Prince Harry Of Wales Stainless Steel Rolex Explorer

...Rolex Coolness...

Prince Harry Of Wales

Stainless Steel Rolex Explorer

Below we see a photos of Prince Harry of Wales as a spectator at a paralmpics swimming meet, and he is wearing a modern Rolex Explorer Orange Hand, which in my opinion is the coolest contemporary Rolex made today. You can see many more images of Prince Harry rockin' his Orange Hand Rolex Explorer in a article I wrote about his life.

Is Rolex Working On SMART Watches?

Is Rolex Working On SMART Watches?

For some people, it is impossible to imagine Rolex ever coming out with a SMART Watch? But, wait a minute!?!; Rolex invented SMARTWatches back in the 1950s, with the advent of the Rolex Sport Tool Watches like the Rolex GMT, and the Submariner, not to mentioned the Rolex Datejust and Day-Date. So the obvious question is whether Rolex will ever introduce a modern Rolex SMART Watch?

So what exactly constitutes a SMARTWatch? It is hard to say, but the idea is that it is wearable technology, that provides the wearer with important interactive information about their world. It can monitor biological functions like your pulse, and measure athletic fitness, as well as run powerful Apps. Why are SMARTWatches so potentially significant? Think about the difference between an old fashioned Nokia or Motorola StarTAC phone you were likely rockin' ten years ago, and an iPhone 5 you might be using to read this article today! The old-fashioned phones only made phone calls and did not run Apps. Comparing a Motorola StarTAC to an iPhone 5, would be like the difference between the Flinstones and The Jetson's, but look at how much things have changed in just the last decade, and the rate of technological achievement is growing exponentially!

Buster Hein from Cult Of Mac published an article today titled "The iRolex is the manliest iWatch concept we've seen yet." This article featured the photo above along with the video below.



Naysayers will say things like "Rolex Will NEVER come out with a Rolex Smartwatch. Rolex only makes old-fashioned mechanical watches, and would never consider doing anything else." I would point out this is not true. Rolex was part of the consortium that developed the Quartz watch under the BETA 21 program in the mid 1960s, and Rolex made Quartz watches for decades. 

Also, assuming Rolex is still in business 50 years from today, will Rolex watches in 2064 only keep time with just an old-fashioned, archaic mechanical movements? or will they offer SMART features, like the ability to unlock and start your car, or home, or office? My best guess is that at some point Rolex will have to enter the SMART Watch game, but the real question is, has Rolex been working on SMART technology all along, and have chosen not to implement it until the right time? After all, Rolex's R&D prowess is second to none, so it will be fascinating to see how Rolex approaches the future of the category it essentially created.

Are Rolex and Apple On An Inevitable Collision Course?

California's economy is the 8th largest economy in the world with a Gross State Product of $2 Trillion. In other words if California was a Country and not a state, it would have the eighth largest economy in the world. Apple is one of the crowned jewels of Silicon Valley in Northern California, along with other technological powerhouses like Google and Facebook, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Apple has $160 Billion (Not 160 Million, but 160 Billion with a Capital "B" dollars) in liquid cash in their bank account, and it appears they are looking to add their 9th product, which will be the Apple iWatch platform. The question is that if Apple is really successful with the iWatch platform, could it damage Rolex marketshare? 

Conventional wisdom might suggest it would not, but if only ten years ago, somebody said that Apple would displace and decimate dominant SMARTPhone makers like Nokia and Sony Ericsson, Palm and Motorola, nobody would have thought it likely, but that is the reality of Apple's strategic design and marketing prowess. 

The Quartz Crisis

So what is really at stake potentially in this race for the SMARTWatch? It is hard to say exactly, but one thing is likely certain, and that is that Rolex is on a collision course with Apple, and what does this mean exactly? Well, as I previously mentioned a Swiss watch consortium named BETA 21, which included Rolex and Omega and Patek Philippe, along with many other manufactures, developed Quartz watch movement technology, but failed to figure out how to implement it effectively. 

Japanese manufactures including Seiko learned of this technological development and put all chips on red to rush to market with this technology. As a matter of fact, in 1964, Seiko become the official Olympic Games Timekeeper at the Tokyo Olympic Games using newly developed Sieko Quartz timing clocks. Four short hears later in 1968 Seiko successfully brought to market an electro-mechanical wrist watch, and in 1969, introduced the first commercially available Quartz watch, which featured the Calibre 35 movement. Many Japanese manufactures followed Seiko's lead, and the net result was that the Japanese watch manufactures achieved the equivalent of a Pearl Harbor bombing on Geneva, Switzerland. The result of which was that the Japanese destroyed and decimated two-thirds of the Swiss watch-making industry. 

