Tudor Watch Designer The Hodinkee Interview

...Tudor Coolness...
Tudor Watch Designer
Ander Ugarte
The Hodinkee Interview

1949 Rolex GMT? Rolex Patent Application

1949 Rolex GMT?

Rolex 'Universal Watch' Patent Application

WTCF!?!! This new find is rather shocking as it adds a previously undocumented piece of history to the Rolex GMT-Master history puzzle. Notice the application date is August 29, 1949. This is profound in that Rolex did not launch the Rolex GMT-Master until 1955.

I really don't even know where to begin with this Rolex patent application as is appears to have come out of left field. The fact that it predates the GMT-Master by 6 years is one thing, but the fact it has two dials with one that includes international cities including Geneve, Berlin, New York, and Panama make it even more interesting as it appears to be a hybrid GMT/World-Timer of sorts...

One interesting detail is that the Rolex 'Universal Watch' pictured above features a dedicated 24 hour hand (5) which we see just above the 2 O'clock position. This means that Rolex had the GMT-Hand design complete at least 6 years earlier than anybody ever documented. Clearly, this Rolex watch model never made it to market, but this patented design really illustrates that Rolex was swinging for the fences in watch design...

It is obvious to note the design of this 'universal watch' by Rolex is opposite of a GMT-Master in the sense a GMT has the 24-hour rotating bezel on the outside, whereas this design features it on the inside...

The photo above shows an original 1955 Rolex Pepsi GMT-Master, which is featured below in the 1955 Rolex ad.

Handsome Harry gets Hitched ...

Handsome Harry gets Hitched 

Prince Harry married Meghan Markle today and you can check out the full Royal Wedding Ceremony in the video below.

I am so stoked to see them married, as you can tell they both adore each other!

Prince Harry wears an Orange Hand Rolex Polar Explorer as seen below, which matches his orange hair.

The Return Of Magnum PI...

The Return Of 
Magnum PI
 2018 Reboot
They say that while history doesn't repeat itself, it sure does rhyme, and that's definitely the case with the reboot of Magnum P.I. Ferrari 308 GTS, Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master and all...I know this may sound weird, but I am actually stoked to watch the reboot of Magnum PI, as this action-packed trailer looks pretty Rad...

Jay Hernandez plays the role of Thomas Magnum, which Tom Selleck so famously played back in the 1980s. In the photo below we see Tom Selleck wearing his trademark Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master in driving his Ferrari 308GT.

The new Magnum P.I. is scheduled to debut this Fall on CBS and will air on Monday evenings at 9/8c.

Even though Tom Selleck is no longer playing the role of Magnum P.I., he still wears his Rolex Reference 1675 Pepsi GMT-Master as seen on his wrist in the recent photo below. I have to admit that seeing somebody other than Tom Selleck play Magnum P.I. is kind of weird, but I would also add that the new show looks great!

History of Rolex & Golf

History of Rolex & Golf

Rolex Founder Hans Wilsdorf

Rolex Time Machine

Hans Wilsdorf

Japanese Rolex Retailer Meeting in Geneva

If you are a regular reader of Jake's Rolex World you know I have been obsessed for a long time about telling the story of Hans Wilsdorf, who founded Rolex.

The photo below was taken sometime in the late 1950s and show Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf with the fourth generation Ryohei president of what is now known as the Hotta Corporation. The photo was taken in Hans Wilsdorf's office at Rolex headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

If you look at the photo above of Hans Wilsdorf's office, in the upper right-hand corner we see a Rolex ad that features Lord Mountbatten. This add was published in magazines in 1957 and was part of the "Men who guide the destinies of the world wear Rolex watches."

The Hotta Corporation is one of the oldest watch retailers in Japan, and they own and operate multiple freestanding Rolex boutiques in Japan.

It is amazing, if you think about it, that there are many Rolex Authorized retailers located around the world as part of Rolex's network that developed their relationships with Hans Wilsdorf.

The Surprising Ultimate Pilot's Watch

Timing is

Everything

The Surprising Ultimate

Pilot's Watch

         

We are flying across 32°34'06"N, 143°46'01"W at 34,000 feet over the Pacific, and we've just crossed the equal-time point between Seattle and Honolulu. I take a look at my Rolex and note the time. For a pilot to know the equal-time point between two pieces of land is crucial. If there's an emergency, the closest runway in distance is not always the closest runway in time; it is based on the direction and strength of the winds over the ocean that day. 

That's why the equal-time point between Seattle and Honolulu varies every day as winds vary. Today our ETP is 32°34'06"N, 143°46'01"W. At this exact point, we are at two hours and fifty-eight minutes from either Hawaii or the continental U.S. Once passed that point, going West, if there's an emergency we are committed to land in Hawaii because it is faster.

The FAA allows our Boeing 757 to be over water for up to three hours from any runway, which is plenty far if an emergency strikes. So at two hours and fifty-eight minutes, we are butting against that limit. If you think two minutes is no big deal on a six-hour-and-twenty-minute flight, it is for me. And it can make the difference between having to cancel a flight and reaching my hotel layover near Waikiki Beach.  

