Rolex & Tennis: An Enduring Partnership

Rolex & Tennis
An Enduring Partnership

Rolex Secret Release of 2021: Tiger Roars Louder

 

Rolex's Most Secret

Release of 2021

...Is Also Its Loudest

 Unannounced, 'The Tiger' Appears

in White Gold and on Gold Bracelet 

By Danny Crivello

The Rolex Daytona is the world’s most recognizable sports watch. Two years after the surprise release of the so-called "Eye of the Tiger" Daytona, Rolex has secretly unveiled two new versions of the Tiger, one with a yellow gold bracelet partially set with brilliant-cut diamonds, the other in white gold with Oysterflex.

I held the Tiger in my hand when it was first released at Baselworld 2019 and reviewed it. This is a piece that showcases Rolex's skills and talent not as a watchmaker but as a jeweler—and should be admired as such. The new Tiger has diamond-encrusted lugs and a beautiful gold bracelet with diamond-encrusted center links.

The case reference is now 116598 TBR instead of 116588 TBR. The bracelet reference has also changed: The loudest watch of 2019, which was offered on Oysterflex, just got louder; it is now on a diamond-encrusted, gold bracelet ref. 78HJ08 BR. It has an additional 56 brilliant-cut diamonds over the lugs and case. Luxury meets audacity, there's no other way to put it.

Like its 2019 edition, the tachymeter scale on the bezel was replaced with 36 trapeze-cut diamonds, and the dial was decorated with swirls of black lacquer surrounded by 243 diamonds set in a snake-like pattern. There are eight diamond markers set in yellow gold. Look closer and you can see the 15, 30 and 45 markers in gold Arabic numerals. 

Below is me at Baselworld 2019, when I was handed the "Eye of the Tiger" Daytona on Oysterflex by a Rolex representative. I was one of the first in the world to hold it. You can see my full review here. 

Today, the White Tiger and the Tiger on diamond-encrusted bracelet are nowhere to be found on Rolex's website, but they exist. They're slowly emerging in the wild to customers' amazement!

Sylvester Stallone: Rolex GMT-Master II Meteorite Dial

 

STALLONE INTERVIEWED

BY HIS DAUGHTERS 

A METEORITE-DIAL GMT ON HIS WRIST

This week Sophia and Sistine Stallone interviewed their dad to mark the 50th episode of their podcast "Unwaxed." From his childhood, career, raising daughters, the episode shows a different, funnier, softer side of Sly, who was rocking his Rolex meteorite-dial, Pepsi-bezel GMT-Master II.

Sylvester Stallone is a big Rolex fan; he has been spotted wearing a yellow gold Submariner, a Deep Sea Sea-Dweller and a white-gold Pepsi GMT-Master among many watches. Below, a younger Sly is rocking a Sub ref. 1680. 

Check out the full interview with his daughters below.

If James Bond Wore a Rolex... Again

           

"No Time to Die," the latest James Bond movie and Daniel Craig's last outing as a Mi-6 agent, premiered Tuesday at London's Royal Albert Hall, a world premiere that was attended even by the Royal Family. 

To be sure, the 007 types "with easy smiles and expensive watches" have been rocking Omegas since the Pierce Brosnan days, but please indulge me: let's say you've been hired as the new wardrobe supervisor for the franchise, and Daniel Craig needs a new watch for his last portrayal of the famed British spy. We are in a parallel universe here, and Omega no longer has the exclusivity.

The movie director agrees to Rolex, but there is a caveat: You can't use the obvious, safe choice, which is the Submariner, the model that has adorned the wrists of the very first and very last Rolex-wearing 007, Sean Connery and Timothy Dalton. So here are my top-three Rolex picks.

FAST-DRIVING JAMES BOND 

It doesn't have to be a diver; after all, Ian Fleming, you are reminded, wore a Rolex Explorer. And Daniel Craig in recent 007 movies wore an Aqua Terra, which feels more Datejust than Sub. Besides, James Bond has spent more time behind the wheel of a high-performance car than under water. 

Whether at the casino or at an embassy party while wearing Bond's signature white tuxedo, the Cosmograph Daytona on the wrist of 007 is a class of its own: waterproof to 100 meters, yet equipped with a steel bracelet with polished center links—an easy transition from wet suit to tuxedo. The Daytona remains an icon 50 years after its creation and should be a strong contender for this iconic, fast-driving spy.

