Over the course of two years, teams of Explorers on the Rolex and National Geographic Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition have studied the Amazon River Basin from source to mouth – across six countries. In this bonus material to National Geographic’s “Expedition Amazon” documentary, premiering on 10 October, National Geographic Explorers Thomas Peschak, Fernando Trujillo, Thiago Silva and Julia Tavares guide us from the farthest source of the river, the Nevado Mismi in Peru, to the official start of the Amazon at the Brazilian Meeting of the Waters.
Along the way we meet an adored Colombian rescue manatee named Moechi, and travel to rare Bolivian clearwaters, where gilded catfish are plentiful. Discover more of the Amazon's incredible wildlife, nature, and communities through the immersive experience on National Geographic.
Nicholas Foulkes interesting new book on the Rolex Submariner goes into some detail on the role Dimitri Rebikoff played in the development of what went on become the most famous dive watch in history. I have been working deeply on researching Dimitri Rebikoff's role in the genesis of the Rolex Submariner watch model for many years now, and have been preparing to publish a detailed story with my clarifying findings sometime soon, so the timing seems perfect to share this preview with you now:
In my upcoming story we will hop in the Rolex Time Machine and travel back to yesteryear to learn all about Dimitri Rebikoff (pictured above and below) and his amazing lifetime career achievements from many people I have interviewed who were close with and knew him well. This is an amazing story about a man and his machines he brought to life as necessity compelled. The photo and excerpt below on Dimitri Rebikoff were published in 1957.
The Rolex Submariner is one of the most iconic and famous sport watches on earth. It's handsome, rugged, and sporty, yet super versatile.
The late art-deco design language from the early 1950s that still permeates the Rolex Submariner continues to transcend time. The Submariner can be dressed-down with everything from a pair of shorts and a T-Shirt with flip-flops, to being dressed-up with a formal black tie. The photos below of Hollywood actor and producer, Brian Kelly rocking his Rolex Submariner illustrate this point perfectly as they were taken more than a half-century ago, yet they almost look like they could have been taken yesterday...Brian Kelly played Porter Ricks on the 1960 aquatic show named Flipper.
One of the great unanswered questions is 'Where exactly did this timeless Rolex Submariner tool watch come from, and how—precisely—did it get its name? And, how is Submariner properly pronounced? This upcoming story will answer these and many of other seminal questions for the first time.
The Life Aquatic
In this upcoming story we will learn all about how the Rolex Submariner began its humble life as a Rolex Explorer variant, which of course, began its Maratime career as an Oyster Perpetual variant, which we witness with the 1929 Rolex Magazine ad (pictured below) for the then avant-garde Rolex "Oyster" tool watch.
Just to be crystal clear, on the simplest level, I am saying the Rolex Submariner evolved from the Rolex Explorer, which had previously evolved from the Rolex Oyster Perpetual.
This early 1929 Rolex Oyster advertisement pictured above appears in my upcoming book series in Volume 1 and is the earliest known aquatic themed Rolex Magazine advertisement I am aware of, but suffice it to say Rolex's founder Hans Wildsorf was always very aware of the role it could play in the life aquatic.
Below we see another magnificent art deco Italian Rolex mermaid Rolex Magazine advertisement which is so beautiful...
Basel Fair was the biggest watch trade show in Switzerland and was founded in 1917. Rolex first exhibited their watches at Basel Fair in 1939, and in 1942, Rolex flexed their technological prowess when they displayed Rolex watches easily withstanding their environment in a tank pressurized to 120 Meters (394 Feet), as we see in the image below that was published in the Revue internationale de l'horlogerie.
If you look closely, you will notice there is an unusually large watch located on the left side of the tank displayed on the bottom image of the page seen above and it features a black dial. Below we get a closer look at the mysterious Rolex Diving Watch from 1942, and it's located in the bottom left hand corner, and appears to have a black dial.
My best guess is this may be the highly elusive Rolex Reference 2533 with a cushion case that was published in a 1935 Rolex Catalog, but unfortunately today there are no known examples out in the wild, although it has been rumored Rolex has an version of it in their private museum collection in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Rolex Reference 2533 formed the basis for which the original Panerai Watches were based upon, and essentially Rolex took a 47MM Rolex Oyster Pocket Watch as illustrated below, and rotated the case 90 degrees to the right, then soldiered lugs on the case, and removed the hanging watch chain fob as seen below in this image from the ultra-knowledgable horological forensics expert, Jose, at Perezcope.com.
