MADONNA The Material Girl

...Rolex Hotness...

MADONNA

The Material Girl

An Amazing Career Wearing Rolex

Madonna is probably the most successful female recording star in history, and she has been wearing different Rolex watches for years. The first photo below, taken earlier today, was at an event in southeastern Africa, in Malawi, where Madonna commemorated the opening of a pediatric surgery center wing at a hospital, which is named after Madonna's adopted daughter named Mercy James who is pictured below on the far right, sitting on here brother David's lap. Madonna has adopted four children over the years who were all born in Malawi, and they are seated next to her at the event. We see Madonna's son David (11), with his sisters Mercy James (11), and Stella.

Madonna posted the video below on her Official Madonna Instagram page, which shows her entering the Mercy James hospital in Malawi.

The Day has Finally arrived and so have we! 🎉🎉🎉 Entering the Mercy. James Center! 💕🌈Malawi's First Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. ♥️🇲🇼♥️🌍♥️🇲🇼🌍♥️🇲🇼🌍♥️🇲🇼🌍🌍🌍🌍🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻@cbssundaymorning @raisingmalawi

A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on Jul 11, 2017 at 8:22am PDT

The video below was filmed today in Malawi, and features Madonna's daughter, Mercy James giving a speech at the opening of the hospital ward named after her.

In the 2014 photo below also taken in Malawi, we see Madonna with her adopted daughter, Mercy James who was 8 years old at the time. Notice Madonna was wearing her yellow gold Rolex Day-Date in this photo as well.

Material Girls Love Stainless Rolex Daytona

Madonna has six children. In the photo below from 2010 we see Madonna with her two daughters. Mercy James is sitting on her lap playing with her mothers Rolex Daytona clasp while Lourdes looks on. This first photo was taken in Chinkota, Malawi, Africa.

In the next two photos Madonna is holding her son David in her arms, and she is wearing he Daytona.

Madonna 1983
Madonna is on a short list of ultra-successful highly iconic celebrities that are known by one name, such as Cher, Oprah, Eminen, Dr. Dre, and Prince Madonna first gained popularity back in 1983, when she released her seminal album simply titled, "Madonna". Madonna's debut album was an iconic mega-hit album that included songs like, Lucky Star, Borderline, Burning Up, Holiday, Think of me, Physical Attraction, and Everybody.



Like A Virgin 1984
Madonna's second album titled Like A Virgin, debuted on November 12, 1984, was also mega successful and featured many highly iconic songs, including Material Girl, Angel, Live A Virgin, Love Don't Live Here Anymore, Dress You Up, Shoo-Bee-Doo, Pretender and Stay.

True Blue 1986
True Blue was the name of Madonna's third studio album which was released on June 30, 1986. At the time, Madonna was married to actor Sean Penn, who inspired songs on the album. True Blue featured more mega-hit songs including Papa Don't Preach, Open Your Heart, Live To Tell, La Isla Bonita, and Jimmy Jimmy.

Like A Prayer 1989
Like A Prayer was Madonna's fourth studio album which featured the ultra-successful title track hit named Like A Prayer.






VOUGE 1990
Vouge was a huge hit for Madonna, and it was originally released on her "I'm Breathless" album, which was the soundtrack for the Dick Tracy movie where she costarred beside Warren Beaty.



I could easily keep going with Madonna's discography and music videos, but I thought I would end this story with a video of her from Carpool Karaoke, as well as a recent video, below this next one that features her with Nicki Minaj.



Writing this story for me seriously deja vu'd me out, as it brought back so many memories from my teenage years through my twenties. One think I have always tripped on is how Madonna always looks like a different person. In other words, throughout the decades, every time I see her, she looks like an almost completely different person.

Elmar's White Gold Daytona Dial

...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day...

Elmar's White Gold Daytona Dial

Whatever Happened To Amelia Earhart?

What Really Happened To

Amelia Earhart?

