Rolex Lume Shot of the Day: Rolex Explorer...

Rolex Air King Lume Shot

At first, I thought this was a Rolex Explorer, but as Douglas pointed out, it is the new Air King. The way you can tell is that an Air King has a Rolex Crown at 12, and the Rolex Explorer has an upside down triangle like the Submariner, which would glow in the dark. 

Photo Credit: Frank

Marlon Brando Rolex Moonphase...

Marlon Brando Rolex

All The Crazy Moonphases

John Goldberger, the author of 100 Superlative Rolex Watches pointed out that in the 1960 movie, The Fugitive Kind, starring Marlon Brando and Joanne Woodward, that Marlon Brando mentions his Rolex Moonphase 6062. John also points out that he thinks the watch is a chronograph, but I can't see it well enough to tell. I definitely see the moonphase on the dial of the watch when Marlon hands it to Joanne.

John Goldberger pointed out to me in an email "I think this is the first Rolex advertising in the movies, because I bet the original book or script by Tennessee Williams didn't exist with the words Rolex Chronometer." 

Update: In a follow-up email, John mentioned "Tennessee Williams wrote the script for The Fugitive Kind in 1937, at which time Rolex had NEVER made a Moonphase of any kind. This means that in 1960, the screenplay authors added the words Rolex Chronometer as well as the description for the Moonphase. Also the description is too precise for the knowledge of a film-maker, and the supreme irony is that the model was out of production in 1960!!"

The President on The Godfather

Anyone whose favorite movie is The Godfather is alright by me

The Bulibeer Rolex Milsub...

Bernhard Wears It Well

Bernhard is a vintage Rolex collector of the highest order. A true purist.

Bernhard goes by Bulibeer on the forums. Yesterday Bernhard mentioned to me that his 7 year old son spent a half hour on the James Bond section of Jake's Rolex Watch Blog yesterday just looking at all the Bondwatches.

I must admit that I was flattered to learn this fact, and I must also mention that I have learned much from Bernhard about some fantastic watches he owns. Today we are going to examine Bernhard's Rolex Milsub [Reference 5517] with the rare W10 engraving.

Milsub stands for Military Submariner. The Milsub as it is popularly dubbed has some unique design characteristics including sword hands, and 60 minute indices on the bezel. The Milsub also has a Tritium "T" in a circle designation on the dial just above the 600ft designation.

Bernhard bought his Milsub from the original owner who was a commando. Bernhard points out "The Milsub's were issued to the SBS and some other Special forces units close to them like, Mine divers and Intel units."

In both photos, Bernhard is wearing his Milsub on a NATO spec band. Bernhard is a really cool guy and I want to thank him for sharing these stunningly cool images of his very rare Milsub.

John Mayer, Jennifer Aniston Rolex Love

So In Love...With Rolex

John Mayer is an ultra-talented singer, songwriter, guitarist and he has been dating the gorgeous actress, Jennifer Aniston for some time now. Both of them were Rolex fanatics before they met. 

Here is a great video of John playing Let the good times Roll with B.B. King at the Grammy's. Both B.B. King and John Mayer are Rolex collectors.

Here is a video of John playing Hummingbird and you can see him sporting a Paul Newman Daytona:

John Mayer WISdom

John Mayer is a big Rolex collector and has quite a collection. Here is a photo of James Dowling hanging out with John Mayer at the June 6, 2007 IWJG show. John refers to James Dowling as "The Obi-Wan" of vintage Rolex collecting. Of course, James Dowling is the co-author of The Best of Times that I did a review on which you can view by clicking here.

James Dowling & John Mayer

John Mayer definitely suffers from WISITUS. On one of John Mayer's blogs he showed the photo below that he took of his two pristine Rolex Explorer watches [Reference 1655]. 

John Mayer wrote:

 "Three people in the world will think this is interesting...A pair of Rolex 1655 Explorer IIs...As sharp and clean as they come. That's right. I spend nights at home taking pictures of watches. And I love it. So there."

Photo Credit: John Mayer

John Mayer has an amazing Rolex collection. I have been working on putting together a definitive article about John Mayer's Rolex collection which I will publish sometime soon. Also, I hope to do a podcast interview with John.