The supreme irony with the oversized 47MM Rolex Oyster pictured above is in many ways it represents the genesis of the Rolex diving watch in the sense it was the first watch destined to conquer the Deep Sea, and when I publish the full version of this article, it will go into great detail on the evolution of this watch model and how it ultimately led to the advent of the Rolex Submariner.
Basel Fair 1954
The Birth of Rolex Cosplay
In 1954 the Swiss Industries Fair (Schweizer Mustermesse Basel) dramatically expanded its facilities in Basel when the new Hall 2—the large square building with the distinctive circular courtyard—opened for the first time. Designed by architect Hans Hofmann and constructed in roughly ten to eleven months between the 1953 and 1954 fairs, it is the prominent structure shown on the right in the aerial photograph below. The older Hall 1 appears on the left.
Basel Fair Hall 1 and Hall 2 pictured above in 1954 in Basel, Switzerland
Basel Fair in 1954 represents and demarcates a seminal year in which classism gave way to modernism in the world of horology—as the world raced ahead into the space age—and Rolex was there front and center with a cadre of new Rolex Sports Tool Watch models as seen in this page from Europa Star published in 1954.
Keep in mind that despite the fact the Rolex Submariner today is considered to be an absolute classic design, it was once considered to be extremely bold and modern. At the time many people ridiculed Rolex sport watches saying they were way too big and heavy.
"All that was great in the past was ridiculed, condemned, combated, suppressed—only to emerge all the more powerfully, all the more triumphantly from the struggle."
—Nikola Tesla
The Rolex Magazine advertisement seen below for the Rolex Explorer is from 1964 and captures the core essence of Rolex tool watches, as it features the Rolex Explorer, but there is much more to the Explorer than meets the eye.
Where's The Beef?
Where's the Submariner? Show me the Submariner!?!! One of the interesting details I couldn't help but notice in Nicholas Foulkes recently released Rolex History book named Oyster Perpetual Submariner, The Watch That Unlocked The Deep, which I will be reviewing soon here on Jake's Rolex World, is it strangely didn't contain any photos of Dimitri Rebikoff wearing a Rolex Submariner?
This seems like a supreme irony to me as Rebikoff helped bring the Submariner to life, so I thought I would share some images in this preview, and mention I have many more never before seen exclusive photos coming up in my full article. The photo below shows Rebikoff rocking his prototype Submariner back in 1955 as he is working in his back yard on an underwater lighting "Torpedo".
Talent does what it can... Genius does what it must...
Below we see a Rolex Magazine ad featuring the Submariner from 1957 that was taken during prototype testing.
Speaking of books on Rolex History, I have been working for years now on a series of 15 books, or volumes, that cover the entire historical arc of Rolex, and my chapter on Dimitri Rebikoff is featured in VOLUME 3, which is titled, "The Complete History of Rolex MAD MEN: How They Created The International Mark of Success, by JAKE EHRLICH", and we see the cover art for that volume below.
Speaking of Rolex Mad Men, the reason Volume 3 of my book series is titled "Mad Men" has to do with the role the original Ad Men of Madison Avenue played in making Rolex the most reputable brand on earth today.
Many people have been asking me when I plan to begin publishing my upcoming series of 15 volumes on the history of Rolex? Essentially, I have been researching and writing the equivalent of an Encyclopedia on Rolex History, which is a massive undertaking. My goal is to leave no stone unturned, and I wan't to make certain I deliver books that are as magnificent as Rolex itself, and as they say, 'good things take time.' As soon as I have a firm ETA I will post a story here on RolexMagazine.com.
In the meantime, I hope you have enjoyed this teaser for my upcoming story on Dimitri Rebikoff, and when I publish this full story later this year, I am certain it will shed substantial light and immense insight on the genesis of the Rolex Submariner that has never been previously documented—so stay tuned...Special shout out to the Uber talented horological historian, Nick Gould for his invaluable contributions to this story...
Also, thanks to Dimitri Rebikoff for his invaluable design and utilitarian engineering contributions to the Rolex Submariner which he wore his entire career, and we see it on his wrist in the exclusive photo below that has never been published before from the collection of Captain Litt, who worked with Dimitri Rebikoff many years ago. In my upcoming article on Rebikoff, we will see many more action photos of him rocking Rolex Submariner watch models which he kept the time of this amazing life with.