The Lost Evidence Documentary 

Originally Aired on The History Channel

Amelia Earhart is one of the greatest explorers and adventurers in history, and her record-breaking airplane flights not only shattered gender barriers, but also captured the worlds imagination. Her mysterious disappearance has been one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in history. I believe this mystery may have  finally been solved! Last week I published a story about an upcoming documentary from The History Channel that aired last night, and basically put together the pieces of the puzzle as to what actually happened to Amelia Earhart. I watched the amazing Amelia Earhart documentary, and you can watch it on YouTube by clicking here. 

So what do I think? Do I believe the documentary? Yes. I do. Why? I believe the smoking gun is in the photographic evidence found in the ONI photo. If you are a reader of Jake's Rolex World, you know as a historical investigator, I specialize in separating the fact from the fiction, and getting to the truth using photographic evidence, and that is exactly what I believe the History Channel Documentary achieved...I believe in Amelia Earhart's case the truth is a little unsettling, dramatic and traumatic, but the investigators likely solved one of the greatest mysteries in modern history...The Truth Is Out There...

For some reason, when I think about how Emila Earhart's life apparently ended, I think about an amazing quote from comedian, Gilda Radner. Gilda Radner is perhaps most famous for being a cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live, and in particular, she is likely most memorable for her role playing Rosanne, Rosannadanna. Gilda Radner was married to Gene Wilder, who starred as Willie Wonka in the Chocolate Factory. Gilda Radner died young, at age 42, from ovarian cancer, and as she was dying she wrote:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity." —Gilda Radner

If you think about the way Emilia Earhart's life tragically ended, Gilda's quote makes even more sense, as it seem just as on-point for Amelia. The supreme irony is Amelia was planning to retire from her flight career just after she completed her around-the-world trip, of which she was on the last leg of when she mysteriously disappeared. Instead of a comfy, cush retirement, she apparently went thought a highly traumatic living hell.

Did Amelia Earhart Wear A Rolex?

I have been trying to figure out if Amelia Earhart wore a Rolex? For some reason, I can't seem to get the question out of my head!?!! I think I once saw a photo of Amelia Earhart that was on display at Rolex in Geneva, but I can't seem to find it.

Rolex Day-Date Ad

January 1973

Here is the weird thing: I was looking through my archives, and I came across this Rolex magazine ad from 1973 that shows the Rolex executive suite, and notice the photos of famous people on the wall.

If Only These Walls Could Talk

Here is a higher-resolution photo of the executive offices at Rolex Headquarters in Geneva in 1973. I used to always stare at this photo, and try and figure out who the photos were of. Notice the first visible photo on the left. I always thought that looked like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but I could never find the same photo of him, so I could not confirm it. I also think the second photo is of Neville Chamberlain, who was the British prime minister.

Recently I found the same photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seen below. So this confirms my long-held suspicion that the executives at Rolex in Geneva greatly admired Dr. King's career achievements as they proudly displayed his signed photo on their wall. This is actually fairly common, that I am trying to solve one research case, and I stumble into solving another, as is the case here.

So you are probably asking what this has to do with Amelia Earhart wearing a Rolex? As I mentioned earlier in this story, I thought I saw a photo of Amelia in the past in a similar setting. I've reached out to Rolex for comment, and as soon as I hear back from them, I will update this section. So I am going to go out on a limb and try to answer that question. The photo below shows Amelia Earhart wearing a single button continuous "flyback" chronograph.

The obvious question, is could she be wearing a Rolex single button chronograph? The photo below is of a 1937 Rolex Zerograph chronograph, which features a single button chronograph and a spinning bezel. Many people have asked the question of whether Rolex invented the spinning bezel in 1953 on the Submariner, or did Blancpain with their 50 Fathoms watch? I think this photo answers that question as it shows a 1937 Rolex with a rotating bezel. So the question is, did Amelia wear a Rolex? Like I said, I don't know for certain, but once I find out, I will update this story. I will say, it would make a lot of sense to learn that she wore a Rolex for many reasons. Also, just to be crystal-clear, I am not saying Amelia Earhart is wearing a Rolex Zerograph in the photo above. I am saying that in 1937, Rolex made wrist watch models that had single pusher chronographs as pictured below.

