Thursday, July 07, 2016

The Open 145th ROYAL TROON


...Golf's Original Championship...
The Open
145th ROYAL TROON
July 14 to July 17, 2016

The Open Championship is often referred to as "The Open", or "The British Open". It remains golfs oldest of the four major world championships, thus preceding the Masters, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. This year's Open will be played from July 14 through July 17th at the Royal Troon Golf Club, on the Old Course, which is located in Troon, Scotland, in South Ayrshire.





Rolex Open Golf Legends

Many of the top golfers in history wear Rolex watches, so I thought I would share some photos below of golfers that have won The Open. Let's begin with "The Big Three of Golf", which includes Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus, who are pictured together below in 2007, all sporting their Rolex watches. 


Notice Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus are wearing yellow gold Rolex Day-Date models and Arnold Palmer is wearing one of my favorite Rolex models, which is an original LV Submariner, which has a green bezel with a black dial. 

In the photo below taken in the late 1960s we see the Golfs Big Three in the same order as the photo above.





Arnold Palmer

In the photo below we see golf legend, Arnold Palmer in a recent photo sporting his yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master. Palmer won The Open back-to-back in the years of 1961 and 1962. Arnold Palmer is not only one of the great golfing legends, but also a lifelong Rolex wearer. He has had the nickname of "The King" of golf because he was the first golf superstar in the age of television. Arnold Palmer began wearing a Rolex back in 1961 when he was 32 years old. Arnold Palmer became the first official Rolex Golf Ambassador in 1967, under the leadership of then Rolex CEO, André Heiniger.

"Rolex has shared every second of my time for the last 55 years." –Arnold Palmer



Arnold Palmer is pictured below in the Oval Office with President Nixon on February 13, 1969, along with fellow athletes, Bart Starr (football player) on far left, and Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers. Notice, that Arnold Palmer is wearing his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date in the photos below. Ironically, you see the top golfer in the world wearing a Rolex "President" in the Oval Office.







Gary Player

Next up we have Gary Player, who won The Open in 1959, 1968, and 1974. In the recent photo below we see Gary Player sporting his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date.








Jack Nicklaus

Next, we see golf legend, Jack Nicklaus in a recent photo sporting his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date. Jack Nicklaus won The Open in 1966,1970 and 1978.


The photo below shows Jack Nicklaus in 1978 after winning The Open, and he is wearing his Rolex Day-Date. 


Jack has been wearing a Rolex Day-Date since 1967, so next year will mark the 50th years he has worn Rolex. The photo below of Jack Nicklaus wearing a Rolex Day-Date was taken in 1968 when he was 28 years old. It is the oldest known photo of him wearing a Rolex that I have been able to find.








Tom Watson

Next up we have Tom Watson who won The Open five times, in 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982 & in 1983. Tom Watson is pictured below holding his coveted Open trophy, and notice he is wearing his yellow gold Day-Date. The photo below was taken when he won The Open in 1982.







Seve Ballesteros

Pictured below we see Seve Ballesteros who own The Open in 1979, 1984 and 1988. Seve is wearing his Rolex Day-Date in the photo below.





Lee Trevino

Next up we see golf legend Lee Trevino who won The Open back to back in 1971 and 1972. In the photo below we see Lee Trevino with his good pal, Jack Nicklaus, and both are wearing Rolex watches.


In the photo below we see Lee Trevino wearing either a Rolex Submariner or GMT-Master.






Greg Norman

Next up we see Greg Norman who won The Open in 1986 and 1993. In 1993 Greg Norman set the record for the lowest score over 72 holes at The Open, winning in only 267 strokes. In the first photo below we see Greg Norman wearing his yellow gold Rolex Submariner.


In the photo below we see Greg Norman sporting his yellow gold Rolex Daytona.


In the photo below we see Greg Norman with Jack Nicklaus, and both are wearing yellow-gold Rolex models. Greg Norman is wearing a yellow gold Rolex Daytona, and Jack Nicklaus is wearing a yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date.






Tiger Woods

Next, we Tiger Woods who won The Open in 2000, 2005 and 2006. Tiger Woods is pictured below sporting his two-tone Rolex GMT-Master.










Phil Mickelson

Next up we see Phil Mickelson wearing his Platinum Rolex Day-Date. Phil Mickelson won The Open in 2013.


Sunday, July 03, 2016

James Bond Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph Comes To Auction


...Rolex Super-Coolness...

James Bond
Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph
[1968 36MM Rolex Reference 6238 / Caliber 722]

Rolex Chronograph Worn by George Lazenby
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Coming To Auction

It's really rare, but it happens!!!! A Rolex worn in a James Bond movie is offered at auction. Last time, it was Roger Moore's Rolex Submariner that he wore in Live And Let Die, which sold in 2015 in Geneva at Phillips Auction House for $363,000.

This time it's an extremely rare Rolex Pre-Daytona Rolex Chronograph which was worn by George Lazenby (pictured above) in the James Bond Movie titled "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." The actual Rolex Chronograph he wore in the movie is pictured below, and will be soon auctioned! That's right, you can actually own a Rolex worn by James Bond, and it's not just any Rolex Submariner...Instead its a Rolex Chronograph that was the last model Chronograph Rolex made before they introduced The Rolex Daytona!!!




