Bill Cosby & Rolex Say Goodbye To Robert Culp...

Bill Cosby & Rolex Say Goodbye To Robert Culp

Robert Culp who costarred on I Spy with Bill Cosby now belongs to the ages. Robert Culp was 79 years old and died unexpectedly this week after falling near his Hollywood Hills home.

Robert Culp and Bill Cosby not only co-starred on I Spy, but were great friends for the rest of their lives and the L.A. Times wrote a great article which covered an interview with Bill Cosby about his relationship with Robert Culp. The article mentioned Bill Cosby was shocked to hear of his pals death and spoke very warmly about their close friendship that went far beyond their on-screen partnership.

I Spy ran on TV for three seasons from 1965 to 1968 and both Robert Culp's character Kelly Robinson and Bill Cosby's character Alexander Scott but wore Pepsi GMT-Master watches on the show.

To the best of my knowledge, the only character on a TV show before them that wore a Rolex was Lloyd Bridges on SEA-HUNT.

I Spy was groundbreaking in the world of TV as it was the first have an African American actor in a lead role.

If you have been reading Jake's Rolex World for a long time, you know we used to have I Spy Saturday as a feature where I started with the first episode of I Spy and each Saturday we would watch an episode on order and I would do screen grabs of Robert Kulp and Bill Cosby sporing their trademark Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master watches.

I stopped I Spy Saturday because I did not have time to do all the historic research for Jake's Rolex World and do I Spy Saturday, but as soon as I get the chance I will bring back Flipper Friday, I Spy Saturday and Miami Vice Monday.

Of course, my goal is to document every screen shot from I Spy that had a Rolex GMT and I left off on Season 1, Episode 15, but here are some really cool shots. One of my favorite things from watching I Spy is how elegant and stylish Robert Culp and Bill Cosby were–very much like Steve McQueen from the same era!!!

I decided I would republish I Spy Saturday from Season 1, Episode 2 which was a gold mine of cool Rolex shots:

I Spy Saturday

Season 1 [Episode 2 : A Cup of Kindness]

Original Air Date: September 22, 1965

Welcome to the second I Spy Saturday on Jake's Rolex Watch Blog. Well it looks like we hit the jackpot in episode 2!!!! There is a tremendous amount of Rolex GMT Master exposure. So the way this works is I watch the episode first, do screen grabs of all the cool Rolex shots and then you can watch the episode if you like.

I was kind of shocked because in this episode we see 3 distinct timecheck wrist shots and they are all pretty clear. They almost appear to be a Rolex commercial, which is much better than the opposite–meaning, a fruitless search. The first two wrist shots are of Kelly's (Robert Culp) wrist and there is another one of Scotty's (Bill Cosby) later in this story.

It dawned on me yesterday when I was watching Flipper that the reason both Bill Cosby and Robert Culp's characters wear GMTs is because they are international travelers and since the GMT Master can keep track in two different time zones they must be keeping time in Hong Kong, where this episode is shot, as well as Pentagon time in Washington D.C.

There are two seemingly similar wrist shots above of Robert Culp's GMT because he looks at it in two completely different scenes.

I added this shot below because we can see that Robert Culp is wearing Vans slip-on style shoes which are really stylish today.

I think the fashion from I Spy was really cool. We see Bill Cosby wearing a high, mock T-Shirt like Tiger Woods always wears today–which is a really cool, mod look. We also see Kelly wearing a La Coste (Alligator shirt, not shown) as well as an ascot, and Scotty also wears a high-button-placement three piece suit. All great style if you ask me.

In this next shot we see Bill Cosby under the bed wearing his GMT Master.

In the next three photos we see wrist shots of Bill Cosby wearing his GMT Master.

In this last photo we see a close up screen shot of Bill Cosby's wrist sporting his GMT Master. I believe that Bill Cosby and Robert Culp's GMT Master models are identical and I think they are both wearing Rolex GMT Master [Reference 1675]. If I am wrong about the reference, please correct me.

If you want to watch this episode full screen on you computer screen hit the play button and one I Spy starts playing click the button in the upper right hand corner of the video window to make it go full screen. Enjoy!!!

Rest In Peace Robert Culp. You were one cool, funny, inspiring, charismatic, actor!!!

Jocke's BaselWorld 2010 Report...