All Original 1937 Rolex Oyster Zerograph was the first watch with a spinning bezel

In the undated photo below of Amelia Earhart, I believe she is wearing a Longines wrist watch. You would think it would be very easy to find photos of Amelia Earhart wearing wrist watches, but I have found it to be difficult. That is the thing about Rolex spotting, is sometimes it is easy, and sometimes it is very challenging.

Perhaps another clue as to why I think Amelia Earhart wore a Rolex is this Rolex ad, which does not make that much sense. It reads "1947. The sound barrier is broken. ROLEX. FOR LIFE'S DEFINING MOMENTS." The reason this ad seems strange to me, is I thought it was a play on Amelia Earhart, but 1947 is the year Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to break the speed of sound barrier, and in the back of this ad we see an X1 aircraft, which is what Chuck Yeager flew when he broke the sound barrier in 1947. So maybe the reason I think I saw a photo of Amelia Earhart wearing a Rolex is based upon this photo?

One More Thing

Probably the most convincing piece of evidence in finally solving this case is the Office Of Naval Intelligence photo seen below. I want to circle back to this photo to make a point. It's bizarre to think that if this photo was never found, Amelia Earhart's mysterious disappearance likely would never have been solved!?!!

Original ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) photo:  PL-Marshall Islands, Jaluit Atoll, Jaluit Island. ONI #14381 Jaluit Harbor.
The newly discovered photo seen above and below from the United State National Archives shows a female who looks just like Amelia Earhart, as well as a man who looks just like her navigator, Fred Noonan. 

In my previous article on this subject, I created the graphic below that shows how the shape of the back of Amelia Earhart's head has a very unusual long flat spot, as I illustrated below.

I just put together the composite image below, which is the same as the one above, but it ads another photo of Amelia from the rear angle. This additional image is located on the far left, and features the exact same unusual flat spot. I got this image from the History Channel Documentary.

In doing my own research on this case, I came across the two photos below that show Amelia Earhart's last haircut. In the photo Amelia is reading a copy of the Oakland Tribune Newspaper. In this first photo, you can see that Emilia had unusually thick and bushy hair, and she is having it cut like a man, by a barber in a barbershop, which was really unusual in 1937.

I spoke with Jose after he watched the Amelia Earhart documentary, and he said he thought it "It was mind-blowing". I followed-up and said, "So you believe it was her in the photo?" Jose responded, "Yes, I mean the Marshal Islands even printed some postage stamps commemorating that event..." Overall, I found most of the evidence to be extremely compelling in the documentary, and trust me, I have seen some pretty bad examples of people jumping to false conclusions, but I did not think that was the case at all with this documentary. 

Many people think the war in the Pacific began when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 

December of 1941, but it actually began just five short days after Amelia Earhart's airplane disappeared in Japanese controlled territory in the Pacific. The all out war in the Pacific began when Chinese and Japanese troops clashed, on July 7, 1937.  One of the details that was not mentioned in the documentary, was that Amelia Earhart appears to have had special surveillance camera's on-board her airplane, so it is likely when the Japanese found the camera footage, they assumed she was an American recognizance Spy, and perhaps she was. So basically, America's sweetheart, Amelia Earhart ended up at the wrong place, at the wrong time and became a victim of circumstance.

Steve Guerdat 2012 Olympic Jumping Champion Rolex Day-Date

...Rolex Super-Coolness...

Steve Guerdat

2012 Olympic Jumping Champion

Rolex Day-Date + Rose Gold Daytona

Steve Guerdat is a Swiss born Olympic jumping champion. He was born in 1982 and at age seven began training with his father, Philippe Guedat. Steve Guerdat won the 2012 Olympic Jumping Championships and is the first Swiss rider to win a gold Olympic medal in jumping since 1924!!!

Dark Chocolate Daytona

Rose Gold with All-New Ceramic Bezel

Steve Guerdat is wearing a Datejust in the first photo in this story, and when he is riding he wears a Rose Gold Rolex Daytona with a brown dial, which also has a ceramic bezel.

