Rolex Oyster Fishbowl Ads

The First Waterproof Watch

How Rolex Brilliantly Used Fishbowls To 

Showcase The Waterproofness Of The Rolex Oyster

When Rolex introduced the revolutionary Oyster in 1926 it was an amazingly useful innovation. In other words, prior to the introduction of the Rolex Oyster, there were NO waterproof watches. It is hard to fathom (no pun intended) a world without waterproof cases, since we take them for granted today, but back in the late 1920s, through the 1960s, having a waterproof watch was a HUGE DEAL.  

In 1926, at age 45, Hans Wilsdorf, founder of Rolex had successfully designed, manufactured and patented the waterproof Rolex Oyster. The challenge he faced was, how to communicate the value-proposition of such a product? 

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.

Since Wilsdorf had a brilliant strategic marketing mind, he realized since human beings reasoned by analogy, if he showcased Rolex watches immersed in fishbowls, people would understand the real innovation the Rolex Oyster case offered, thus on November 9, 1922, Rolex patented an aquarium under Patent #52986, for showcasing fish swimming in the bowl with a submerged Rolex watch. 

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

At the same time, as seen in the Rolex illustration below, Hans Wilsdorf came up with a brilliant idea to have authorized Rolex dealers display the waterproof Rolex Oysters watches, in fish-tanks, in their windows–with real fish swimming around the watch!!! This of course gained the fascination of many passer-bys.

1932 British Rolex Oyster Fishtank Magazine Ad

1936 Swiss Rolex Oyster Fishtank Magazine Ad

Pictured below we see an actual Rolex Fishbowl store display, which would have had real fish swimming around, as well as a Rolex Oyster watch. The aqua blue water in the bowl just illustrates the waterline.

The photo below shows a different style Rolex fishbowl showcase, and obviously this one has no water, fish or Rolex inside.

1964 Rolex Fishbowl Ad

This Rolex Magazine ad from 1964 probably represents the tail end of Rolex communicating waterproofness by using a fish in a fishbowl. Fascinating, uh?!?!

Lee Trevino & Jack Nicklaus

Lee Trevino & Jack Nicklaus

Two Golf Legends Wearing Rolex

Lee Trevino is considered to be one of the great golfers of the fourth quarter of the twentieth century. Lee won the U.S. open in 1968 and 1971, and he won The Open Championship in 1971 and 1972. He is pictured below with fellow golf legend, Jack Nicklaus. Lee Trevino is of Mexican American descent and is considered to be an icon and role model in the Mexican American community.

The photo below shows Lee Travino and Jack Nicklaus together at the 1971 U.S. Open. Lee Travino duked-it-out with Jack Nicklaus in an 18 hole playoff, and prevailed.

It appears Lee Trevino is wearing a stainless steel Datejust in the photo above and a GMT Master or Submariner in the photo below.

Lume Shot Of The Year Kurt's All-New Super-Case Stainless Submariner...

...Lume Shot Of The Day...

Kurt's Super-Case Ceramic Stainless Submariner

2018 Rolex Series Golf Video

2018 Rolex Series Golf
Rolex has been sponsoring golf tournaments for more than 50 years, dating back to 1967 with its seminal relationship with golf legend, Arnold Palmer. To learn much more about Rolex & Golf check out the really cool video at the top of the Rolex's golf world page.

The 3 Most Popular American's Wore Gold Rolex Watches

...MIT Pantheon Study...

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology

Deep Research Reveals Most Historically Popular Americans

The Three Most Historically Popular Americans

Wore Yellow Gold Rolex Watches

What do Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Elvis Presley & Walt Disney all have in common? According to the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (MIT) Pantheon study, they are ranked as the top three most popular Americans in a list of the 25 Most Famous Americans. 