Jocke's BaselWorld 2010 Report

Jocke [The Entity Numero Uno At The Tosser List]

Many people in the online Rolex world know Jocke from Sweden who is a Rolex fanatic and he is JJ's nemesis on RolexForums.com. All I can tell you is that Jocke and JJ make me laugh more than any great comedian with their constant back-and-forth jabbering.

I think that is one of the things that makes the online Rolex community so fun–the personalities and camaraderie. Think about it for a second, Jocke lives in Sweden and J.J. lives in New Zealand and I am writing this from San Francisco, California and you are reading this somewhere between these three places!?!?! The World Wide Web is really just that!!!

Define Rolex fanatic? O.K., Jock drove a van over 1000 miles from Sweden to Basel Switzerland to attend BaselWorld and it only took him 15 hours!!! Jocke is a really talented photographer and he always puts together his BaselWorld Report which is always fascinating.

You should check out his great BaselWorld 2010 report, and the thing I found most fascinating were his photos of the new Tudor Heritage Chrono. This first photo on the nylon strap with a racing strip is amazing!!!

I definitely prefer the black base dial (below) over the grey based dial (two pictures down). Dell Deaton from JamesBondWatches mentioned on March 17, 2010 that "Another James Bond Watch brand to be announced after Basel Watch Fair."

Of course the obvious choice would be for James Bond to return to Rolex, and I hope EON Productions doesn't do something dopey like announce James Bond is going to be wearing some goofy new brand.

I also couldn't help but wonder if Tudor might be the new choice of Bond? I realize it seems far-fetched, but this all-new Tudor Heritage Chrono seems all James Bonded out to me.

The next two photos are really interesting because the first one is of the all-new Tudor Heritage Chrono, and the one below it is of the original home plate version.

The photo below that Jocke took at BaselWorld 2010 shows the first generation Tudor-Chrono that apparently was an unreleased prototype. This is the watch the all-new Tudor Heritage Chrono is based upon, and the first Tudor home plate that was introduced to the public for sale was identical to this watch with the exception of the bezel insert.

Dick Vermiel & Mario Andretti Two Legendary Sports Figures...

Dick Vermeil & Mario Andretti

Two Legendary Sports Figures

Two-Tone Rolex Datejust

Dick Vermeil is pictured below with his pal, and former racing superstar, Mario Andretti. Dick Vermeil played football in college and in 1959 he was a quarterback for San Jose State University. He went on to become a coach at Stanford University and in 1969 he joined the Los Angeles Rams as a special coach. In 1974 he became the head coach for the UCLA Bruins and he led them to win the 1975 Rose Bowl against Ohio State.

From 1976 to 1982, Dick Vermeil was the head NFL coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, and from 1997-1999 was the head coach for the Saint Louis Rams. From 2001 to 2005 he was the head coach for the NFL Kansas City Chiefs.

Mario Andretti is considered to be one of the best and most successful American race car drivers in the history of the sport. Mario Andretti raced in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR and also won in drag car racing, sprint cars and midget car racing.

In an amazing career that spanned decades, Mario Andretti won four IndyCar titles as well as the 1978 Formula One World Championship. To this day, Mario Andretti remains the only driver in history to win the Daytona 500 (1967), Indianapolis 500 (1969) and the Formula One World Championship. Mario Andretti won 109 major circuit races in his career.

Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day 007's Polar Explorer From Istanbul...

Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day

007's Polar Explorer From Istanbul

Rolex Explorer: Reference 16750

BaselWorld 2010 Reflections Plus Supercase Submariner Wallpaper...

BaselWorld 2010 Reflections

+ Rolex Supercase Submariner Wallpaper

So I thought I would share my reflections with you on BazelWorld 2010. The Tudor Heritage Chrono freaked everybody out in a great way and there were some very nice ladies watches, but I think the most significant takeaway point is the all-new Supercase Submariner.

The Submariner has always been my favorite Rolex overall and to this day it remains Rolex's most iconic watch, although Leo disagrees with me and thinks the Datejust is equally or more iconic.

I might be reading between the lines, or hallucinating or simply attempting to project my own autobiography on to Rolex, but it seem like Rolex has been going through some extreme changes since the departure of its former CEO, Patrick Heiniger. It seems like Rolex has done almost an about-face and is returning to its heritage, and this appears to be coming across with the introduction of the new Submariner.