Ironically at the time of this Japanese Swiss watchmaking decimation, Rolex was at the helm of Swiss watchmaking leadership under André Heiniger, and irocinally Rolex ended up being the key beneficiary of this watchmaking world war. This was likely due to the fact that Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf had so intelligently isolated Rolex's leadership position from the rest of the Swiss watch industry.

The difference between what happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the upcoming watchmaking world war, is that now it is ironically the American's going after the Swiss watchmaking industry (with immense Chinese manufacturing capacity), and this time it's Apple with $160 Billion dollars in their war chest. I'm not saying Rolex or that the Swiss watchmaking industry should be shaking in their boots, at least not yet, but if anybody can upset Swiss watchmaking leadership it would be Apple, particularly if Apple can get everybody who has an iPhone today, to wear an iWatch.

Think about this for a minute; what percentage of people who wear Rolex watches today, carry and depend on iPhones? I rest my case.

So is this all a really big deal, or is it much ado about nothing? As they say, Time Will Tell, but one thing is for sure, it will be awfully interesting to see how things unfold in the future.

FratelloWatches.com recently published a fascinating story named "The Swiss Watch Industry Is Bankrupt" which was written by Jan Adriaanse, who is a Professor Of Turnaround Management affiliated with the Law School of Leiden University in The Netherlands. I very highly recommend reading Jan's article that explores the upcoming world war of SMARTWatches, and what exactly is at stake.

There is also another interesting article I recommend reading named "Swiss-based watchmaker Swatch anticipating Apple's market entry by fighting for 'iWatch' trademark."

Victoria Beckham In NYC Rolex Day-Date with Aqua Green Stella Dial

...Rolex Hotness...

Victoria Beckham In NYC

Rolex Day-Date with Aqua Green Stella Dial

A fan of Jake's Rolex World sent in these photos of Victoria Beckman earlier this week in New York City, and we see her rockin' an unusual and rare 36MM Rolex Day-Date with an Aqua Green Stella dial, which was made in the 1970s.

Rolex was big on making Rolex Day-Date models in the 1970s that offered unusual colored dials, and Victoria's not only has an aqua green dial, but also a rare Rolex Oyster bracelet, which offers a great look!!!

It's About Time Podcast with Amit Dev Handa

It's About Time Podcast

with Amit Dev Handa

Back in June 2013 Amit Dev Handa, who is one of the worlds leading horology experts and watch collection consultants interviewed me for his, "It's About Time" podcast, and we had a great conversation. Amit just published the podcast and you can listen to it below or on his website. You can also download the podcast from iTunes.

Amit Dev Handa is the Luxury Timepiece Concierge for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas, and he also publishes a website and blog named It's About Time. 

In the podcast we spoke about how cool it would be if Rolex partnered with Panerai to make Reference 6154 models again, with 8MM Brevet Crowns, or maybe even Rolex would bring back the Rolex Reference 6154? Below is an ultra-rare 47mm Reference 6154, which was made in 1954. 

In the photo below, we see the Rolex made 47MM Reference 6154 with a Panerai sandwich dial that was also made in 1954. It's dial began its life in black, like the Rolex watch pictured above, but over time the Radium on the five-minute markers and hands bleached the dial down to a beautiful blond color. In my opinion the Rolex made Reference 6154 models are some of the most beautiful tool/sport watches ever made, and I hope both Panerai and Rolex have the wisdom to bring these stunningly timeless masterpieces back to life!

BLOODHOUND SSC and ROLEX

...Rolex Super-Coolness...

ROLEX Returns to the Fastest Track

BLOODHOUND SSC 

AND ROLEX

Bespoke ROLEX Speedometer & ROLEX Chronograph 

Built For Pushing The Envelope–Again

Rolex recently released a great deal of detail on the upcoming plan for their support of the BLOODHOUND SSC project, which has the goal to set an all-time new land-speed record of over 1000MPH, which is 239 Miles An Hour faster than Supersonic, which is Mach 1.

The photo below shows the bespoke Rolex Speedometer and Chronograph instruments that were custom-made for the cockpit of the BLOODHOUND SSC.