This behemoth Massachusetts Institute Of Technology undertaking was completed by the MIT Media Lab, which gauges the "global popularity of historical characters". This is achieved by many methods, including the analysis of data on Wikipedia page views.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, another thing the top three most historically popular American's have in common is they all wore yellow gold Rolex watches!!! That is a pretty profound statistic if you think about it. Below is a list of all famous American's who wore/wear Rolex:

#1. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Yellow Gold Rolex Datejust

It is not surprising to learn that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most popular American in history today, and it is also does not surprise me that he wore a yellow gold Rolex Datejust. Over the years, I have written, what is arguably the most detailed and comprehensive biographical story of Dr. Kings life achievements, which I highly recommend reading.

#2. Elvis Presley

Yellow Gold King Midas

I am also not surprised that Elvis Presley is the second most popular American today. Years ago, after discovering Elvis Presley wore a Rolex King Midas, I worked with Graceland to obtain exclusive photos of his super-cool, limited-edition Rolex King Midas, so I could best share this very cool story.

#3. Walt Disney

Yellow Gold Rolex Datejust

Walt Disney created an amazing world of imagination that is even more popular today, and Disney's long-term success arguably parallels Rolex success, in the sense that truly timeless things endure. In the past I wrote extensively about Walt Disney's success, and showed photos of him wearing his yellow gold Rolex Datejust.

More Top 25 Popular American's Wearing Rolex

Other notable Americans who wore Rolex watches are listed below. As one third of the top 25 most popular American's in history wore/wear Rolex watches, which is impressive. 

This is particularly impressive when you discover many of the most famous American's today lived long before Rolex was founded and that list includes Thomas Jefferson at #24, Mark Twain at #21, Jimi Hendrix at #11, Thomas Edison at #8, George Washington at #7, Edgar Allan Poe at #5, and Benjamin Franklin at #4.

#9. Johnny Depp

Rolex Submariner

Actor Johny Depp is pictured below wearing a Rolex Submariner and he is hanging out with his pal, Terry Richardson who is a famous fashion and portrait photographer, who is rocking a Rolex Day-Date.

#10. Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was rated number ten, and although he did not wear a Rolex, since Rolex did not exist in the time of his life, it is fascinating to note Rolex made a "Lincoln" model, which is pictured below.

#12. Andy Warhol

Yellow Gold Lady Date

Women have been wearing men's Rolex watches since Pussy Galore first sported a Pepsi GMT-Master in 1964 when she co-starred next to Sir Sean Connery in the James Bond movie named Goldfinger. Slowly but surely women began wearing men's Rolex watches, and today, to a large extent all Rolex watches have become unisex. But what about men wearing women's Rolex watches? There have been a few, which include ultra-famous pop artist and photographer, Andy Warhol, as seen below. Warhol also wore men's size Rolex watches as well. Dude looks like a Lady!?! 

#16. Brad Pitt

Yellow Gold Rolex GMT-Master

Alright, so who is cooler than Brad Pitt today? In many ways, he is similar to a modern Steve McQueen. Brad Pitt has worn many different Rolex models throughout his amazingly successful career.

#17. Michael Jackson
Rolex Daytona

The King Of Pop and his fellow Jackson 5 brothers all wear Rolex. I have not done a story yet on Michael Jackson, but in the future I plan to.

#22. Earnest Hemingway

Rolex Oyster Perpetual

Earnest Hemingway is arguably one of the most loved writers of the 20th Century. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. I have never published photos of Hemingway wearing his Rolex Oyster Perpetual in the past, so this is the first time. In the future, I plan to write a detailed story about his love of Rolex. 

The 2019 Australian Open

The 2019 Australian Open

Rolex is the Official Timekeeper of the Australian Open and they just released this really cool video as The tennis tournament begins its first round. 

The "Barbara Daytona" "I'm Going To Be A Fighter Pilot"

...Rolex Hotness...

The "Barbara Daytona"



"I'm Going To Be A Fighter Pilot"

They say that "Every Rolex Tells A Story", and this exotic dial Rolex Daytona is not only magnificent, but it comes with an AMAZING Rolex story! This is the story of Barbara Goetz who was and amazing airplane pilot...and after all, what's sexier than a woman wearing a man's Rolex!?!!

Jacek from H.Q. Milton told her story on Instagram under his watchand handle:

"This is not a Paul Newman Daytona this is a Barbara Daytona. Let me tell you about Barbara. When she was asked by her principle as a student conference meeting what she wanted to do she said, “I’m going to be a fighter pilot”... 