I say this because of one simple detail: the fact they did not polish the center links. Keeping the brushed/satin finished center links maintains the Submariner as a true tool watch. This detail also seems significant, because many people in the Rolex community have voiced their opinion that they did not want to see them on the Submariner and Rolex seems to have listened–or maybe they had it planned this way all along?

I have not had the change to wear the all-new Submariner, but it appears to be one HUGE leap forward on the evolutionary scale. The black dial with the fat hands and Maxi Markers looks so poppin and trademark, and the supercase with the jumbo crown-gaurds looks really strong.

Also, the new ceramic bezel looks great with its etched-out 3D numbers. Also the all-new glide-lock is a very welcome addition.

If you click on the images above they will give you a desktop wallpaper image that is 1600 x 900 pixels. For those of you who have the amazing new Apple 27inch iMac I prepared high resoltuion versions:

• Black Supercase Submariner 2560 x 1440

• Green Gold Supercase Submariner 2560 x 1440

2010 BaselWorld Introduction Rolex Hotness: Flower Power White Rolesor Datejust Lady 31mm

2010 BaselWorld Introduction

Rolex Hotness: Flower Power

White Rolesor Datejust Lady 31mm

[Reference 178274: Bracelet 63160]

At the BaselWorld trade-show in Basel, Switzerland Rolex showed off their all-new Lady Datejust 31mm watch on a Super Jubilee bracelet. This beauty has a dark rhodium, electroformed white rhodium tone-on-tone floral motif with and Arabic numeral at 6 o'clock.

BaselWorld 2010 Introduction All-New Datejust Lady 31mm Rolex Hotness: Chocolate & Diamonds

BaselWorld 2010 Introduction

Rolex Hotness: Chocolate & Diamonds

All-New Datejust Lady 31mm

[Reference 178341: Bracelet 72161]

This all new ladies Datejust is stunningly beautiful. It reminds me of the vintage men's Rolex Rootbeer GMT-Master, but with diamonds. I think crown dials are such a great look when you mix them with gold which gives them this really nice Italianate mocha look. It is amazing how much warmth this watch exudes...

This beautiful new watch is made from Everrose Rolesor and the domed bezel has 24 brilliant diamonds. The dial has Roman numerals and a gem-set Roman number at 6 o'clock.

I have a feeling this stunningly warm and beautiful Rolex LadyDate watch is going to be very popular with the ladies!!! It has a very effervescent vibe that is very Ms. Sparkleplenty!!!!

Rolex Hits A Home Run with The Return of The Tudor King...

Rolex Hits A Home Run!!!!!

The Return of The Tudor King

Tudor Monte Carlo Shocks Rolex Community!!!

[Tudor Reference 70330]

"We must not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the fist time." –T.S. Elliot

I am still kind of at a loss for words, but I will try to articulate the mega-surprise at BaselWorld 2010!!! The biggest surprise was not a Rolex per-se, but this all-new Tudor Heritage Chronograph also historically known as The Tudor Monte Carlo as well as The Tudor Home Plate.

Just in case you didn't know, Rolex owns Tudor and Tudor has historically been considered to be a less expensive Rolex brand.

Before I go into detail on this watch, I want to congratulate Rolex and Tudor and say I hope this watch is a sign of things to come from Rolex. Rolex's design history is amazing and second to none, but many people argue, as do I, that Rolex needs to make more bold design moves and play off their incredible legacy.

The photo below is of the original Tudor Chronograph that the all-new Tudor Heritage Chronograph (pictured above) is based upon. The original Tudor Chronograph pictured below originally was introduced in 1970. The original had a Rolex Cyclops Date Magnifier lens on the 6'oclock date that was not repeated on the new version. Also, the original was made over the years with many different variants like version that had spinning bezels, even thought the one below lacks a spinning or moveable bezel.

The photo above shows the Tudor Heritage Chronograph with a black base dial, but the are also offering it with a grey based dial like the one pictured below. You can see the new grey dialed version by scrolling down two images to the one that shows the original in 1970 version in the mirror next to the new grey one.

This model was nicknamed the Tudor Home Plate because its 5 minute markers are shaped like a baseball home-plate. By the way, for whatever its worth, I have always believed Rolex should offer a Rolex Datyona Date option–just like they do with the Rolex Submariner.

Photo Credit: Bas from the Netherlands

Exploring The Origins of The Tudor Brand

So let's explore what Tudor Brand is or means? Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf experimented like a mad scientist when it came to watch design and marketing.