ROLEX
The Timeless Time Machine
I put together a bunch of cool images that depict what I illustrated in the story above, as they tell a story without me having to write words beyond this:
I love this vintage Rolex ad from 1990 that features legendary baseball pitcher, Tom Seaver, along with some really cool vintage Rolex watches, including a Rolex Oyster Quartz Datejust...
Tucker and Donald Trump Jr. have a fascinating conversation about the current state of politics in the United States today, and I will say I think you are looking at a future President of the United States in the making.
Nick Gould and I have ben micro-analyzing all the details to the Nth degree, and as time permits, I will be publishing a detailed review of this epic tome! The book is particularly fascinating as it represents the first book where the author was able to work directly with the Rolex historical archivist, so there are a number of previously undisclosed details revealed in this interesting Rolex history book...Stay tuned for much, much more, but in the meantime enjoy this preview cover image of the book...
When I was a kid, I was madly in Love with Brooke Shields—who wasn't? I remember watching a movie she stared in 1980, named Blue Lagoon, which was amazing...at least for my then 14 year old brain... Brooke Shields also launched the Uber iconic Calvin Klein Designer Jeans revolution with this famous ad...
I was mesmerized with Brooke's interview, especially the story she shares about how a man threw his Pepsi GMT-Master to her when she was in a taxi cab as it drove away and said, "Because your eyes are so beautiful!" She tried to give it back to him, but he refused, and then after the man died she tried to give it back to his next of kin which was his brother, who refused it and said "He wanted you to have it!" And today, this now vintage Rolex Pepsi is her favorite! Talk about reality being stranger than fiction!?!! It really is true that every Rolex tells a story...
Brooke Shields also had this to say on her “Really Sexy“ Rolex Pepsi GMT-Master: “I love the size of this! There is just something really masculine but really sexy about it today! You could pick this guy out. He’s like James Bond.”
Brooke Shields is like a Rolex in the sense she has always remained a timeless beauty. Brook Shields has enjoyed an amazing career as an actress and super-model. She is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful women in history. Brooke's first Rolex, to the best of my knowledge was a two-tone lady Datejust as pictured on her wrist below with her mother.
In this next photo of Brook Shields we see her hanging out with fellow actor, Patrick Swayze. Patrick Swayze was a lifelong Rolex wearer. In this image taken in the early 1980s we see Brooke Shields sporting her yellow gold Lady Datejust.
In the next photos we see Brooke switched from wearing a yellow gold Lady Datejust which was 26mm to a 36mm Men's Rolex Day-Date on a President bracelet.
If you want to see more photos of women wearing men's Rolex watches, please click on the Label below this story named, "Women Wearing Men's Rolex Watches" which I created as a guide for women to get an idea of what these watches might look like on them. Brooke is pictured below with her husband, Chris Henchy at a football game.
In this most recent photo, we see Brooke Shields rocking her vintage Pepsi GMT-Master...
Summer is gone in the northern hemisphere and leaves are changing color and falling off the trees. The photo below of Rolex Worldwide Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland was taken in Fall of 1995 before Rolex increased the number of floors and changed the color from gold and brown to green.
Under certain lighting conditions, the building could take on an orange look as seen below. If you want to learn much more about the history of Rolex headquarters architecture you can check out my story named, "Inside Rolex. Exploring What Makes Rolex Tick."
TheAutumnEquinox
The autumn equinox occurs when the sun approaches the Southern Hemisphere, marking the start of the astronomical autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. The Autumn Equinox occurs around September 22nd, during which daylight occurs everywhere for 12 hours straight.
Moondance
I love adding great songs to stories, that encapsulate and offer better contextualization. In this story I added Van Morrision singing his epic hit, "Moondance", which has some great lyrics:
Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes...
A fantabulous night to make romance
'Neath the cover of October skies...
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow...
You know I'm tryin' to please to the calling
Of your heartstrings that play soft and low...
You know the night's magic seems to whisper and hush
You know the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush...
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?
Can I just make some more romance with a-you, my love?
Culture can be described as acquainting ourselves with the best the world has ever known, and that's exactly what we witness with this this virtuoso command performance.
Keep in mind, the music video below is no ordinary version of "Moondance", as it features legendary guitarists, Geroge Benson, and Carlos Santana, rocking out with a number of amazing musicians including Dr. John, Etta James and Tom Scott. If you have never seen this version of Moondance, turn up the volume and fasten your seatbelt, as you are in for an otherworldly treat!!!
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.
