolex Datejust Ad

Even though the Rolex ad below is for a yellow gold Rolex Datejust, it appears Jean-Claude is wearing a yellow gold Day-Date in the photo.

Jean Claude Killy

Rolex Magazine ad from 1983

1987 Jean-Claude Killy

Olympic Skiing Superstar

"I don't think I'll ever want to slow down" –Jean-Claude Killy

In 1968, Jean-Claude Killy brought home three Olympic gold medals. In 1992, he brought the Olympic games themselves.

A successful businessman, as well as one of France's best-known sports figures, Killy was chosen to spearhead the drive that brought the Winter Olympics to his beloved Sovoie.

"The training that I went through to become a ski racer proved invaluable to me when I entered the business world, and the same proved true in organizing the Winter Games." Killy says, "As an athlete I learned to value of hours of planning and being able to juggle several projects at once."

Today, Killy faces the hurdles of business with the same confidence he had on the ski slopes. "Being an entrepreneur isn't easy," he notes, "but I could never see myself doing anything else. I love the excitement, the idea that there's a different challenge waiting every day.

"In life, as in skiing, timing is everything." Killy says. Which is why both on the slopes and off Killy wears a timepiece he can rely on: his Rolex Oyster timepiece.