The other challenge of being a transoceanic pilot is the lack of radar coverage over the ocean. No radar coverage means there's nobody sitting in front of a scope who can provide spacing between aircraft. Instead, we have to report the exact time at which we pass certain geographical points defined by latitudes and longitudes. We communicate that to a radioman in San Francisco, and he plots our location. So my job requires me to rely on accurate time as if my life depended on it—because it does. It is the only way we assure safe separation between airliners, all rushing at 500 knots to one of the most popular vacation spots in the world.

  

When I click on the hand-microphone and begin to broadcast, I'm required to include the estimated time when my Boeing 757 will cross the next longitude. If I am off by more than two minutes, I have committed "gross navigational error," according to the FAA. I immediately start the chronograph of my Rolex Daytona as we are rushing to the next longitude at 80 percent of the speed of sound across the largest ocean in the world.

One of the big myths about pilots and their watches is that we're obsessed with GMT hands and multiple time zones. In reality, our job is all about timing events to make sure the flight is conducted safely and within the limitation of the aircraft. Time is so crucial that the FAA doesn't allow an airplane to takeoff if it doesn't have a working clock onboard. We worry about the local time zone later. After we land and once comfortably seated in the crew van, I'll pull the crown of my Daytona and coordinate dinner plans with the rest of the crew.  

Timing begins at pushback, when I start the first jet engine. The start sequence of the multi-million-dollar Pratt & Whitney turbofan of the Boeing 757 has to be precisely measured. The time starts when I turn on the engine start selector on the overhead panel. And with a switch on the center pedestal, I open the engine fuel valve when the second stage compressor has reached its maximum motoring speed.

As the chrono hand sweeps onward, I note the time to make sure the engine doesn't "hang," meaning, combustion has occurred and the exhaust gas temperature rises within 20 seconds. If it doesn't, I'll abort the start sequence, and start the chrono again: I have to let the engine cool for no fewer than thirty seconds per each minute it ran. If times are not precisely observed, extensive damage can be done to the starter. 

Finally, if the engine starts properly, I have to time another event: I make sure the engine has its required five-minute warm-up before we advance the thrust levers to full power for takeoff. (During taxi delays, we often start the second engine when we are closer to the runway.)

At cruise, I hack my Rolex Daytona even on flights in controlled airspace: If Chicago Center promises they will clear us to a direct route in five minutes; or if a colleague in a jet ahead warns us of turbulence that will last 15 minutes, I need to track the time.

We track the time because in flight we suffer from temporal distortion; meaning, our idea of time is very unreliable. Ask a teenager to estimate how long he played video games today, and his answer will be off. Anyone who has ever tried to cook while checking Instagram or Facebook knows about temporal distortion. It's no different when you're sitting in front of dozens of instruments, dials and gauges and need to manage the energy of a 240,000-pound aircraft full of people. 

Film director Robert Zemeckis did a good job portraying temporal distortion in his 2012 movie "Flight." The scene [warning, spoiler ahead] goes into slow motion as both pilots exchange looks after clipping a church steeple with their doomed jet. In an emergency, the brain works so fast that time seems to be slowing down. When NTSB investigators ask pilots to estimate the time sequence after an emergency—how long it took to complete an evacuation, for example—they're usually off, thinking it took much longer than it actually did. 

Timing for me is everything. All crewmembers live by the clock because our report time changes every workday with each flight. Even for flight attendants, wearing a watch is a required part of their uniforms. The entire preflight sequence—from crew briefings to safety checks, checklists and ATC pre-departure clearance—is based on a scheduled push-back time. For the U.S. Department of Transportation, a flight can't be counted on time, if it doesn't arrive within 14 minutes of its scheduled arrival time. 

But after all passengers have deplaned, pilots and flight attendants will rush to the crew van, which will take us to our layover hotel. For this 24-hour layover in Honolulu, we'll even put our feet in the sand (and a beer in our hands) and watch the sunset over the Pacific. 

Then time will really have slowed down.

Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date with Raised Yellow Gold Roman Numerals

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

Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date 

with Raised Yellow Gold Roman Numerals

Jordana Brewster Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona

...Rolex Hotness...

Jordana Brewster

Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona

Fast & Furious

Jordana Brewster is a famous actress, that is perhaps best known for her role in the Fast and Furious movie franchise. She appeared in 4 different Fast & Furious movies, and she is pictured below wearing her stainless steel Rolex Daytona.

Jordana Brewster is actually a bit of a Rolex fanatic as she owns and wears many different Rolex watches. In the photo below we see her wearing a stainless steel Rolex Datejust.

Rolex Wrist Shot of the Day: A Ceramic Supercase GMT...

...Wrist Shot Of The Day...

A Ceramic Supercase GMT 
from Vienna, Austria

Hyphophyse took this stunning wrist shot of his ceramic supercase GMT Master.