In the photo below, we see Andy Green's Rolex Dayona as he engages the cockpit dashboard controls in the BLOODHOUND SSC.

In the photo below we see the BLOODHOUND SSC experimental vehicle parked in its garage where it was hand-built.

Before we examine more detail on the BLOODHOUND SSC, let's first explore the history of Rolex in setting international speed records:

Rolex's Conquest Of Speed

Deeper, higher, faster...Rolex is undisputedly the king of the DEEP-SEA, and the two men who first summited Mt. Everest in 1953 wore Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches, but many people are not aware of Rolex's speed prowess, wether it is in the air, or on land. Chuck Yeager was the first person in history to break the speed of sound barrier in 1947, and he did so wearing a Rolex Oyster Perpetual.

U.S. Air Force Test Pilot and NASA Astronaut, William J. "Pete" Knight flew into the history books in 1967 when he set the all-time air speed record when he flew his X-15 experimental aircraft at Mach 6.7, a record for level flight speed that remains unbroken to this day. And of course, he was wearing his trusted Rolex GMT-MASTER to measure his timing.

The Hypersonic North American X-15 was America's first spaceship, meaning it could leave earths orbit and return safely to land on earth. A great deal of X-15 technology was later incorporated into NASA's Space Shuttle design, all the way down to using the abatement white paint on the panels to aid in keeping the spaceship cool upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

In 1967, Pete Knight set the all-time speed record for level flight when he flew his X-15 at Mach 6.7, which is 4,250 Miles per hour, or 7,274 Kilometers per hour, and he did so wearing his Pepsi GMT-Master.

If you carefully examine the design of the X-15 is shares a similar design to the Bloodhound SSC.

The photo below shows William J. "Pete" Night as he pilots his experimental NASA X-15 up into the heavens to set the all-time speed record for level flight.

Record breaking U.S. Air Force Test-Pilot and NASA Astronaut William J. "Pete" Knight is pictured below holding a model of his X-15, and notice he is wearing his Pepsi GMT-Master.

The Speed King

Rolex's history of supporting men who have pushed the limits of speed is without precedent, and since timing is of vital importance is high-speed endeavors men like Sir Malcolm Campbell have depended on Rolex for keeping their time.

Sir Malcolm Campbell is pictured below sporing his trusted Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch he wore when he set the all-time land speed record many times.

Sir Malcolm Campbell is pictured below in his early  Blue Bird Sunbeam experimental vehicle in 1922 at Saltburn Sands, in North Yorkshire, England. This Blue Bird had a V-12 engine that had 350 horsepower. On June 17, 1922 he broke the all-time speed record when he drove his Blue Bird at 138.08 Miles Per Hour.

On February 4, 1927, Sir Malcolm Campbell set another international land-speed record when he achieved 174.88 MPH (279.81 KPH) as pictured below.

Back in the U.S.A.

In this next image taken on May 22, 1931, Sir Malcom Campbell's Bluebird is being pushed out backwards from the Napier works on its way to the Brooklands race track near Weybridge in Surrey, England. The car had to be pushed backward because it had no reverse gear. Earlier in the year on February 5, 1931, he had set another world land-record in the United States at Daytona beach when he drove the Bluebird at 245.73 MPH (393.74 KPH). This new Bluebird had a supercharged 1,450 Horse Power engine.

This new Bluebird had evolved considerably with its aerodynamic bullet-shaped design from the previous iteration, thus allowing him to drive it approximately 75 MPH faster.

On February 24th, 1932 at Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.A., only a year later, Malcolm arrived with a new Bluebird design that was much more streamlined with a lower center of gravity.

With his new Bluebird he set yet another record when he hit 253.09 MPH (406.35).

On February 22, 1933, Sir Malcolm set another world speed record at Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.A., this time he achieved 272.46 MPH (435.94 KPH). This version of the Bluebird must have been the inspiration for the Batmobile in the Batman movies.

You can always learn much more about Sir Malcolm Campbell and his amazing career by checking out my article named "Sir Malcolm Campbell: The First Rolex At Daytona."

Into The Mystic

As we have recently witnessed, Rolex has been diving back into the world of exploration in a big way lately, and Rolex recently announced in great detail, their partnership with the BLOODHOUND SSC program. 

The objective with the BLOODHOUND SSC project is to once again, push the envelope of SPEED, with Rolex again keeping time with the conquest of shattering all previous records...Again...