As I have said so many times before, Rolex has always thrown everything at the wall, and watched to see what stuck. The best way to understand this notion is to examine Hans Wilsdorf's own words:

For some years I have been considering the idea of making a watch that our agents could sell at a more modest price than our Rolex watches, and yet one that would attain the standards of dependability for which Rolex is famous. I decided to form a separate company, with the object of making and marketing this new watch. It called the Tudor Watch Company." –Hans Wilsdorf, Founder Of Rolex [March 6, 1946].

Early Tudor History Mystery

Early Rolex and Tudor history still remains a bit of a mystery, and I try, as best as I am able, to put together the pieces of the historical puzzle. The Tudor brand was first registered in Geneva, Switzerland by Isaac Blumenthal on December 13, 1906 and was awarded the registration number of 21383.

In 1926 it was formally transferred to Veuve Philippe Huther de Colombiere, and was purchased formally by Hans Wilsdorf in 1936. I have also heard, and I don't know if it is true, that Hans Wilsdorf originally started the Wilsdorf and Davis (W&D) name in 1905 but wanted a better name, so in 1906 he started Tudor, but a few years later in 1908, decided to develop his brand under the Rolex name.

The original logo for Tudor was of a the decorative Tudor rose. It appears Hans Wilsdorf wanted to build a brand that payed homage to the long reigning English Tudor dynasty. The Welsh House Of Tudor also known as The Tudor Dynasty ruled the Kingdom Of England and its realms which included The Lordship and Kingdom Of Ireland, from 1485 to 1603.

The first monarch of the Tudor Dynasty was Henry Tudor who descended patrilineally from the rulers of the Welsh principality of Deheubarth and maternally from the English Royal House of Lancaster. The Tudor family rose to prominence as a result of the Wars of The Roses, and thus came about the Tudor Rose Logo.

Henry Tudor successfully defeated The House Of York, and captured the throne to become Henry VII. Henry Tudor then married Elizabeth Of York which served to unite the former warring factions and unite them under a new dynasty.

The Tudor Brand Comes To Life

Hans Wildorf took over control of developing the Tudor brand in 1946 and named it Montres Tudor SA in 1946. From 1947 to 1952 Hans Wildorf worked on introducing the Tudor line to the public.

It has been argued, and it makes perfect sense that his strategy with the Tudor line was to take advantage of utilizing the tooling that was already paid for but would become obsolete as Rolex moved forward. In other words, Rolex would invest a great deal of capital in new tooling and machinery to make state-of-the-art Rolex watches.

In order to stay at the forefront of innovation, Rolex had to continually push the envelope and continuously build new tooling equipment to make next generation Rolex watches. The challenge was when Rolex would move from one generation the the next, the tooling from the last generation was still in excellent condition and Hans Wildsdorf wished to intelligently utilize the older tooling and equipment to optimize Rolex ROI (Return On Investment).

So Hans Wilsdorf came up with The Tudor Brand which would be manufactured on the previous generation of Rolex tooling. Also, the Tudor Brand watchmakers were typically not as experienced as the Rolex master watchmakers. In other words, Hans Wildorf brilliantly came up with a system in which newly trained watchmakers would begin by making Tudor watches and once they became master watchmakers, they would graduate to becoming Rolex watchmakers.

Tudor was also Rolex's experimental brand, in the same way that Sony used to do the same thing with their second-tier Onkyo brand. Tudor also created a brand around Tiger Woods named The Tiger Tudor which made some very interesting chronographs using last generation Rolex Daytona tooling.

Tudor through their history was able to experiment with doing things Rolex would not, in doing so it arguable ended up making several beautiful mistakes. I will be candid with you and let you know I never liked Tudor watches. I always considered them to be inferior to Rolex–almost like a poor knock-off of Rolex.

I have NEVER wanted to own or wear a Tudor, but that somehow magically changed this week at BaselWorld 2010 in Basel, Switzerland when Rolex/Tudor introduced this all-new chronograph based on a long-discontinued Tudor watch that was named the Monte Carlo or Home Plate by vintage Rolex collectors.

In the photo below we see the original Monte Carlo that was introduced in 1970 next to the all-new for 2010 Tudor Heritage Chronograph.