Update: The day after I published this story, John Mayer posted the photo below on his blog and he said:

"Tonight's watch is a ref. 1680 "red" Submariner, issued to the Peruvian Air Force. The only brown dial "feet first" dial I've seen. Bezel faded to a gorgeous gunmetal gray."

Beautiful Rolex Daytona Strap & Endlinks Removal Illustration...

Otto owns this beautiful yellow Gold Rolex Daytona and he just purchased an authentic Rolex brown crocodile strap to go with it. The honey-rust Rolex strap on the yellow gold Rolex Daytona creates a magnificent color combination.

Did you ever wonder how with White Gold & Yellow Gold Rolex Daytona's how the matching end-links attach to the watch? Now you can see in the illustration below. On top we have a white gold Daytona with the solid end links. First you remove the bezel then the end links come off.

I was surprised to find that the case is machined out under the bezel to accommodate the solid end links.

Rolex Wrist Shot of The Day: A 6062 Moonphase...

Miles Moonphase

When I looked at this first photo of Miles' Beautiful Rolex 6062 Moonphase, it made me realize I had never seen a photo of a Rolex Moonphase on a wrist. We are so used to seeing sterile studio shots that are museum-like, it is easy to forget the Moonphase is even a wrist watch. 

I sent Miles an email to ask him if he could take some more wrist shots of his 6062 for us to enjoy and the next day he sent in the second photo. He is going to take some more from different angles and hopefully one with a tuxedo cuff with the french cuff sticking out with some elegant cufflinks. That way we can get a real feel for the stunningly elegant Rolex.

What a beautiful watch!!!

Jake's Cherry Vanilla GMT Design Idea...

Jake's Cherry Vanilla GMT Design Idea

I am a designer by training. I have been designing for as long as I have been wearing Rolex watches and that is over a quarter century. Over the last quarter century, I have experimented with designing watches and had a lot of fun.

I love the timeless, elegant, masculine design of sport Rolex watches and I have a design idea I want to share with you. The interesting thing about this design idea is that even though the images of the watch design I call the Cherry Vanilla GMT are not real, this watch can actually be made, and I am thinking seriously about building this actual watch.

I call this modified GMT Master II a Cherry Vanilla. The three photos below are of a real Rolex GMT Master that has had its black GMT dial replaced with a White Rolex Explorer II dial, and the standard silver hands from the GMT have been replaced with the black hour, minute and second hands from a standard, white dial Rolex Explorer. Also, in order to make this watch you would have to purchase an aftermarket all red GMT bezel that is not made by or approved by Rolex. I will get a little more into the logistics of how to make this watch later, but for now let's just focus on the design elements.

Some people won't like the design of this watch, but I love it. I like the Rolex Explorer II standard bezel that does not move, but like most people I like the rotating bezel found on the Submariner, GMT and Yachtmaster.

So essentially this hybrid watch is a GMT Master that has been converted into a Rolex Explorer II with a white dial and red rotatable bezel. I imagine the minimum takeaway point here is that you can put a rotating bezel on an Explorer II.

I love the color combo of red, white, black and stainless and I particularly like the combination on the right with the black strap. I think the black strap combination gives the watch a really sporty, cool look. Red is one of my favorite colors and I really like this combo. On the one hand it has a Christmasy, wintery, icy, candy-cane vibe, and at the same time it has a summery, lineny, light, cool, crisp, clean vibe. 

Once again, I must point out that if you customized your GMT to this color and you feel like changing it up, it would be relatively easy to swap bezel inserts. Many people who own GMT's don't just have multiple bezel inserts, but multiple bezels, each with a different color insert because it is much, much easier and faster to swap a bezel than it is to swap out a bezel insert.

Before, I go any further, I must thank the two owner's of the German Rolex Forum located at R-L-X.de, Hannes & Percy for originally bringing to my attention that a GMT could be converted into what I refer to as a Vanilla Pepsi, Vanilla Coke and Oreo Cookie, and alas a Cherry Vanilla.

Also, The base image for the watches above was taken from a photo Hannes took of his Vanilla Pepsi (not shown) and the following images below are all based on an image Percy took of his Vanilla Pepsi.