Andy Green is the is the driver of the BLOODHOUND SSC and he is pictured below with his BLOODHOUND team:

As stated below: "The BLOODHOUND Project is primarily about bringing science and technology to life for a new generation. We are actually trying to create an engineering adventure to push back the boundaries of physics, to push back the limits technology and share it with a global audience. The way we are doing it is to build this, the world's first 1,000mph car, take it to South Africa and run it for the next two years."

Below is the text from the official Rolex Press Release titled "ROLEX MEDIA TRIP FOR THE UNVEILING OF THE ROLEX INSTRUMENTS FOR BLOODHOUND."

ROLEX UNVEILS INSTRUMENTS OF SPEED

Bristol, 30 April 2014 – Rolex, the leading luxury watchmaking brand, has revealed the two bespoke instruments it exclusively developed and manufac- tured for BLOODHOUND SSC, the supersonic car. True to its philosophy, Rolex has combined world-class technology with exacting standards of precision and reliability to create these highly accurate instruments that will be installed in the cockpit of BLOODHOUND SSC as it aims to set a new World Land Speed Record of 1,000 miles per hour (1609.34 km/h) in South Africa in 2015/2016 and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Rolex joined the BLOODHOUND SSC project in 2011 as the Official Timing Partner and thanks to its in-house engineering expertise, was in the best position to meet BLOODHOUND SSC driver Andy Green’s needs for two key cockpit instruments: an analogue speedometer and chronograph.

These two vital instruments, with characteristic Rolex analogue dials, will sit either side of Andy Green’s hands on the left and right of the dashboard. The speedometer and the chronograph will be essential and independent complements to the central electronic screens that will display data during BLOODHOUND SSC’s runs.

Building on Rolex’s legendary reliability, these highly accurate instruments will provide a necessary visual reference and fail-safe back-up for some of the on-screen readouts during the two critical phases in the record bid: assisting precision braking from 1,000 mph on the 20-kilometre track and for timekeeping during the turnaround in-between the two mandatory record runs.

BLOODHOUND SSC will be fully assembled by mid-2015 and will then start running in the UK and South Africa ahead of its World Land Speed Record attempt in 2016.

Mr Arnaud Boetsch, Communication & image Director of Rolex SA, said: “As the leading luxury watchmaking brand, Rolex felt the nature and the global appeal of the partnership with BLOODHOUND SSC was of clear interest and in line with Rolex’s strategy to partner with projects that have strong symbolic value.

The BLOODHOUND SSC project is one of the most highly technological global ini- tiatives driven by a spirit of extraordinary human endeavour. The association marks Rolex’s support for projects that share a passion for performance and precision, founded on their pursuit of excellence in technology and innovative engineering.

Given Rolex’s history in the world of speed, which goes back to an association with Sir Malcolm Campbell during his World Land Speed Record successes in the 1930s, and BLOODHOUND SSC’s mission to inspire the next generation to embrace science and technology, the partnership with BLOODHOUND SSC is a natural fit.”

Andy Green, BLOODHOUND SSC driver, said: “BLOODHOUND SSC is a project with strong symbolic values, not only designing and building the fastest car on earth but ultimately inspiring the next generation to take on careers in science and tech- nology. We are delighted to have Rolex supporting this project both from a technical and inspirational point of view.

We were looking to have independent and reliable devices to measure speed and time during the record attempt. These high-precision instruments will not only give me a visual reference of the speed, both in acceleration and most importantly on braking, but also help during the precise turnaround the car will have to go through in a limited time. Given their technical and engineering expertise, Rolex was the perfect partner to develop such unique and important instruments.”

To learn much more about the details of the BLOODHOUND SSC and ROLEX program click here.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau The Greatest Explorer [Part 4 of 4]

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

The Greatest Explorer

[Part 4 of 5]

It's A Family Affair–The Life Aquatic

The Cousteau Family

"From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth, but man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free." –Jacques Cousteau

Jacques Coustea not only invented SCUBA diving but taught his wife and two sons how to dive which you see in the photo below. Jacques Cousteau's oldest son, Jean-Michel is pictured on the far left; Jacques wife, Simone is pictured in the center; then Jacques Cousteau with his younger son Philippe pictured on the far right exploring in the Mediterranean Sea.

