This year Rolex unveiled new versions of its Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36, including one with a fluted dial motif. When I spoke to a Rolex rep about the new watch motif, she told me the dial design mimics the pattern found on the fluted bezel, which has become one of the brand’s signature aesthetic styles. So the new dial was essentially inspired from the well-known Rolex bezel.
Transposing the famous fluted pattern to someplace other than the bezel of a Datejust or Sky-Dweller is not new for Rolex. You could say it was hiding in plain sight. When I was invited by Rolex to the last Baselworld, in 2019, the fluted motif was already adorning the walls inside the booth.
The Rolex Dubai boutique, the biggest Rolex boutique in the world, is also invoking the fluted motif.
In this video, Emkwan takes us on an incredible tour inside that boutique—and it's amazing!
Rolex just announced it would redesign its existing home on the corner of 5th Avenue and 53rd Street in New York, which it has occupied since the 1970s. The new 25-story high-rise, which looks like five cubes stacked on top of each other, will also have the corrugated windows that use the fluted motif.
I interviewed Kevin O'Leary (Mr. Wonderful) a few months ago and he was AMAZING!!!! The thing I love about Kevin is he tells it like it is, whether it's on Shark Tank or personally, and at the same time he is very wise. When we spoke he shared the most fascinating insight with me! We agreed that in the future I would interview him in person on video, but until then, here is a superb interview with Teddy Baldassarre.
Cat Stevens was one of the most amazingly talented singer, songwriter guitarists of his time, and when I was a kid growing up in the 1970s his songs were on the radio all the time. Born in Great Britain, Cat Stevens specialized in folk music as well as rock and pop. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
"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 first time." —T.S. Elliot We are in for a real treat today on Jake's Rolex World with the AMAZING full-length Cat Stevens concert below. Enjoy!:
Cat Stevens is famous for hits like "The First Cut is the Deepest", "Father and Son", "Wild World", "Moon Shadow", "Morning Has Broken" and "Peace Train." Cat Stevens was born in a household with strict Christian parents, and in a move that shocked the world, in 1977 he converted to Islam and in 1978 changed his name to Yusuf Islam. The next year, in 1979, Cat put up all his guitars for auction and donated all the proceeds to charity and walked away from his ultra-successful music career. Being a huge music fan, I always though it was totally bizarre and sad that he retired so early from music. Once again, in 2006 he shocked the world as he returned (28 years after he retired) to his music career! The video above was shot in 2015, and as we see he sounds better than ever!!! Cat Stevens' voice and overall musical vibe is like Billy Holiday in the sense he has a unique sound signature that sounds like nobody else. Frank Sinatra once said "There is something to be said for things that endure", and just like Rolex, Cat Steven's is beyond timeless!!! On a side note, I always thought Cat Stevens was American, as he sings with what appears to be an American accent—but when he speaks he has a British Accent!?!! I have noticed that basically all people with a British accent sound like they are singing in American English!?!! Think about it for a second. Listen to ANY Beatles or Rolling Stones song, and they sound American. I don't know why this is, but it's fascinating to me :-) I have a close friend who grew up outside the U.S. and she once made an interesting observation about the British accent and said: "People with a British Accent sound like they are chewing gum with their nose plugged up!?!!" :-0
Chevrolet recently debuted the upcoming all new mid-engine Corvette stingray which just went through its most radical transformation in its history. So much so, it metamorphosed from a caterpillar crawling around on the ground, to a beautiful butterfly flying through the sky. In my opinion this is something GM should have done 20 years ago, but as they say, 'better late than never."
Little Red Corvette
The most amazing thing about the all-new Corvette model is that it looks AMAZING, and does 0-60MPH in less than 3 seconds while starting at under $60,000. This car is potentially going to wreak-havoc on upscale brands like Ferrari. The 2020 Corvette pictured above has a targa top that can be stored in the rear trunk, and Chevy has already showed of a convertible version as well. Chevy made the 2020 available for pre-order on Chevrolet.com and from what I understand, they are close to being sold out already.
I think the new Corvette is super cool, and but I would never purchase one unless it was electric. I hope GM is working on an electric version of this car, which would really be awesome! Chevrolet introduced the original Corvette in 1953, which is pictured below in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Ironically, Rolex had a 'Corvette' model long before GM as we see in the photo below of the 1943 Rolex Corvette wristwatch!
So what does this have to do with Rolex beside the fact the Corvette and Submariner are both super-iconic? Rolex debuted the Submariner in the same years GM launched the Corvette, 67 years ago, back in 1953.
I believe it is likely Rolex will be debuting an all-new Rolex model at Basel World 2020. I have no evidence of this, and I am speculating, but I think the Submariner is next in line for a major update. So what would I expect? I hope and pray Rolex introduces a 43MM Single Red Submariner, which for me would be THE ultimate Submariner. I could see Rolex introducing a 40 and 43MM Submariner. As they say, time will tell...
The screenshots below show Tadge Juechter who is featured in the keynote video below. Tadge is the Corvette Executive Chief Engineer and notice he is wearing his Rolex Day-Date!
