I Dream Of Rolex: Larry Hagman & Barbara Eden

I Dream Of Rolex

Larry Hagman & Barbara Eden

Rolex Lady Date & Day-Date

What does I Dream Of Jeannie have in common with Rolex? They are both beautiful Timeless Classics that make people smile! I Dream Of Jeannie is one of the most iconic TV shows in history, right up there with I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show. 

I Dream Of Jeannie originally aired on TV in 1965 and ran to 1970, which covered 5 seasons and 139 episodes. The premise of the show was that a NASA Astronaut was in a rocket that was launched and went off-course and landed on a desert island, where he finds a beautiful genie in a bottle he opens, who calls him 'Master'. Probably every man's dream :-0

Larry Hagman passed away on November 23, 2012, and in the photo below, we see Barbara Eden who played Jeannie, and Larry Hagman who played Major Nelson on I Dream Of Jeannie, hanging out together not so long before he passed away, and notice both of them are still wearing their yellow gold Rolex watches!!!

So let's go back in The Rolex Time Machine and take a closer look at their Rolex watches. 

First we see Barbara Eden wearing her yellow gold Rolex Lady-Date model on Jubilee Bracelet.

The photo below of Barbara Eden was taken when she turned 90 years old and notice she is still wearing her yellow gold Rolex Lady Date. Today Barbara is 91 years young.

DALLAS

Next we see Larry Hagman who went on from playing Major Nelson on I Dream Of Jeannie, to playing J.R. Ewing on the epic TV Show Dallas. Dallas ran from 1978 to 1991, and was ultra successful. Larry Hagman is pictured below wearing his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date on Dallas.

In later episodes of Dallas, Larry Hagman's character started sporting his yellow gold Rolex "President" on a special special custom-made gold and leather strap with his J.R. initials on it, as seen below.

Larry Hagman reprised his role as J.R. Ewing on Dallas when it came back to TV in 2012, and in the photos below we see Larry Hagman wearing his Rolex Day-Date on his special JR Gold Band.

On I Dream Of Jeannie, Larry Hagman played the role of Air Force/ NASA Major Anthony Nelson. The show aired from 1965 to 1970 and in many ways it mirrored the times. Specifically, between 1965 and 1970, NASA went from Project Mercury to Gemini to Apollo. Project Mercury put the first American in space to orbit the Earth, and Apollo was the first to put a man on the moon. At the time, the NASA Astronauts were like the new cowboys. 

DEADLY ENCOUNTER

1982 Helicopter Action Movie

Stainless Steel Rolex Submariner

Reference 1680

In the photos below we see Larry Hagman in a different role, rockin' a different Rolex model–this time he is wearing a Rolex sports watch, which appears to be a Submariner Reference 1680 in Stainless Steel.

I received an email a decade ago from a reader of Jake's Rolex World who lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, named Luiz, and he sent me the following email:

Hi Mr. Jake...

My name is HEITOR AZEVEDO, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil... I´m a Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter pilot. I have two Rolex Submariner Supercase Ceramic... and I´m a great admirer of your blog and histories.

I saw a Larry Hagman´s movie from 1982. In the first scene, you can see Mr. Hagman proceeding a helicopter pre-flight check wearing a beautiful Rolex Submariner in the movie DEADLY ENCOUNTER.

I was looking for this movie, to watch the helicopters performances, but I was very surprised when in the first scene I saw Larry Hagman wearing a Submariner almost like my two 116610LN (I have one with steel bracelet and another one with a black rubber bracelet with white needlework line that I usualy wear to work).

I hope to have helped to improve your fantastic blog histories.

Thank you very much, best regards,

HEITOR AZEVEDO – Rio de Janeiro – Brazil.

Thank you so much Heitor, and yes I watched the whole movie and got some screen grabs of Larry Hagman wearing his stainless steel Submariner. By the way, Larry Hagman made this movie in 1981, while he was staring in Dallas. Dallas began in 1978 and ran until 1991. 