In this next family portrait we see Jacques next to his son Philippe who is next to his brother Jean-Michel. You can learn much more about Jacques-Yves Cousteau, an his sons in an article I wrote named "The Complete History Of The Rolex Submariner & SEA-DWELLER, Rolex's Conquest Of The Ocean: Part 5: Jacques Cousteau, Emile Gagan & The Aqua Lung."

In the photo above, Jacques Cousteau's older son, Jean-Michel is pictured on the far right side, and in this next photo below we see Jean-Michel Cousteau posing with his son Fabien Coustau and his daughter, Céline Cousteau in the same pose, except now he is on the far left side. Today, Jean-Michel Cousteau is renowned explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer with his own show that currently airs on PBS named Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures.

Jean-Michel, Fabien and Céline Cousteau appear with their father on his TV show and go on expeditions all over the world with him.

Jean-Michel Coustea is pictured above scuba-diving with this son daughter and son and is pictured below standing in a lagoon.

Jean-Michel Cousteau, who is also Jacques Cousteau's grandson, Fabian Cousteau is pictured below.

Jean-Michel Cousteau's daughter, who is Jacques Cousteau's granddaughter, Céline is pictured below swimming in the ocean with dolphin's. Notice how long her flippers are and that she is snorkeling. Very cool photo of Céline.

Young Céline Cousteau is picture below at age 9 in front of her Grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Calypso, as it made its way down the Amazon River.

The Cousteau team is pictured below swimming beneath a great white shark.

In this last image from this series, we see Jean-Michel Cousteau inspecting some tropical fish.

Jacques Cousteau's Son's & Grandson

All Wore Rolex Submariner Watches

In this next photo of Philippe-Pierre Cousteau when he was much younger-taken during a Jacques Cousteau documentary named "Voyage To The End Of The World", he is wearing his trademark Rolex Submariner in stainless steel.

It is funny because in the photo below, Jacques Cousteau seems to be staring at his son Philippe-Pierre Cousteau's Rolex Submariner.

Twas The Worst of Times

Phillipe Cousteau (pictured above and below) was was quite an explorer and risk taker, but unfortunately in 1979 he was attempting to land the Cousteau amphibious Flying Calypso airplane boat and he crashed it in the Tagus River in Portugal and lost his life.

According to T. Walker Lloyd, who was very close to Philippe, when you plan to land a boat in the water you are supposed to fly over the landing area to do a visual check to make certain there are no obstructions. Apparently Philippe decided to land the newly refinished Cousteau Calypso II PBY flying boat without first observing the landing area and the plane hit a corral reef and crashed.

The Calpyso II PBY flying boat was an amazingly innovative flying research laboratory and Philippe flew it all over the world. Philippe Cousteau was an amazing explorer, like his dad, brother and son and his death was a supreme tragedy.

Philippe Cousteau Jr.

Jacques Cousteau was devestated when his son Philippe died. At the time of Philippe Cousteau's death, his American wife, Jan, was seven months pregnant with their son Philippe Cousteau Jr. who is pictured below. Philippe Cousteau followed in his father and grandfather's footsteps.

"I'll never be able to fill my father's or grandfather's shoes, but hopefully I can stand on their shoulders and reach farther." –Philippe Cousteau Jr.

Philippe Cousteau was born in Santa Monica, California, U.S.A. on January 20, 1980 and is 29 years old today. He has followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by educating the public about environmental and conservation issues as well as encouraging people to take better care of planet earth. Philippe Cousteau Jr. grew up in France and the U.S. and in 2000, he co-founded EarthEcho International with his older sister Alexandra Cousteau.

Philippe is also the Chief Ocean Correspondent for Animal Planet, where he is producing a series of ocean documentary programs.

In the next three photos of Philippe Cousteau Jr., he is testifying before the United States Congress in a hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee on Capital Hill on February 11, 2009 in Washington D.C. The hearing examined the environmental and commercial aspects of offshore oil drilling.

Philippe Cousteau Jr., wears a Rolex SEA-DWELLER which looks similar to the Submariner his father, uncle and grandfather wore–as you can see in the photo above and the two photos below. As Scott pointed out in the comment section, Philippe's mother, Jan gave him his Rolex SEA-DWELLER when he graduated from Saint Andrews University.

Table Of Contents

• Chapter 1: The First Submariner

• Chapter 2: Project Conshelf

• Chapter 3: The First SEA-DWELLER

• Chapter 4: Family Affair

• NEXT>>> Chapter 5: Legacy