2020 Corvette
I have an interesting story to share with you. When I was 16 years old I wanted to be an automotive engineer. In high school and college I would sit in class and draw cars all-day. I decided ultimately not to pursue a career in automotive design since at the time American cars were the absolute worst they ever have been. This was the era of cardboard cars like the Chrysler Reliant K, which made me want to vomit out my ears! In other words, I didn't want to waste me design skills on working for companies that made instantly obsolete garbage.
At the time, in the mid 1980s the only people making cool cars were from Germany which included models like The Porsche 911 Cabriolet, The Porsche 928, The Mercedes 500SEC, and the BMW 633CSI. At the time I didn't see it as a possibility to move to Germany to design cars since I didn't speak German. Little did I realize most German's spoke English at the time.
I remember a few decades ago having a conversation with somebody about automotive design and I said "I can't understand why car companies don't make cars that look like a Ferrari, but are far less expensive? In other words, why doesn't a company like Toyota make an MR2 that looks like a Ferrari?" Well, it finally happened with the 2020 Corvette.
It's interesting from what I have observed with the new Corvette. It's not just a car that looks cool, featuring typical half-baked American junk interior quality. Instead, Chevy seems to have gone all-out to make the Corvette the Real Deal!!!
Looking at the new Corvette makes me think about the song "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & The Drells starts playing in my head so I thought I would share the video below. Play it and look at the photos above of the new Corvette!!!
Kevin O'Leary, AKA, Mr. Wonderful is not only a Rolex fanatic, but a huge fan of Rubber B, but he only wears Red Rubber B straps as we see in this fascinating video.
Mountain Climbing Legend Conquerer of Mount Everest
Back in 2009 I wrote an 8 part series named, "The Complete History of Rolex Conquering Mount Everest, and in that series I documented how both Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary might have worn Rolex watches when they were the first humans to successfully climb to the top of Mount Everest in 1953. The photo below of Tenzing Norgay was taken on October 31, 1957 wearing a Rolex on an Oyster Bracelet.
The super iconic photo below taken by the Royal Geographic Society shows Tenzing Norgay with Sir Edmund Hillary on their way establishing Camp 9 as they head to the summit of Mount Everest.
In the photo below taken in 1953 by the Royal Geographical Society we see Tenzing Norgay with Sir Edmund Hillary and they both might be wearing Rolex watches. Tenzing received a Rolex as a gift from Swiss climber, Raymond Lambert after he and Lambert almost reached the summit of Everest the year before on a Swiss Everest Expedition in 1952.
The photo above shows Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary on May 25th, 1953 during the Mount Everest Expedition as the duo prepares their oxygen systems just before they set off from Camp 9 for the summit of Everest. If you look closely you will notice Tenzing has their Summit flags wrapped around his ice axe which he is holding like a cane. This next photo of Tenzing Norgay was taken by Sir Edmund Hillary on the summit of Mount Everest. Tenzing offered to take a photo of Hillary on the summit but Hillary refused the offer.
The Rolex advertorial seen below was published 3 days after Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Everest.
The photos above and below were recently discovered by our super-talented researcher, Alan who is located in Hong Kong. The next photo shows Tenzing Norgay examining a Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee Bracelet in Rolex Founder, Hans Wilsdorf's private office at Rolex Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
It is believed Hans Wilsdorf traded Tenzing Norgay a Rolex in exchange another Rolex which is now in the private Museum collection.
The photo above and below appear courtesy of Rolex Passion Report who first discovered this historical yellow gold Rolex Datejust that apparently was a gift from Rolex to Tenzing as a memento for the 1952 Swiss Expedition to Everest.
According to NASA "Chris Kraft created the concept, and developed the organization, operational procedures, and culture of NASA's Mission Control, which was a critical element of the success of the nation's manned spaceflight programs." The photo above was discovered by Nick Gould and when we zoom in close we see it's the same Rolex in the photo he wore for 6 decades!!!
The photo below was taken at the Gemini-Titan V Flight Simulator back in the early 1960s and notice he was wearing the same Rolex pictured above!!!
In the photo below we see Chris Craft's Rolex up close and I believe he is wearing a stainless steel Rolex Reference 1003 or Reference 1007 on a Jubilee bracelet.
In the photo below we see Chris Kraft with President Kennedy and Mercury Astronauts John Glenn and Alan Sheppard.
HODINKEE HANDS-ON WITH MarlonBrando's 'GMT Apocalypse' Rolex Watch
I realize there are many readers of Jake's Rolex World that are awaiting my definitive upcoming story on Marlon Brando's story, which I hope to publish this weekend. This story will contain a tremendous amount of significant historical research, findings and insight into the Marlon Brando's watch he wore during the epic movie "Apocalypse Now."
In the meantime, Hodinkee's James Stacey just published an excellent article titled "HANDS-ON: Marlon Brando's Rolex GMT-Master From Apocalypse Now." James Stacey from Hodinkee showcased the first photos of Marlon Brando's Apocalypse Now Rolex GMT-Master on the wrist and they are superb, as is his story, so be sure to check it out!!!
Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.
In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.
This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.