Introducing the Cherry Vanilla

The Oreo Cookie

The watch above is real, I just put on an aftermarket all red bezel (In Photoshop). The photo below is real and this watch exists and is owned by Percy, but for illustration purposes I changed the bezel to all black (in photoshop) for comparison sake. As much as I like the red bezel insert, I really, really, really like the black bezel insert on the Explorer. For some reason, it looks amazingly good looking to me.

What is strange in my mind is that some would call the watch below a Frankenwatch, but I think it looks even more like a Rolex than the standard non-rotating stainless steel bezel that comes standard on a white-dial Rolex Explorer II. I love the way the black hands and indices play off the black bezel.

One of the obvious questions, would be, if Rolex actually made this watch this way, what would they do with the black dial Explorer II. If they offered it with a black bezel it would look too much like a black bezel GMT. I would offer the black dial Explorer II with a cobalt blue bezel like, the shade of blue on the yellow gold and two-tone Submariner. Also, I methinks the red bezel would look stunning with black dial.

The Vanilla Coke

Next we see pictured below the Vanilla Coke. Once again, this watch is made 100% from genuine Rolex parts. I changed the bezel from Pepsi to Coke, but I have seen real examples of this watch with the Coke bezel. 

I can't speak for Rolex, and I am not affiliated with them in ANY way, but as I understand it, Rolex U.S.A. does not sell spare parts for your watch that would allow you to customize your Rolex like this, but in Europe Rolex will sell you the parts to customize your watch if you choose to do so. I also believe that if you customize your Rolex like this it might void the warranty.

The Vanilla Pepsi

Next we have the Vanilla Pepsi. This is a real photo of Percy's watch. In other words, nothing has been changed in photoshop. This is what Percy's Rolex GMT looks like after he modified it.

The photo below is of Percy's actual Oreo Cookie GMT/Explorer II. It has not been photoshoped in any way. In other words, it has the black bezel with black hands and indices, along with the white dial just as you see it.

The coolest thing is that if you want to make the investment in time and money, you could purchase a GMT, and the extra dial and bezel inserts and have one watch that could be customized into at least 8 different looking watches. Understand that as cool as this idea might be, it is not trivial to swap out parts and unless you really know what you are doing, would require a watchmaker to swap parts, not to mention, Rolex probably would not sanction any of this.

When I look at this second photo below of Percy's watch pictured below, it takes my breath away!!! It looks so crisp, cool, elegant and stylish to me!!! I love this color combination!!! Ironically, I nicknamed this color combination the Oreo Cookie which is kind of profound because I love Oreo Cookies!!!

The Real Oreo Cookie and Vanilla Pepsi...Kind of?

Did Rolex ever make an Oreo Cookie and Vanilla Pepsi? It is hard to say and only Rolex would know for certain, and it is possible they don't even know. There is a long standing rumor that says Rolex made a Vanilla Pepsi for the executives at Pan Am. The idea is that they designed the black dial GMT for the Pan American International Airlines pilots and rumor has it that they also made a white dial version for the Pan Am executives, but nobody knows for certain.

In the podcast interview I did with John Goldberger, he said he believes Rolex did make a Vanilla Pepsi, and he shows one from his personal collection in his book titled 100 Superlative Rolex Watches. John also says that the photo below is of a fake Vanilla Pepsi. He says it is fake because he says that Rolex never made a Reference 6542 GMT Vanilla Pepsi with a Bakelite bezel.

For the record, I am 100% apposed to ANY kind of counterfeit Rolex watches. However, I have no challenge with swapping Rolex parts, including dials, bezels and bands and hands. I also have no challenge with custom painting authentic Rolex dials or bezels. With the Cherry Vanilla mock-up I showed above, it has an all red GMT bezel which to the best of my knowledge Rolex has never made. 

There are people who sell aftermarket bezels that fit Rolex. Personally, I would NEVER purchase one. I would only ever purchase authentic Rolex parts, but, and here is the big but; I would purchase an aftermarket red bezel since Rolex does not make one, in order to make the Cherry Vanilla GMT.

As we saw yesterday with Bamford and Sons, they sell customized Rolex watches and I think this is a trend that will continue. I also believe it is 100% legal as long as you use authentic Rolex parts. When Rolex redesigns the Explorer and gives it a supercase and triplock crown, I hope they finally give it a rotatable bezel.