The original Tudor Chronograph was 4omm and the new version is 42mm which is the perfect size. This retro-styled Tudor is just mind-boggling cool!!!!!! I have been a voracious student of design excellence for more than a quarter century as well as a designer and I have never liked retro design for marketing sake, but I will say there are examples in the world, just like the all-new Tudor Monte Carlo, where a company goes back to the future to design great products.

Often times this process works best when a company has long ago discontinued a product and they are forced to start from scratch as was the case with this new Tudor.

2010 Chevy Camaro Coolness

The Return Of The American Muscle Car

A Great Example of Meaningful Retro-Design

Another example of a discontinued product that was brought back to life and is much, much better is the all new Chevy Camaro (pictured below) which is based on the 1969 Camaro. Of course, the idea with meaningful retro design is not to copy something that came before, but to go back to where the product design was discontinued or took a turn for the worse, and pickup where the design left off and take it in a better and more meaningful direction–while incorporating all the best new design, technology and manufacturing techniques.

In many ways this design process could be referred to as reclamation. Reclamation being a re-caliming of a strong value proposition from the past that was lost or abandoned. Often time in design, as in life, you can only appreciate something after you have lost it.

"We seek not to imitate the masters; rather we seek what they sought." –Dr. Stephen Covey

The all-new 2010 Chevy Camaro (pictured above & below) is not only an amazing retro-inspired design, but it is also an amazing car. It handles like a dream and the V8 SS model does 0-60mph in an amazing 4.5 seconds!!! It is also extremely comfortable and well made.

The cockpit of the Camaro literally feels like the cockpit of some kind of retro UFO or something. It is so simple, yet it has many modern amenities like an iPod controller and bluetooth.

In the photo above we see the all-new 2010 Camaro SS facing its great grandfather which is a 1969 SS Convertible Camaro–Super cool!!!

As I mentioned, the all-new Tudor Monte Carlo is just stunning and I am certain there will be long waiting lists for it. In many ways, it may become the new Daytona in terms of the whole waiting list thing.

I really like the detail we see in the photo above where the have the highly-grippable knurled matching edging on the bezel and on the winding crown and push-button locks. The retro orange chrono hand is incredible also.

We also see that the all-new Tudor comes with an optional matching nylon slip-through strap. Once again, this is really unusual because Rolex has typically shunned or looked down on people wearing their Rolex on nylon straps, which I think is a great idea.

I believe the take-away point is that there are many people who want to easily and quickly change the look of their watch and the truth is that any watch that costs more than $30 makes a fashion statement. Rolex watches are great since they are very, very well made, but let's face reality for a moment and recognize that the majority of people who wear Rolex do so because they simply like the design of the watch and are inspired by the way it looks.

Tudor really went OT (over-the-top ;-) with the design of the all-new slip through strap. I have a background in textile design and I have been fooling around with coming out with my own JAKEe brand of slip-through straps and I have to admit, that whoever designed this slip-through put some serious thought into it.

A True Convertible

In the next photo we see the presentation box that comes with a Tudor Oyster Bracelet and a matching Tudor slip-throug nylon strap with racing stripes that match the watch. All, very, very impressive!!!!

I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Porsche 910 & Tudor Heritage Chrono Video

Below is an amazing video for the all new Tudor Monte Carlo which features John Fogerty from Creedence Clearwater Revival singing their amazing cover version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine. I mention it is amazing to see Rolex and Tudor apparently changing course after the Heiniger era and returning back to their magnificent historical legacy!!! I hope this is a sign of things to come!!!! Turn the volume way up!!!!!

1967 Porsche 910 Race Car

If you watch the above Tudor Heritage Chrono video, the obvious question is, what is that super-cool car that looks like a Porsche and a first generation Dino Ferrari combined?

It is an ultra-rare Porsche 910 also named the Carrera 10 and only 15 of them were made between 1966 and 1967.

Tudor has been collaborating with Porsche Motorsport as its timing partner so it makes sense they used this car in the commercial. The Porsche 910 is really a work of art and the one in the video has got to be worth close to $1Million.

The All-New Rolex Explorer I The Epitome Of A Simple Sportswatch Taken To A Whole New Level

The All-New Rolex Explorer I

The Epitome Of A Simple Sportswatch

Taken To A Whole New Level

[Reference 214270: Bracelet 77200]

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." –Leonardo Da vinci

The Rolex Explorer I, is one of the original Rolex Tool-Watches. Its origins have been steeped in mystery, intrigue and myth. I am actually in the middle of putting together my research findings on the origins of the Rolex Explorer I and I intend to publish them as soon as I can.

