Thomas Kinkade Painter Of Light

...Rolex Super-Coolness...

Thomas Kinkade

Painter of Light

1958-2012

Pepsi GMT-Master & King Tut Submariner

Thomas Kinkade was an American painter, who is one of the most commercially successful artists of the 21st Century. How successful is his artwork today? Apparently, at least 5% of American homes have a copy of one of his paintings hanging in their home. Thomas Kinkade is pictured below sporting a yellow gold Rolex (King Tut: Gold and Cobalt Blue) Submariner.

Thomas Kinkade wore a yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master as seen above, and also wore a Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master as seen in the photos below.

Thomas Kinkade is to the 21st Century, what Pablo Picasso was to the 20th century, as far a being prolific, popular and commercially successful, and ironically they both wore the exact same Rolex model, which was a Pepsi Rolex GMT-Master!

Classic Christmas Paintings
Making Spirits Bright

"Every painting is a journey." –Thomas Kinkade

I decided to publish this story today, as a way to get into the Christmas spirit, since Thomas Kinkade's paintings are some of the greatest Christmas themed paintings. Thomas Kinkade's Christmas paintings are extremely ideal and heartwarming, and capture the essence of this most wonderful time of the year.

One could argue that Thomas Kinkade's paintings are similar to Norman Rockwell's in the sense that he is constantly attempting to capture this highly idyllic state of Americana. Thomas Kinkade grew up in Placerville, California, in the U.S.A., which is a city that you would pass through if you were traveling from the San Francisco Bay Area on you way to Lake Tahoe.

Sidney Mobell Designer and Creator of Fine Jewelry

Sidney Mobell

Designer and Creator of Fine Jewelry

1989 Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco

It's funny how life works. I seem to have this uncanny ability to recall and remember vintage Rolex ads from many decades ago, and the one below is one of my favorites. I grew up in San Francisco, and in the 1980s Rolex was all the rage. I remember seeing this vintage Rolex Ad back in 1989 for Sidney Mobell which was located in the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco. 

I have many fond memories of The Fairmont Hotel, especially around the holiday Christmas season, as I can still recall how magnificently elegant the Fairmont Hotel Lobby was and how it positively smelled of pine Christmas trees. I also remember dining late night at the hyper elegant Brasserie Restaurant which was located in the bottom of the Fairmont on California Street after many evenings of partying. 

This Sydney Mobell Rolex ad completely Deja Vu's me out in a positive way...and reminds me of Barbara Streisand's song, "The Way We Were", which has the great line "Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time re-written every line?"

Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day—GV Milgauss

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

GV Milgauss

Rolex Desk Clock In The Oval Office

Rolex Desk Clock

In The Oval Office 

Featured on 60 Minutes

"Time Flies, and waits for no one,

 and once lost, is never found. 

Yet still we try to keep time and measure it."

I originally published this story back on December 4th, and am bringing it back up as the top story, as CBS's 60 Minutes TV Magazine show not only ran this fascinating story on the Swiss Watch industry, but also featured a close-up of the Rolex desk clock Rolex gifted to the American people though President Trump."

Back on November 6, I published a story about how the CEO of Rolex visited President Trump along with other members of a Swiss Delegation in the Oval Office. 

Then, on November 10th I published a follow-up story about how Rolex had apparently given President Trump a Rolex Desk Clock that was on display in the Oval Office. This led to a mystery as there was not a high enough resolution photo that showed the actual engraving, until now.

Nick Gould brought this image to my attention which gives us a clear image of what Rolex engraved on the back of the Rolex table clock that they gifted to the American people on behalf of President Trump. This image was originally published on Woz.ch, and shows in great detail what the engraving said exactly as pictured below. 

Nick Gould originally claimed he could read the engraving on the back of the clock, and it turns out "Eagle Eyes" was correct, which is fascinating as I could NOT make it out originally, even when I blew up the text super large, but Nick got it right, and here is what it said:

ROLEX

PRESIDENT OF THE UNTED STATES

DONALD J. TRUMP

45-47

WITH APPRECIATION FROM ROLEX

1977 Rolex Brochure Cover...

1977 

Rolex Brochure Cover

I am pretty certain this is the first Rolex brochure I ever looked at when I was young...Total Deja Vu when I look at this now!!!

1958 Rolex GMT-Master Brochure

1958 Rolex 

GMT-Master Brochure

Photoshop before Photoshop

If you are a regular reader of Jake's Rolex World, your are undoubtedly likely familiar with the 1958 Rolex GMT-Master brochure pictured below, but have you ever wondered what it's genesis is? Particularly with the image of the navigator rocking the Rolex GMT-Master? Continue reading to find out below:

Nick Gould discovered the image below in the WatchLibrary.org, and it shows the original image, and from this we may infer that the GMT-Master was superimposed onto the wrist of the navigator. I asked Nick how he discovered the image and he said, "Was a random discovery". But now you know why I coined the term 'Eagle Eyes' as a nickname for Nick:

Below we see the original 1954-1955 magazine article that shows the image, which was published originally in the Revue International de l'horlogerie, which was published in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and was originally printed in French.

I translated the text from French to English and it says:

    "must then, by means of buttons on the receiver - which functions as a calculating machine - bring the two points one on top of the other until they form only one in the form of a vertical line. At this point, he will note where on the scale this line is. He will obtain a number that he will find on a special map and corresponding to one of the arcs of a circle whose center is the main transmitter.

He will carry out a similar operation with a group of transmitters located, for example, on the coast of Greenland or Iceland. The place where the plane is located will then be determined by the place where the two lines intersect, corresponding to the two numbers noted on the scale of the cathode ray screen.

