Dr. Arthur Miller
World-Famous Underwater Cave Diver & Archaeologist
The Streets Of San Francisco
...Every Rolex Stranger Is A Friend You Just Haven't Met Yet...
A Brilliant Life With Rolex Keeping His Time
I have a most interesting Rolex GTG story to share with you. As many of you know, I was born and raised in San Francisco, California and call it home to this day. A few weeks ago, I was out in San Francisco, in the Marina and I wandered into another pal of mine on Chestnut Street named Steve.
Steve was on his way to get some frozen yogurt and invited me to join him. We had been finished for a while and were having a great conversation. We got up to walk out and a man and his wife approached us and asked if we could direct them to DeLarossa Restaurant.
We pointed them down the street, and I got a quick glance of his watch which I instantly recognized, and I asked if he was wearing a Submariner? He said, yes and asked why I asked? I introduced myself and told him my name was Jake and that I publish Jake's Rolex World Magazine which he could find at RolexMagazine.com. I asked him if he was familiar with Jake's Rolex World and he said no, so of course I mentioned he should check it out.
All of a sudden his face lit up like a Christmas tree and he handed me his Rolex Submariner and said "It is a Red Submariner I bought at Tiffany & Company 38 years ago, in 1972 and I have never taken it off my wrist since then." Curiously, I asked what he meant when he said he never took if off? He insisted he wore it all the time, like a good luck charm, and pointed out that when he slept and showered and went diving he wore it.
My pal and this strangers wife and I were chatting it up (pretty good-like ;-) and they graciously invited us to join them for a late dinner. We accepted their kind invitation and sat down for dinner. The man introduced himself as Arthur and his wife as Lourdes.
After a lot of talk about Rolex, I learned that Arthur was Dr. Arthur Miller, the world-famous American SCUBA Diver, archaeologist, academic and historian!!! No wonder we were getting along so well since I am basically a Rolex historian and archeologist of sorts ;-) Can you hear the Raiders Of The Lost Ark/Indiana Jones theme-song starting to play?
It turns out that Arthur Miller is a specialist in pre-Columbian Latin Amarica art and specializes in Mesoamerica. Arthur's research expertise has been in the study of pre-Columbian mural artworks and their iconography. He bought his Rolex Submariner in 1972 because he also specialized in exploring underwater caves and wanted the best dive watch.
Arthur Miller has published many academic papers and books on the mural art of Mesoamerican cultures, including the Teotihuacan of central Mexico, the Zapotec tombs and sites in Oaxaca, and Maya sites along the eastern coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Arthur graduated from Colby College in Maine in 1964 and the following year he completed his Master's Degree at the Ecole du Louve in Paris which was dedicated to anthropological and art history fields. In 1969 he completed his doctorate studies at Harvard and was awarded a Ph. D.
The photo below is a close up of Arthur Miller's trusted Red Rolex Submariner that has been his daily wearer for the last 38 years straight.
I took the wrist shot below of Arthur's Rolex Red Submariner [Reference 1680]. Of course I asked him if he bought it himself or if it was a gift? He told me he bought it himself at Tiffany and Company. I asked him if when he purchased the watch if he intentionally went out of his way to purchase it with the Tiffany & Co., designation on the dial?
He proudly responded "Oh yes!!!" I asked him why? He said "I had seen the movie, Breakfast At Tiffany's and as an artist I always really appreciated Tiffany & Co. I was also inspired by the early Tiffany & Company lamps and art, so I thought it would be really cool to have a Tiffany & Co. Rolex Submariner."
The Tiffany & Co., ad below shows the same model of Rolex Submariner that Arthur Miller purchased. Notice in 1974 it was only $445.
After dinner we walked outside and the Apple store was next door to the restaurant. I knew from our conversation Arthur and his wife were both Apple Mac users, so we stood in front of the Chestnut street Apple store and kept talking. I pulled out my iPhone and started taking photos of him and his really cool Rolex Submariner as seen throughout this story.
I remember thinking how cool it was to meet a professional cave diver who actually used his Rolex Submariner as a tool watch back in the 1970s and adored and appreciated it so much that he was bragging that he never took it of his wrist for the last 38 years straight!!!!
We also talked a bit about diving history and how the Rolex Submariner played a pioneering role, and I asked him about every historically famous diver, of which he was familiar with.
Of course, I kept and keep thinking about Maurice Chevalier's famous words from 1964 on Rolex people when he said:
"Like a genial hotelier, Rolex has introduced me to some of the nicest people. I ask about their Rolex and they ask about mine. It's as marvelous a conversation piece as it is a timepiece." –Maurice Chevalier (1964)
I must also add that it never ceases to amaze me how friendly people typically are who wear Rolex!!! I think it really goes to show that Rolex is not just a timepiece that tells you the time, but also a mind-set that tells you something about yourself. Rolex people seem to typically be fascinated with the world around them and by people, and I also noticed people who gravitate toward Rolex typically are very conscious of quality, detail and excellence.
Today, Arthur is retired from teaching and he has been pursuing his passion as a painter. He has his paintings on his website at ArthurMiller.net. Arthur was so inspired by his career and the ancient American cave paintings, he paints in a similar style. Arthur painted the following images:
Arthur and his wife spend their time living between Spain and Mexico today. Arthur and I agreed we would do a podcast interview in the future to talk about his amazing career. Arthur is the nephew of the famous author and artist, Henry Miller who wrote Tropic Of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.