The GMT Master II has come with 3 interchangeable bezels for many years, and the with the introduction of the Rolex LV Submariner with the green bezel, Rolex now has two different color bezels for the Submariner that are interchangeable.

I think Rolex should embrace people changing up their watches. The bezel inserts for the now discontinues Rolex GMT are relatively inexpensive. As I understand it you can purchase an authentic Pepsi, Coke or Espresso bezel insert for around $75. One of the challenges with those bezel inserts is that over time, as they are exposed to UV light and things like salt-water, they can fade, and they can also get nicked or scratched.

With the advent of the new Supercase Rolex GMT Master is has a ceramic bezel that will never change color or fade. It is also as scratch-proof as the synthetic sapphire crystals Rolex uses which means it is probably completely scratch-proof. This is an un-confirmed number, but somebody mentioned it cost close to $1000 to replace a ceramic Rolex bezel. I believe that even if the bezels are $1000, Rolex would sell many of them in different colors if they offered them.

Rolex Hotness: Elizabeth Hurley...

Bamford & Sons Bespoke Rolex Watches...

Bespoke Rolex Watches 

by Bamford & Sons

Bamford & Sons is a long-established bespoke suiting house. Bespoke is a tailoring term that means "custom-made." 

Bamford & Sons also has a bespoke watch department, that offers customized Rolex watches, like the PVD, black coated watches. Some of their designs are really interesting.

This kind of brings us to an interesting topic, and that is the question of whether or not Rolex should re-open their custom shop to everybody? Fender guitar is as popular in the guitar world as Rolex is in the watch world. Fender guitar has a custom shop that, for a premium price will customize your Fender guitar however YOU want.

I think Rolex should offer the same service. I think many people are fine with the idea that you can get a stainless daytona with a black or white dial, but then there are people like me who don't want to live in a black & white world. I personally like the idea of having a cool watch that is unlike any other watch on earth. I don't like going to a party wearing my LV while I talk to another guy who is wearing one.

Bafmord & Sons has been offering unusually customized Rolex watches succesfully for four years, and now they have an online simulator that allows you to roll your own.

 

You can visit the Bamford & Sons bespoke watch department by clicking here.

I experimented with the online design simulator and designed this green dial combo. In the past Rolex actually made prototype Submariner watches with a hunter green dial, but never brought them to market and they have never been seen by the public, so I decided to mock one up. I also gave my design a black date wheel with a white day which is the opposite of how the date wheel is on a standard Submariner.

This next image is what you see when you first land in the design simulator. Kind of cool looking if you ask me. I don't know if Bamford is a Rolex authorized dealer, but I doubt it. 

I also think that companies that offer customization service for Rolex will continue to be a growing trend. Bamford & Sons, as far as I know, is the first to offer such a service.

Upcoming Christie's Important Watches Auction December 12–New Yourk

Christie's has an Important Watches Auction coming up December 12, 2008 in New York at Rockefeller Center.

Rolex Curvex

There are two really interesting watches that caught my eye. First is this magnificent stainless steel Rolex Curvex Art-Deco Watch [Reference 6555] that was made around 1930. I can't believe how timeless this design is. If Rolex mad this exact watch today, I would wear it.

It is 45mm long and has tumbling Arabic numerals with a hinged back. Christie's says it is circa 1930, but I think it could be from as early as 1928. [Lot 31 / Sale 2041, Estimate $3,500-$4,500]

Unique Arrow Hands

Next we have this Rolex GMT Master [Reference 1675] with definitely unusual if not unique arrow hands. I have never seen hands like this? Interesting design. [Lot 265 / Sale 2041, Estimate $15,000-$25,000]

I wonder if this watch was a prototype? It also has an unusual dual indices in the six o'clock position. Notice the standard GMT marker is elevated and has a small round marker underneath it. One thing I have learned about Rolex design throughout its history, is that they seem to have experimented like crazy with their details.

It almost seems like they threw everything they could think of at the wall and just watched to see what stuck. I mean this as a compliment. In design it is important to experiment and in my own experience as a designer, I have made more beautiful mistakes than intentionally great targeted designs.