TACTICAL JAMES BOND

The Yachtmaster 42 in white gold brings class and sport in one watch—James Bond in a nutshell. 

The broad hands and hour markers are filled with a luminescent material emitting a long-lasting glow, offering exceptional legibility for those low-light tactical operations thanks to its Chromalight display. 

The watch is waterproof to 100 meters, and its bi-directional bezel could help the secret agent time a dive or detonation, while the black Oysterflex with Glidelock clasp is robust and comfortable both under the cuff and above the wet suit. For extra lightness, "Q" would suggest the Rolex prototype version in titanium instead.

RUGGED JAMES BOND

Whether on a trip home to Skyfall, in the highlands of Scotland, or skiing down the slopes of Tyrol, Austria, the Explorer II with its GMT complication is the perfect fit for this tough-living, globe-trotting spy who straddles time zones. Besides its legible orange GMT hand, the watch's movement is fitted with Paraflex shock absorbers, offering greater resistance to shocks and extreme conditions if fist-fighting with villains' henchmen. A cosmopolitan, resistant luxury watch engineered for a traveling action-packed spy.

Did I miss the mark? What modern Rolex would you see on James Bond's wrist? Let me know via Twitter or Instagram.

PROJECT X DESIGNS PXD SS1: Customized Rolex LV Submariner

Rolex Coolness: Daniel Craig

The Royal Hunt of the Sun

PROJECT X DESIGNS

PXD SS1 Limited Edition

Customized Original 50th Anniversary Rolex LV Submariner

Daniel Craig is a big Rolex fan. In the photo below he is wearing his PROJECT X DESIGNS Customized Original 50th Anniversary Rolex LV Submariner.

Many people argue that Daniel Craig is the best James Bond, and that is saying a lot since he is following in the footsteps of Sean Connery and Roger Moore. In any case, you can always learn about all the watches James Bond actors have worn which I covered in my series named "The Complete History Of James Bond Watches: The Definitive Series," which begins with Ian Flemming and Cary Grant, and goes onto Sean Connery, and walks you through step by step, all the way to the present, with Daniel Craig.

Daniel Craig is sporting a copy of "The Royal Hunt of the Sun," which is a play written in 1964 by Peter Shaffer that is about the destruction of the Inca empire by the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro.

The PROJECT X DESIGNS customized LV Submariner that Daniel Craig is wearing is no longer available because they only made 24 of them, and they sold out quickly. It has its crown guards removed to give it a vintage big-crown look, as well as the Cyclops date magnifier removed.

In the future, I have much more exciting news and James Bond history coming up regarding James Bond and Rolex, so stay tuned!!!

Perpetual Planet

Perpetual Planet

Rolex just dropped this AMAZING new video that showcases their historical and current commitment to exploration and conservation of the only home we've ever known...

Paul Newman's Daytona: Rolex Holy Grail Makes First Public Appearance

Paul Newman's Daytona

Rolex Holy Grail 

Makes First Public Appearance

Nick Gould pointed out the first photo of Paul Newman's legendary Daytona [Reference 6239] out in the wild, and it was being showcased at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in a display case as seen below! The picture was snapped by @vikavickyvictoria who is Editor of JCKMagazine which she published on Instagram.

The description below the watch reads:

Private collection

Made available thanks to the support of Rolex

As Mr. Spock would say: "Fascinating Captain!?!!"

What does the Beverly Hills Cop think about the PLAID Tesla?

 

What does the Beverly Hills Cop 

Think about the PLAID Tesla?

I just debuted this new episode of the JAKEeSHOW on Jake's Tesla World and it's very cool. This episode features Eddy Murphy who is a huge Rolex President collector. My next JAKEeSHOW video I am working on will be on the Titanium Yacht-Master so stay tuned, and enjoy!!!

Speaking of Eddie Murphy and Rolex we see him rocking his Rolex Day-Date below in 1983 on the set of Saturday Night Live around the same time he was shooting Beverly Hills Copy which is featured in my video above.

Rolex Explorer II at 14,600 feet

 

...Rolex Action Photo of the Day...

Climate Scientist Adjusts Weather Station

Dr. Perry stands on Tupungatito Volcano—at 14,600 feet—to adjust a weather station, his trusty Rolex Explorer II on the wrist. With the installation of the weather station, scientists will have a window into atmospheric processes in the high Chilean Andes.

 

Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping...

Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping
Pushing the Boundaries of Achievement