Jacek continues: "Her mom who was embarrassed apologized but Barbara never did. She went on to race planes around the world, become an airplane mechanic, work in air search and rescue, work on the Polaris A-2 Missile program tactical thrust vector control system... basically she shattered any box anyone put her in. “Sometimes on solo flights I would fly 20-30 feet above the ocean and push the plane as fast as possible, let go of the controls, and scream at the top of my lungs!” - Barbara (while wearing the exotic Dial Rolex Daytona)

Jacek is pictured below with Barbara at H.Q. Milton headquarters in San Francisco. Jacek is a top-notch vintage Rolex dealer that I have know for a long time.

I am currently working on an update to my story titled, "The Complete History Of The Rolex GMT-Master" and for some reason this vintage Rolex ad from 1969 reminded my of Barbara's story.

 Female aviators wearing men's Rolex tool watches

The history of female aviators wearing men's Rolex tool watches is fascinating. This story of a radical real-life female pilot also reminds me of Honor Blackman wearing a man's Rolex GMT-Master in Goldfinger, which can be seen in my story titled, "How Women Began Wearing Men's Rolex Watches".

1960

Sheila Scott

It is interesting to note that Pussy Galore's character was actually based on Sheila Scott, who 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 began was a British Actress who learned became an airplane pilot. This 1960 Rolex GMT-MASTER magazine ad is probably how Rolex adroitly first got women to wear men's Rolex watches.

In 1966 Sheila Scott set an world aviation record when she set a new record for her solo flight around the world in a light aircraft. She took off from Heathrow Airport in London, England and flew eastward to become the very first person to circumvent the globe in a solo flight. Sheila had some unusual habits when she flew. For instance she primarily flew barefoot, which she said helped her feel the airplane vibrations. 

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.

Another Piece Of The Steve McQueen /Loren Janes Submariner Story Discovered...

Another Piece Of The

Steve McQueen 

Loren Janes Submariner 


Story Discovered

Nick Gould is an AMAZING researcher and he recently discovered a significant new piece of the Steve McQueen/Loren Janes Submariner mystery puzzle which we will be exploring in this story. What is cooler than Steve McQueen rockin' one of his stainless steel Rolex Submariner watches? Not much, which is one of the reasons I continue to find this story to be fascinating.

If you are new to this story, I will offer you a brief overview of how this story unfolded last year. Let's begin by looking at the photo below of Steve McQueen and Loren Janes taken in Hong Kong in 1966 on the set of Sand Pebbles.

Last year Loren Janes Rolex Submariner came up for auction and it featured an engraving from Steve McQueen as seen below. Keep in mind this is no ordinary Rolex, but one that has been to hell and back...They say "Every Rolex Tells A Story" and the back story on this watch is beyond epic and should be made into a movie...To understand the controversy behind this Rolex be sure to check out my story titled, "...Final Conclusions & Analysis...Did Steve McQueen give Loren Janes His Submariner?"

As I mentioned earlier, Nick Gould is an amazing researcher and he recently discovered and shared the following reproduction with me of a story Loren Janes wrote back in 1982 about his experience with getting bitten by a snake in 1966 while shooting on the set of Sand Pebbles in Hong Kong. I will remind you that Doc Duhame, who is a leading Stuntman and Stunt Coordinator for the Showtime hit, Ray Donovan told me a story about how Steve McQueen confirmed to him in front of Loren Janes that he gave Steve McQueen the Rolex pictured above. 

Steve McQueen said to Doc Duhame, "Trust me, Loren earned this Rolex Submariner when we worked together on the set of Sand Pebbles!" Steve was specifically talking about the Hellish experience Loren went through while shooting on the set. So let's hop in the Rolex Time Machine and head back to 1982  to get the story directly from Loren Janes:

Special Thanks to Nick Gould for sharing his research findings with us. Nick and I are still investigating this story and I am aware of a lot of details I have not published yet. I would say that this story is far from over, but as they say, time will tell :-)