Stefano Mazzariol: Rolex Reference 6234

Stefano Mazzariol

Rolex Chronograph: Grandfather Of The Rolex Daytona

[Reference 6234]

The Rolex Chronograph Reference 6234 was introduced in 1955–coincidentally, the same years Rolex introduced the Rolex GMT Master.

The Rolex Chronograph Reference 6234 was made from 1955 to 1961, and during those 6 years Rolex averaged approximately 500 per year. The Reference 6234 is the great grandfather of the modern stainless steel Rolex Daytona.

Amelia Earhart Mystery New Evidence Suggests She Survived Crash-Landing

Amelia Earhart Mystery
New Evidence Suggests She Survived Crash-Landing

What happened to Amelia Earhart? This to date has been one of the most intriguing unanswered questions of the 20th century—right up there with the question of who actually shot JFK? This mystery may have been solved, and it all has to do with this newly discovered spy photo seen below, which came from the United States National Archives. I think it is an absolute fluke this photo was found, and I also believe it was overlooked, because nobody else recognized Amelia in the photo. In other words, the researchers found a needle in a haystack, that was hiding in plain sight, but almost completely escaped detection.

Original ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) photo:  PL-Marshall Islands, Jaluit Atoll, Jaluit Island. ONI #14381 Jaluit Harbor.
The newly discovered photo below from the United State National Archives shows a female who looks a lot like Amelia Earhart, as well as a man who looks like her navigator, Fred Noonan. 

If you look closely on the far right side of the photo pictured below, you can see an airplane being towed in the water behind the Japanese towing barge named "Koshu". The airplane when measured to scale is approximately 38 feet long, which is the exact length of Amelia Earhart's airplane.

I saw some evidence once, that lead me to believe that perhaps Amelia Earhart wore a Rolex watch at one point in her later flying history. I'm still investigating this possibility, but in the meantime, this is one fascinating historical mystery story—that might send shivers down your spine when you watch the video below. The History Channel is airing a special 2 hour documentary this Sunday evening at 9PM EST on all the latest evidence on what happened to Amelia Earhart.

So as a historian I can't help but wonder what the truth is, so I thought I would examine several interesting pieces of this history puzzle. First lets take a look at the photo below which was one of the last photos taken of Amelia Earhart. It was taken on June 30, 1937 just after Amelia Earhart arrived at Lae, in New Guinea. 

In the collage I created below, we see on of the last knows photo of Amelia Earhart on the right, next to the recently discovered photo taken in the Marshall Islands. 

Now look at the image below where I put a green line that follows the unusual flat back of Amelia's hairstyle. Compare this image with the image above. The person pictured in the Marshall Islands photo almost has to be the same. If you don't believe me, try and find a photo of ANY other woman on earth how has a unique headshape/haircut that looks like this?

There are so many similarities it is crazy. For instance, Amelia had a very long torso, and she wore high rise slacks, but she wore them kind of low, which is a perfect match in both photos.

National Geographic & Rolex Form Global Exploration Partnership

 National Geographic +Rolex 

 Form Global Exploration Partnership 

A few weeks ago, National Geographic and Rolex announced they were forming a Global Exploration Partnership, which is Beyond Exciting if you ask me. I first really discovered Rolex watches through seeing Rolex ads in Nat Geo Magazine.

The Rolex ad below shows the first Rolex DEEP-SEA Prototype, and appeared in the July 1954 copy of National Geographic. I think this might be the first Rolex ad that ever appeared in National Geographic.

I put the 2017 Single Red SEA-DWELLER over the 1954 DEEP-SEA Prototype National Geographic Rolex Ad, as seen below.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 

July 2017

The cover of the July 2017 can be seen below, and this issue contains a copy of the announcement of the Rolex partnership with National Geographic.

Below is a beautifully written letter from Gary E. Knell, the President and CEO of The National Geographic Society on the recently announced partnership between Rolex and National Geographic. This letter appears in the July 2017 National Geographic Magazine.