It is interesting because when most people think about James Bond and Rolex, they think about a Rolex Submariner, and of course all James Bond actors wore different Rolex Submariner models up until Pierce Bronsan. 

In the photo below, we see George Lazenby wearing his Rolex Submariner from this image taken on the set of the James Bond movie, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."



George Lazenby's Rolex Submariner was front and center in the beginning of the movie, as we see in the screenshot below taken from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." If you look carefully, you will notice he took his Rolex watch off and put in on the copy machine in front of him, while he read Playboy Magazine. Groovy Baby, Yeah!!!!!


The Rolex Submariner is so synonyms with early James Bond actors, it often surprises people to learn that George Lazenby also wore a Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph in the movie, as seen in the photos below. The first three images below show George Lazenby kissing Catherina Von Schell.




The Rolex Chronograph seen on George Lazenby's wrist in the photos above and below is the actual watch being auctioned. Legend has it that watch is unique in that Eon Productions custom ordered this watch from Rolex to be made with an unusual red second-hand, as apposed to the standard stainless steel second hand. The watch was originally purchased through Bucherer in Switzerland on October 23, 1968.


The Rolex Chronograph model Reference 6238 was made in 1968 and is referred to as a Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph as it has the tachometer scale printed on the dial, as apposed to on the bezel, which is where all Daytona models feature their scale.










It's interesting to note that in the James Bond poster below for On Her Majesty's Secret Service that George Lazenby is wearing the Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph.




Friday, July 01, 2016

Wimbledon 2016



Wimbledon 2016

Rolex's been the primary sponsor of the oldest and most prestigious fortnight in professional tennis since 1978, which is known as the Wimbledon Tennis tournament. Rolex is also the official timekeeper or Wimbledon. It's hard to believe Wimbledon 2016 is already underway! Rolex created this short video entitled "What Makes Wimbledon Special", which should get you stoked for some amazing world-class tennis...





...Rolex Presents...

The Spirit Of Wimbledon
Four Part Series 
Wimbledon from 1877 to 2011

Several years ago Rolex released this remarkably detailed and amazing four part documentary on the history of Wimbledon, which is absolutely fascinating!!!




Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Men Who Guide The Destinies Of The World Wear Rolex Watches



1960 CBS Rolex Ad

Men Who Guide The Destinies Of The World Wear Rolex Watches

Sunday, June 26, 2016

LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers: Rolex Day-Date...


...Rolex 3-Time NBA Champion...

LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers
2016 NBA Championship Parade
Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date

Recently, in one of the greatest upsets in basketball finals history, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Championship which I watched live, and it was quite a thrilling game (you can see the highlights in the videos at the bottom of this story.) The Cleveland Cavaliers were down 3 games to 1 to the Golden State Warriors, and managed to come back to win the Finals, which has never happened before in NBA Finals history. LeBron James is arguably the driving force that led the Cavalier to their Championship in 2016, and he is pictured below getting around two Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals.


LeBron James has won three NBA Championships in his amazing career (2012, 2103, 2016) as well as four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013). LeBron James is widely considered to be one of the best basketball players in the history of the game.
I first noticed that LeBron James was wearing his Rolex Day-Date at the 2016 NBA Championship Parade when Hodinkee recently published a story on the subject, which included the photo below of LeBron James wearing his 41MM yellow gold Rolex Day-Date II. 

Image Appears Courtesy of David Liam Kyle / Getty Images


LeBron James was not the only Cleveland Cavaliers team member rockin' his yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date, as I could not help but notice at least four team-members were also wearing yellow-gold Day-Date models including Mo Smith, Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson. Below we see Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert sporting his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date. 

Image Appears Courtesy of Josefczyk / Reuters



In this next image we see Tristan Thompson, who wearing his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date on June 22, 2016 at Cleveland Cavaliers Championship Parade.











Wednesday, June 22, 2016

...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day... Wade's Rolex Submariner Close Up


...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Day...

Wade's Rolex Submariner Close Up

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Sammy Davis Jr. Rolex Datejust...



...Rat Pack Rolex...

Sammy Davis Jr.

The Greatest Entertainer That Ever Lived


Sammy Davis Jr. has been commonly referred to as the greatest entertainer that ever lived, and I would have to agree. Sammy was a big watch collector and wore a number of different Rolex models. This first picture is intriguing because it shows him wearing what appears to be a highly customized Rolex model. 


If you look closely, you notice this is clearly a yellow gold Rolex, but it has a yellow Rolex President bracelet, on what appears to be a yellow gold Submariner body, coupled with a diamond bezel. I've seen some interesting Rolex customizations in my lifetime, but I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like this?

In the photo below we see Sammy Davis Jr. sporting a yellow gold Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee Bracelet. 


Sammy Davis Jr. was one of the original member of the Rat Pack, and is seen below with fellow members, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra.



Sammy Davis Jr. is pictured below on stage in Las Vegas in the Copa Room at The Stardust with fellow Rat Pack members Dean "Dino" Martin on the far left of the stage and Frank "Old Blue Eyes" Sinatra on the right.




The Candy Man Can
Sammy Davis Jr & Mickey Rooney

The incomparable Sammy Davis Jr., is pictured below hugging actor, Mickey Rooney backstage at Rooney's Broadway show named "Sugar Babies" in 1981. Of course, Sammy Davis Jr., is wearing his trademark yellow gold Rolex Datejust.