Watching this movie was a trip. The helicopter flying and stunts were fascinating, but it was really kind of a cheesy early 1980s movie. Think, Airwolf, meets Charlie's Angels, meets Star Wars, meets Miami Vice ;-) Either way, it is still a trip to see Larry Hagman rockin' a stainless steel Rolex Submariner.

Brian Niccol Starbucks CEO

...Rolex Coolness...

Brian Niccol

Starbucks CEO

Rocking a Starbucks LV Submariner 

This is an interesting story about Starbuck's maverick CEO, Brian Niccol who is in the process of reinventing Starbuck, in a back the future way, and he's doing is with a Starbucks LV Submariner on his wrist. Talk about life imitating art. 

The image above, taken by Jessica Chou, is from a fascinating FAST COMPANY story titled "Behind The Brand: Venti Expectations. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol built a reputation for quickly reviving fast-food empires. He’s trying to do the same for the coffee giant by reconnecting the brand with its original soul. But this time, change is a slower brew."

It should probably come as no surprise that Starbucks CEO, Brian Niccol rocks a Submariner as Howard Shultz, who is Starbucks founder, has the most amazing Rolex collection, which I have documented in great detail in the past.

Rolex History Puzzle Piece: Abraham-Louis Perrelet

...Rolex History Puzzle Piece...

Abraham-Louis Perrelet

Inventor Of The Self-Winding Watch

1729-1826

This is an absolutely fascinating vintage Rolex ad, which I believe is from the 1950s. It pays homage to Abraham-Loius Perrelet and discusses how Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex was inspired to perfect Abraham-Louis Perrelet's automatic movement.

This Rolex ad says:

"As simple as it was hard to find, the Rolex 'Rotor' the invention that solved the self-winding problem, owes its existence to the inspiration of Mr. Hans Wilsdorf of the Rolex Watch Company, and his brilliant technical Chief-Director M. Emil Borer."

This is a significant historical piece of the Rolex history puzzle because nobody ever knew who M. Emil Borer was since his name appeared on the Rolex patent application, but nobody knew who he was.

I just added this Rolex ad to The Complete History Of Rolex. Part 1: The Hans Wilsdorf Years, which is absolutely fascinating if you have not read it!!!

Abraham-Loius Breguet

1747-1823

It is fascinating to note that Abraham-Louis Perrelet sold several of his watches to a younger watchmaker who happened to have the same first and middle name, Abraham-Loius Breguet.

Breguet, as mentioned in the ad above, attempted to improve upon Perrelet's automatic watches and named his attempted design improvement "Perpetuelles." Perpetual is a French word for automatic. Breguet's "Perpetuelles" were never reliable and he stopped making them in 1800.

Abraham-Loius Breguet was a watchmaker apprentice in Versailles, and during the French Revolution (1789-1792) he went into exile in Geneva, Switzerland, and when he returned to France he became the principal watchmaker of the French Empire. Breguet was a profuse inventor and in particular, his innovative improvement of the balance spring was later incorporated into many watches.

There Was Only One Christopher Columbus Rolex Ad from 1957

The Very First Rolex Day-Date Advertisement 

1957 Rolex Day-Date Ad

There Was Only One

Christopher Columbus

Today is Columbus Day in the United States, so I thought it would be great to hop in the Rolex Time Machine and travel back to yesteryear and take a look around Rolex's World in 1957. It is absolutely amazing how much you can learn about Rolex history from reading vintage Rolex ads. This Christopher Columbus Rolex ad does a wonderful job of summing up the pioneering spirit that went into developing Rolex as a brand. 

1956

The Very First Rolex Day-Date

The Christopher Columbus Rolex ad was published in 1957, which was three years before Rolex's founder, Hans Wilsdorf passed away, and it walks the reader up through the history of innovation at Rolex that lead to the Rolex Day-Date, which had just been introduced the year before at Basel Fair in Switzerland in 1956. To the best of my knowledge it is the very first Rolex Day-Date magazine ad—at least that I am aware of. The photo below shows a very early Rolex Day-Date from 1956. Notice it has a red DAY-DATE dial designation, as well as a matching red DATE wheel numbers.