WATCHES ON BOARD

As it has been possible to judge from this simplified description of two essential elements of a transatlantic flight, the flight plan and navigation, the measurement of time is an absolute necessity on board an aircraft. This is why it is equipped with several watches or chronographs. In addition to his pocket chronograph, the navigator also has a fixed watch among the flight instruments at his disposal,"

My best guess is that Rolex Director, René-Paul Jeanneret probably saw this image when it was originally published, and thought it was perfect for conveying the value proposition of the GMT-Master. In all my years of studying Rolex Magazine and Newspaper images, I have rarely seen watches superimposed like this:

One such image is the Jean-Claude Killy Rolex Explorer II (Orange Hand) Reference 1655 Rolex Magazine ad pictured below, where we see the watch appears to have been superimposed on his wrist. I could be wrong, but it this image has always looks kind of strange to me.

I am not going to go into detail on this now, but in my upcoming book series in Volume 3, which is named, "THE COMPLETE HISTORY, ROLEX MAD MEN, VOLUME 3 OF 25: 1953-1963", I do a deep dive into the real hardcore history behind the GMT-Master, and showcase some amazing never before seen or published information that sheds tremendous light on its true Genesis, which is AMAZING!!!!

Cerachrom Bezel Insert Up Close Pepsi Ceramic

Cerachrom Bezel Insert

Up Close Pepsi Ceramic

When Rolex first mastered the production of the iconic Pepsi ceramic bezel insert, the excitement was palpable. They began with 'Cerachrom,' Rolex’s proprietary term for their high-tech ceramic bezels, initially crafting them in sleek black. Creating the vibrant red and blue combination, however, posed a formidable challenge, demanding innovative techniques to achieve the perfect color fidelity and durability. Through relentless ingenuity, Rolex triumphed, delivering the stunning two-tone Cerachrom bezel that has since become a hallmark of their GMT-MASTER craftsmanship.

...Wrist Shot Of The Day: Ralf's Single Red Rolex Submariner

...Wrist Shot Of The Day...

Ralf's Single Red Rolex Submariner

Hans Wilsdorf Mystery Man Revealed

Hans Wilsdorf

1953 Mystery Man Revealed

There are so many times when I see photos of famous people with other people in the photo, I don't recognize—and I naturally wonder who they are? This happened when I published the photo below of Rolex Founder, Hans Wilsdorf. I assumed the man standing in the photo below was a Rolex watchmaker or executive, but as they say, "Never Assume!"

Back on November 9, 2018 I shared the standing man's identity. He is J. Farren-Price, and the photo was taken in late 1953 at Rolex global headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It turns out J Farren-Price was Australia's original Rolex agent—in a relationship that began back in the early 1950s. J. Farren-Price has also been the longest standing Patek Philippe agent in Austrailia, which goes back to 1877.

The Rolex advertisement below was featured in The Sydney Sun-Herald Newspaper on Sunday December 13, 1953. The ad is fascinating as we see a Tudor Aqua, and a stainless steel Rolex Triple Date Moonphase [Reference 8171] for only 74 Pounds!!! That same watch today could easily be worth $150,000, if not closer to a Million dollars!!!!

The most interesting part of this revelation is not so much in discovering the identity of J. Farren-Price, but in the way, I learned about it. You see, Jake's Rolex World has readers all over the world who regularly conduct their own investigations into Rolex history and write-in to share their insight with me— and that is exactly what happened with this story. Alan, who is located in Asia regularly researches Rolex history and writes in to share his findings with me, which in-turn I pass along to you—my readers. 

This never ceases to amaze me—that we have developed an international network of Rolex history investigators that slowly and methodically keep putting together disparate pieces of the Rolex history puzzle!!! Thank you very much, Alan, for researching and sharing your valuable insight with us!!!

So who exactly, is J. Farren-Price? It turns out J Farren Price is a Luxury Jeweler and Watch Store located in Syndey, Australia which remains a Rolex authorized dealer to this day. J. Farren-Price founded his namesake store in 1942, and in the video below we see his son, J Farren-Price talking about how they celebrated their 75 year anniversary in 2017.

Alan also included the article below which has some fascinating tidbits in it. Keep in mind Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Mount Evest in the summer of 1953, just several months before the ad below was printed. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

    

A Note from Jake

Happy Thanksgiving 

Hi Everybody!!!

It is hard to believe it is already Thanksgiving again on Jake's Rolex World!!! It has been another absolutely amazing year filled with growth and fascinating new Rolex historical content!!! I am now in my 18th year of publishing Jake's Rolex World and I still feel like I am just getting warmed-up with Rolex history. I have many, many more exciting pieces of the Rolex history puzzle to share with you in the future, as well as some major announcements coming up, including some REALLY cool new Rolex History stories, coming this holiday season, so be sure to stay tuned...

"The First Thanksgiving" painting by Jean Gerome Ferris (1863-1930)

2025 has been another "interesting" year for everybody—but nonetheless, I am very grateful to have so many great readers all over the world and I hope you have found some solace and inspiration in all the amazing Rolex history I have shared with you. So many of you have written in over the years to help correct my typos, as well as to share your valuable insight and enthusiasm, for which I am eternally grateful!

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday as it gives us a chance to pause and reflect on how fortunate we all are to be able to experience this amazing miracle, known as life, on this spinning marble we all share–named Earth.

I wish you all a great holiday season!!!

Warmest regards,

Jake ;-)