Below is the text from the official Press release from National Geographic:

Partnership will support research and invention, promote conservation, and inspire the next generation of explorers

Built on 63 years of collaboration to foster scientific discovery and encourage conservation

Partnership Will Have Five Year Focus on the Oceans, Poles and Mountains

Washington, D.C. 19th June 2017: National Geographic and Rolex today announced a first of its kind global and multiplatform partnership in exploration, building on an existing 63-year-old relationship. The partnership will invest in scientific research and exploration, raise awareness of the planet’s challenges, and inspire the next generation of explorers. Over the next five years, this will be achieved through a focus on three critical attributes of our planet:  the oceans, the poles and the mountains. Together, National Geographic and Rolex will enable and participate in scientific expeditions, foster research and invention that will yield new exploration technologies and convene summits and activities that generate public support of conservation.

“National Geographic is synonymous with exploration, and for 63 years we’ve had an incredible partner in Rolex in supporting pioneering ventures in discovery and conservation,” said Gary E. Knell, President and CEO of the National Geographic Society.  “With today’s announcement, we will expand our partnership to understand and protect our world, and to support outstanding explorers that are seeking solutions to ensure a healthy and sustainable future. With many years together behind us, it’s a grand legacy to build on.”

“Since the 1930s, in keeping with the spirit of its founder, Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex has accompanied pioneering human adventures to the far reaches of the planet, supporting those who through their vision, their courage and their drive to push the boundaries of what is possible, shed new light on the world. And Rolex watches have been essential tools for these explorers of the unknown,” said Arnaud Boetsch, Director of Communication & Image, Rolex SA. “We have shared a vital mission of exploration with National Geographic for 63 years and are delighted to deepen our partnership as our knowledge evolves, focusing on scientific research, exploration and conservation. Raising awareness of the planet’s challenges and inspiring coming generations to protect Earth and its marvels is in line with our DNA and our history.”

“Every month 730 million people engage with National Geographic across our full media portfolio,” said Declan Moore, President & CEO, National Geographic Partners. “Through inspirational storytelling we have the power to amplify critical issues and motivate change and we are already looking forward to using our trademark journalism and photography to tell stories that this new partnership will create.”

The announcement follows on the heels of the National Geographic’s Explorers Festival, where Rolex awarded photojournalist and National Geographic explorer, Brian Skerry, the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year Award.  Skerry is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine, covering a wide range of subjects and stories.

About the National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society is a leading nonprofit that invests in bold people and transformative ideas in the fields of exploration, scientific research, storytelling and education. Through our grants and programs, we aspire to create a community of change, advancing key insights about our planet and probing some of the most pressing scientific questions of our time while ensuring that the next generation is armed with geographic knowledge and global understanding. Our goal is measurable impact: furthering exploration and educating people around the world to inspire solutions for the greater good. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.org. You can also connect with our most innovative Explorers at the first-ever National Geographic Explorers Festival; a full schedule, as well as ticket information, can be found at www.natgeo.org/explorers-festival.

About National Geographic Partners

National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between National Geographic and 21st Century Fox, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivalled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 129 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching over 730 million people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the non-profit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

About Rolex

Rolex, the Swiss watch brand headquartered in Geneva, enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster and Cellini watches, all certified as Superlative Chronometers for their precision, performance and reliability, are symbols of excellence, elegance and prestige. Founded by Hans Wilsdorf in 1905, the brand pioneered the development of the wristwatch and is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism invented in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house all the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex is also actively involved in supporting the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities, as well as philanthropic programs.

One More Thing

The one page article below also appears in the July 2017 National Geographic Magazine, and not only does it offer insight from a fascinating explorer named Kenny Broad, from University of Miami, but apparently he is cave diving in the same case that Robert John Palmer dove in the vintage Rolex SEA-DWELLER ad I published just a few days ago. I am going to have to reach out to my pal, Dr. Arthur Miller, and ask him more about this, as he is one of the top Cave Divers and Archeologist in the world.