Yellow Gold Hermes Rolex Daytona

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

Ultra-Rare

Yellow Gold Hermes Rolex Daytona

1968 Reference 6241

Dave Brubeck The King of Cool Jazz...

Dave Brubeck

The King of Cool Jazz

1920-2012

This is a story I have been wanting to write for a long time about California born pioneering Jazz Virtuoso, Dave Brubeck. Dave Brubeck was a pioneer on many levels, and enjoyed an amazing lifetime of spectacular achievement.

Dave Brubeck was born in Concord, California and was drafted by the U.S. Army. He was fortunate as he was able to avoid combat due after he played a Red Cross show, which was a tremendous success. In 1951, Brubeck started the Dave Brubeck Quartet in San Francisco, California, with Paul Desmond on saxophone, which was one of the first racially diverse bands. Dave Brubeck's father, was of Swiss ancestry, so it's not surprising he kept the time of his life with a Rolex Datejust on his wrist as seen below.

The Classic Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond of alto sax, Dave Brubeck on piano, with Eugene Wright playing bass, and Joe Morello on drums..

Over the years of his life, the Dave Brubeck Quartet maintained its name despite the fact that its lineup of prolific jazz musicians kept changing. The most famous and successful lineup of the quartet existed for a decade between 1958 and 1968, and recorded their seminal Jazz album in 1959 titles "Time Out". 

This most famous jazz quartet consisted for Paul Desmond who played alto sax, Eugene Wright on bass, and Joe Morello playing drums, with Dave Brubeck on piano. Time Out was Brubeck's best-selling album, as well as the first jazz album to sell more than a million copies. 

Joe Morello

Drummer King

1928-2011

Joe Morello was Dave Brubeck's drummer and was a member of The Dave Brubeck Quartet from 1957 to 1972, and as we see he also wore a Rolex Datejust.

1966 Chrysler Imperial Brochure

1966 Chrysler Imperial Brochure

Featuring A Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date

You don't often see Rolex watches used in other brands advertising, but in this 1966 Chrysler Imperial brochure, we see a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date featured. Paul, who is a reader of Jake's Rolex World found this image and sent it in. Paul is a fan of vintage Chrysler automobiles and he found this image in this cool 1966 Imperial Brochure.

It is fascinating to see how in 1966, the Rolex "President" (Yellow Gold Day-Date) was positioned as The International Mark Of Success. This vintage 1966 ad, which features a Rolex Day-Date is totally Mad Men! 

At the time the above 1966 ad was published, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson was in the White House Oval Office wearing his Rolex Day-Date as seen below.

The Rolex President

U.S. President Lyndon Johnson

Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date

White House Oval Office 

Washington D.C. 1965

Just for frame of reference, I am including the 1966 Rolex ad below, that refers to the Rolex Day-Date as "the president's watch."

Speaking of Mad Men, what is cooler than Jon Hamm in Mad Men, playing Donald Draper wearing his Rolex Explorer as seen in the images below!!!

When I reflect back on the TV show Mad Men and how amazing it was, it kind of Deja Vu's me out. It was sooooo gooooood...

Vintage Rolex Hotness Ads...Through Time

...Rolex Hotness...

The Rolex Woman

What Kind Of Woman Wears A Rolex?

The Evolution Of The Female Rolex Archetype 

They say you can tell a lot about a man by observing what kind of watch he wears, as well as the by the kind of shoes he wears. But what about a woman? They say with a woman you can tell a lot about her by her handbag, as well as her shoes. What about her watch? Does that tell you anything?

I have noticed from many decades of observing women's watches, that women who wear Rolex watches have certain worldview characteristics: They are typically Well Educated, Ladylike, Timeless, Chic, Charismatic and relatively traditional. More like a Ralph Lauren model than punk rocker... When I think of women wearing Rolex, I think more Elle MacPherson than Cyndi Lauper. 

I realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and thus, highly subjective. When I think of the ultimate woman wearing a Rolex today, Ingrid Hoffman comes to mind. Ingrid is ambitious, outgoing, stylish, chic, feminine, wholesome, and naturally beautiful...

There are many other beautiful women that come to mind when I think of women wearing Rolex, including Sofia Vergara, and Jennifer Aniston.

It is fascinating to note, starting in the mid-1960s, women began wearing men's Rolex tool watches, like the Rolex Submariner, Daytona, Rolex GMT-Master, etc. Today I notice more women wearing men's Rolex models that are 40MM, than I do the smaller, more petite models. The supreme irony in this is the fact that up until the 1990s, Rolex was known for being "THE Big Watch Company", but today Rolex makes typically smaller watches!!?

Rolex ads have always fascinated me, so I thought it would be interesting to put together a story that chronicles Rolex ads that feature females in chronological order. Looking at these ads in chronological order is so interesting for so many different reason. First, from an anthropological perspective it is fascinating to see how social mores toward women have evolved over the last century. 

Secondly, to see how different generations of Rolex Leadership handled marketing material, and to see how Rolex branding evolved from typically including verbose language into taking a very simple approach.

You can't help but notice that in early Rolex ads, Rolex was ALWAYS trying to prove themselves, then in the 1990s, all of a sudden, they didn't seem like they had anything to prove any more.

So let's hop in the Rolex Time Machine and travel back to the mid 1920s...

1926

Ladies Rolex Oyster Ad

Rolex introduced the famous Rolex Oyster in 1926, and began a world-wide marketing campaign to familiarize the world with the many benefits of owning a truly waterproof watch. 

The following Rolex ad from 1926 is the earliest know Rolex Oyster magazine ad I am aware of, and of course you can always learn much more about The Complete History Of The Rolex Oyster on Jake's Rolex World.

In this article we will learn that the first Rolex brand ambassador was a woman, not a man, and that Rolex Founder, Hans Wilsdorf brilliantly marketed to females.

1926 
Italian Rolex Mermaid Oyster Poster

Hans came up with the idea of associating the fantasy of mermaids with the waterproof Rolex Oyster as seen in the 1926 Italian Rolex advertisement seen below.

1927 
Rolex Oyster Introduction Brochure 

This next illustration depicts Mercedes Gleitze as she emerges from the English Channel. In the past I wrote a detailed article about Mercedes Glietze swimming the English Channel titled, "The Oyster and The Mermaid."

1927 

Rolex Oyster Introduction Advertorial

The Rolex photo below from the late 1920s features actress Evelyn Laye, as she demonstrates the waterproof quality of her Rolex Oyster, by submerging it in a fishbowl.

1929
THE ROLEX OYSTER

Watch & Clock Maker

This is a fascinating art-deco style Rolex ad from 1929. In particular it is interesting they refer to what we refer to today as a wristwatch as a wristlet. This ad was obviously published after the advent of the Rolex Oyster, but before the Oyster Perpetual. Notice how similar the art-deco case in the bottom left looks to an early Panerai.

1930

1930

Rolex Princesse

1940

French Rolex Ad

1942 

Swiss Rolex Poster

Beyer, Zürich, Switzerland

The poster below was printed in Switzerland between 1942 and 1945, and this particular poster was published by Beyer, which was the only Rolex Authorized Dealer in Zürich, Switzerland at the time. Beyer is still in business today, and they have been in business for over 250 years, making them one of the oldest jewelry storers in the world!

The poster text is in German since Zürich's  primary language is German. Rolex is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, where the primary language is French.

1944

World War II 

Women In Service Rolex Ad

1951

1953

Ladies Rolex Chameleon Ad

1955

Rolex Golden Dream Series

1956

ALL IN GOOD TIME . . . Smart Women

1957 

Vogue Magazine

1957 

Rolex Advertising & Sales Promotion Guide

This 1950s Rolex Advertising and Sales Promotion guide cover is fascinating. The juxtaposition between the sturdy Rolex Submariner (No Crown Guard) diving watch and the beautiful woman is fascinating to me for some reason.

1958

1959

 Commander Whitehead 

& Pauline Trigere Ad

The 1959 Rolex Magazine ad pictured below showcases two really successful and iconic celebrities. The first is Commander Whitehead, who built the Schweppes brand, and the second is fashion designer, Pauline Trigere.

1960

Shelia Scott

Sheila Scott broke over 100 aviation records in her lifetime of flying airplanes. She was the first person to fly over the North Pole in a small aircraft.

Sheila Scott is pictured in the Rolex ad two images above, and in the photo above, we see her sporting her Rolex GMT-Master. I think it is very likely that Sheila Scott was the archetype for the Pussy Galore character in the 1964 James Bond movie, Goldfinger. The image below is a screen grab taken from the end of Goldfinger and is shows Honor Blackman, who plays Pussy Galore, sporting a Coke GMT-Master.

1962

Pauline Trigère

1962

French Rolex Ad

Mercedes 300SL Gullwing

How cool is this totally mod French Rolex Ad from the early 1960s, which features a beautiful woman with her distinguished man sitting on the hood of his Mercedes 300SL Gullwing. Very La Dolce Vita & Mad Men.

"She Knows what a watch means for a man."

1962

Breakfast At Tiffany's
Ladies Rolex Catalog 

The following images come from a 1962 Rolex catalog, and if you read the poetry, it is just amazing!!! It is so DIFFERENT than the Rolex of today...so interesting...

The images in this set are from a ladies Rolex catalog from the early 1960s. My best guess is this theme was inspired by the Audrey Hepburn's character she played in the 1961 movie titled, "Breakfast At Tiffany's"

The next image below is in Spanish and originally appeared in a Mexican Rolex catalog in the early 1960s.

Pepsi GMT-Master

It's Fashion On The Front Page

It's All The Rage

Vogue Magazine Cover 

October 1, 1963

The Vouge Magazine cover below from October 1, 1964 pictured below features Vouge model and actress, Tania Mallet who played Tilly Masterson in Goldfinger wearing a Rolex Pepsi GMT-Master [Reference 6542] and it fascinatingly predates the Honor Blackman poster by less than three months as Goldfinger was released in theaters on January 9, 1965. Nick Gould was responsible for discovering the identity of Tania Mallet on this cover and he pointed out Tania was in Goldfinger.

This Vogue Magazine cover fascinatingly pre-dates Honor Blackman in her role as Pussy Galore in the James Bond film, Goldfinger wearing her GMT-Master, which ads a whole new Rolex History Puzzle piece...It’s fascinating if you think about it to consider JFK was President of the United States when this Rolex Vouge cover was published!?!! Below we see a publicity photo from Goldfinger of Tania Mallet playing Tilly Masterson.

1965

Rolex Submariner

Astrid Heeren in Vouge Magazine

1965

Vogue Magazine

Early Rolex Daytona

This is a great photo of a model rocking a Rolex Daytona [Reference 6239] in Vogue Magazine in 1965, with some crazy long eyelashes...

1965

Rolex Ladies Datejust

Rudi Gernreich Ad

1965

Rolex GMT-Master ad

Rudi Gernreich Ad

This newly discovered information really does beg the question of what inspired women to start wearing men's professional Rolex watches back in the mid 1960s. The first known women I have documented that wore a Rolex GMT-Master was Shelia Scott who is pictured below in a 1966 Rolex GMT-Master Ad.

This newly discovered information really does beg the question of what inspired women to start wearing men's professional Rolex models? The photo below shows Shelia Scott rocking her Rolex GMT on her wrist back in 1966 as she was in the process of breaking over 100 aviation records.

Women wearing professional men's Rolex models is the epitome of style and refined elegance and femininity.

Speaking of How Women Began Wearing Men's Rolex Watches, we see Vanessa Redgrave pictured below back in 1965 from the film Blow Up (Released: January 1, 1966) rocking a Rolex Submariner.

In the photo below we see Vanessa Redgrave rocking her Rolex Submariner on a leather strap on the outside of her shirt cuff, which was another trendsetting style.

1966

Rolex Ladies Magazine Ad

1966

Lady-Date Rolex Ad

Some People Want More Than Just A Pretty Face

1966

The photo below of a model wearing a yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master appeared in Vogue Magazine in November of 1966, which at the time would have been considered to be very avant-garde. 

This newly discovered information really does beg the question of what inspired women to start wearing men's professional Rolex watches back in the mid 1960s. 

1966

1967

1968

1968

The late 1960s add below features Twiggy, who was a super-famous model during that era. Twiggy was know for her tomboy look that was slightly androgynous. All I can say is "Groovy, Baby! Yeah!!!!"

1969

1970

Rolex Lady-Datejust

1970

1970

Hong Kong Rolex President Ad In Chinese

1973

Mrs. Jackie Stewart

1974

This is one of my favorite Rolex Magazine ads feature ing a woman back in 1974 that kind of has a Princess Diana, kind of vibe:

1970s Rolex Brochure

Strange as it may or may not sound, I think many Rolex watch designs and brochures are high-art and these images from the 1970 Rolex USA catalog are no exception. I really like this first vintage Rolex Hotness image. It is remarkable how timeless the photo, watch, clothing and hairstyle is, and I love those beautiful light pink nails.

I am not certain what year this vintage Rolex Magazine ad is from, that features a beautiful woman rocking her Rolex Lady-Date on a President Bracelet. I would guesstimate it to be from around 1979, as she is rocking the Farah Fawcett Majors Hairstyle.

Speaking of beautiful women wearing a Rolex Lady-Date on a President bracelet, Farah Fawcett Majors is widely regarded as being the most beautiful women during the late 1970s.

Or course, Farah Fawcett Majors was one of Charlie's Angels, and she is pictured below on the set of Charlies Angels, racking her Rolex, as is Cheryl Ladd.

Jaclyn Smith also famously wore a two-tone Rolex Datejust as pictured above and below.

Kate Jackson also rocked a two-tone Rolex Datejsut which is pictured on her wrist below.

Let's not forget my personal favorite, Charlies Angel, and that is Cheryl Ladd who is pictured below rocking her yellow gold Rolex Lady-Date on a President bracelet.

1977

Cheryl Tiegs

Cheryl Tiegs was the first Supermodel in history, and she wore several different Rolex watch models.

1978

Sophia Loren

1978

Pauline Trigère

The New Rolex Standard

My best analysis is Rolex tried to make it a trend for women to wear men's Rolex watches from 1960 to 1966 which apparently did NOT catch on. I say this as I have NEVER seen a non Rolex related female voluntarily wear a Rolex men's professional model until the trend seemed to pick back up a decade and a half later in the early 1980s when super-leggy-model, Elle Macpherson began wearing Rolex professional watches, as we see in this first photo with a GMT-Master on her wrist. 

Today it's common to see women wearing Rolex Professional watches, but like many things Rolex, they often take a long time to catch-on, but then they become a Permanent trend. I imagine when a trend persists and becomes permanent we would refer to it as the new standard...

1985

Christie Brinkley

Rolex Daytona Big Red

Speaking of Supermodels rocking Rolex Men's watches, below we see Christie Brinkley back in 1985 rocking a Rolex Daytona [Reference 6263]. I can't figure out if it was Christie Brinkley who started this trend or Elle Macpherson?

1991

Chris Evert

1993

Lyn St. James

1997

Adrienne Vittadini

1999

Ekaterina Gordee

2002

Picabo Street

Sophie Mautner

Award Winning Pianist

2005

2007

2008

Riyo Mori

2009

Ana Ivanovic

2011

Caroline Wozniacki

2014

Sophia Loren