To make a long-story, short, the Rolex Explorer was inspired by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's conquest of Mount Everest in 1953. One of the most interesting details I have unearthed in my research, that was a big surprise for me, is the unexpected relationship between the Rolex Explorer I and the original Rolex Submariner.

I don't know if it is just a coincidence that Rolex yesterday at the BaselWorld trade-show and fair in Basel, Switzerland released their all-new Rolex Explorer I at the exact same time as their all-new stainless steel Rolex Submariner!!!

Sir Edmund Hillary's Mt. Everest Rolex

At Home In The Beyer Museum

In Zurich, Switzerland

The ACTUAL Rolex that Sir Edmund Hillary wore when he summited Mount Everest in 1953 is part of the permanent collection in the Beyer Museum in Zurich, Switzerland which means that if you take a trip to Zurich, Switzerland, you can go to the Beyer Museum and see the actual Rolex Oyster Perpetual that was the first watch to conquer Mount Everest.

The watch in the next three photos is Sir Edmund Hillary's actual Rolex he wore when he conquered Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay in 1953. In this first photograph his watch is sitting on top of a Rolex Explorer brochure from 1956. The reason the leather strap is so unusually long is because the extra length allowed him to wear it normally on his wrist when it was not really cold, and the extra length allowed him to wear his Rolex on his wrist over his shirt, or sweater or jacket.

Sir Edmund Hillary's Rolex Close-Up

As we see in the photo above and in the two photos below, Sir Edmund Hillary's Rolex Oyster Perpetual had a white dial. On of the myths that I busted in the past was that Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary were wearing Rolex Explorer models when they conquered Everest. The truth however, is not that far off. As a matter of fact, the Oyster Perpetual below was indeed the basis for the Rolex Explorer and even shared the same Reference number.

This early Rolex Explorer history has recently become a very hot topic and the early 1953 Rolex Explorer watches are becoming very desirable for collectors. I have a pal, who is a vintage Rolex collector, and he recently decided to sell all his non-1953 Rolex Explorer models just so he could focus on 1953 Rolex Explorer models. As I mentioned, in the future I will be shedding much more light on the fascinating genesis of the Rolex Explorer.

The most fascinating thing, in my mind, is that the Sir Edmund Hillary's Rolex Oyster Perpetual as seen in these photos is the great, great grandfather of the the all-new Rolex Explorer I that Rolex just introduced at BaselWorld 2010. What amazing legacy and history!!!

The All-New 39MM Rolex Explorer

BaselWorld 2010 Introduction

[Reference 214270: Bracelet 77200]

The all-new Rolex Explorer I deviates from the version it replaces by growing from 36mm to 39mm which is good in many ways, while perhaps having some drawbacks. The reason I suggest it's a good idea with some drawbacks is that by growing the watch from 36mm to 39mm it give the watch a more substantial, macho look with much more presence.

The potential drawback is that dudes with small wrists may not be able to wear the watch. I say this because I have two pals who have very small wrists and they always wanted to wear a sports Rolex like the Submariner, but they thought it was just too big, so the 36mm Explorer I was the goto watch for these dudes. It is not big deal, because they can always invest in a soon-t0-be vintage 36mm Explorer I.

The all new Rolex Explorer I has a streamlined look and ironically Rolex chose not to put lume on the trademark 3,6 and 9 indices. Some people in the online Rolex community have pointed out that the hands look anemic and too short. It appears Rolex design kept the old hands and I agree, that the watch needs fatter and longer hands.

Rolex design intelligently decided not to polish the center links and maintain the satin, brushed finish which was a good idea. It almost appears as if Rolex design recently has completely turned around in their approach to how they design Rolex sports watches, in the sense they realize the tool-watches are better left as tool watches. I am curious to see this watch in person!!!

What's Your Everest?

Rolex produced this brilliant video for the BaselWorld 2010 introduction of the all-new 39mm Rolex Explorer I. This video is so inspiring and it sends shivers down my spine ever time I watch it!!!!

Of course the dude with the goggles is Sir Edmund Hillary and in the scene where the man runs up to him to hug him, that is Sir John Hunt, who was the British Expedition leader congratulating Hillary as he descend down from the summit of Mount Everest. The entire British Mount Everest Expedition as well as many of the teams that previously attempted to summit Everest wore Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches.