Barbara Walters Ladies Datejust...

Barbara Walters

Belongs To The Ages

1929-2022

I am sad to report that amazing pioneering journalist, Barbara Walter passed away today at age 93. As we see in the photos below, Barbara Walters wore a yellow gold Rolex Lady Date...

Wikipedia perfectly summed up her brilliant career by saying: 

"Barbara Jill Walters was an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including Today, the ABC Evening News, 20/20, and The View."

In one of the T. Walker Lloyd podcast episodes, T. Walker mentioned a famous female newscaster and I can't help but wonder if he was talking about Barbara Walters?

Rolex GMT Masterpiece...

Black Ice Masterpiece

I have never been crazy about precious stones on a Rolex dial or bezel, but when Rolex began blinging out Rolex GMT II models in 2012 I thought is was so tastefully done. It really is a masterful work of art!!!

CELEBRATION OF THE PERPETUAL ARTS INITIATIVE...

CELEBRATION OF THE PERPETUAL ARTS INITIATIVE

In an outreach that has extended for more than half a century, Rolex has partnered some of the world’s most talented artists and leading cultural institutions in disciplines including music and cinema. With 2022 coming to an end, Rolex congratulates these esteemed partners who have again set the benchmark for artistry at the highest level, as well as demonstrated a dedication to championing and preserving the arts. This ongoing commitment to perpetual excellence is one of the brand’s basic tenets.

Rolex in the World: What to Expect in 2023

 

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2023

Twenty-twenty-three will be unlike any other year. Rolex started its Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program which means for the first time in years, it will be possible again to walk into a Rolex authorized dealer and buy a watch on the spot to crown an achievement — with a peace of mind rarely paralleled on the grey market. 

But the biggest factor of 2023 is how quickly China fully reopens. Beijing recently abandoning its zero-tolerance approach to Covid likely means the luxury world will be again able to rely on China to be a locomotive of growth as the U.S. and European economies slow. China health authorities plan to lift Covid-19 quarantine requirements on international arrivals in January.

The Chinese market going back to pre-Covid demand might just be what the grey market needs to reverse the falling trends in value of second-hand Rolex pieces. 

A survey in China of 1,500 adults with an annual income of over 500,000 yuan (USD 71,700) found that 88% of respondents expected to maintain or increase their spending on luxury watches over the next 12 months. Prestigious timepieces, especially Rolex, are an attractive alternative for wealthy Chinese at a time when authorities are cracking down on property speculation. 

Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine is going to keep energy prices high. Rolex said it expects its energy bill to go up as a result. The brand has turned off the nighttime lighting at its offices in Geneva and manufacturing facilities and said Rolex signs overlooking the harbor of Lake Geneva will no longer glow at night.

Still, it avoided a manufacture shutdown: The Swiss government as part of its energy-crisis contingency plans had big consumers of energy stop operating for up to a month if those plans are activated. The contingency plan is staying in place for the winter of 2023/2024 should the reserve levels trigger its execution. 

Europe, however, will continue in 2023 to benefit from U.S. consumers coming with a strong dollar, making shopping of luxury products in Europe more attractive. The Rolex CPO program has already started in Europe, months ahead of the American market. In the U.S., authorized dealers worry they will capture enough inventory to offer as CPO. One manager of a well-established authorized dealer in California told me he currently has 20 pieces he could start selling this spring, but he doesn't think that will be enough.

The CPO program is one of several maverick decisions Jean-Frederic Dufour has made as Rolex CEO. Hired just at 45 years old to be the "King of the Crown," he has led the brand to its most successful time ever and was nominated this year to be chairman of the board at Watches & Wonders. 

Under his leadership Rolex has embraced YouTube, Instagram, and most recently Twitter. It brought back the Pepsi in steel and released a GMT with a crown on the left. At the same time, the brand hasn't been afraid to walk back a few design decisions; the Explorer is again at 36mm, and the Submariner lost its blocky case design. Last month and for the first time ever, it commercialized a watch that could go down to the Mariana Trench, a place Rolex had first visited in 1960. Mr. Dufour's company finished 2022 by buying 24 acres of land in rural Switzerland for 31 million CHF and plans to build a fifth manufacture. 

Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour

Rolex has slowly switched the entirety of its watch lineup to a new generation of movements which feature a longer power reserve, but a few models remain, like the Milgauss and Cellini. The Daytona, which will mark its 60th anniversary in 2023, houses a movement that is more than two decades old. The Yacht-Master II's movement will be 10 years old in 2023.

Whether the U.S. will tip into recession sometime in the next 12 months could affect the Rolex market though, I predict, to a small degree. The super-affluent will continue to spend money and now they can spend it worry-free on CPO Rolex watches. But others, especially those with no spending history at ADs, will exercise a more timid approach until Rolex prices on the secondary market stabilize. Either way, demand for Rolex watches is still strong, and the reopening of the Chinese market will guarantee to make 2023 interesting.

Exclusive Interview with STAN BARRETT

 

 MUST-WATCH VIDEO!!! 

Exclusive Interview

STAN BARRETT

Rolex Paul Newman Daytona 

Hi Everybody! I hope you are all having a great holiday season. In case you missed it, I highly recommend checking out this interview I recently conducted with Stan Barrett. Stan Barrett is one of the most interesting people I have ever known in the world of Rolex, and several weeks ago his 3 Rolex watches came to Auction at Sotheby's in New York. This Rolex history video ties together so many different aspects of Rolex's Quest for Speed!!!!

The World of Rolex

 

The WORLD of ROLEX

     

 "History may not repeat itself, 

but it sure does rhyme."

I was recently having a conversation with a friend of mine who asked me about how and why I started Jake's Rolex World @RolexMagazine.com? 

Earlier JAKE'S ROLEX WORLD @RolexMagazine.com Header pictured above

I will share the story with you: 15 years ago, when I started blogging about Rolex I needed a name, so I came up with "JAKE'S ROLEX WORLD" as I had so many fascinating anecdotes I wanted to share about my experiences with the Rolex brand. It's funny, because I almost didn't start my Rolex blog, as I thought to myself: "I LOVE Rolex, but I'm worried I might quickly run out of content as Rolex really only makes 5-6 trademark models!?!!" Thankfully I threw caution to the wind and started blogging like a mad man.

I created the slogan of "Exploring the Wonderful World of Rolex", and in retrospect I think it kind of reminded me of "The Wonderful World of Disney", which I remember from my childhood. Today my slogan reads: "Exploring The Perpetual World Behind The Crown", which to my way of thinking is a bit more Rolexy...

Speaking of funny, I am 56 years old today, and I mentioned to my friend that if somehow we were able to go back in time 20 years ago, when I was 36 years old, and bring me to today and show me, 'here you are in 2022 going on 2023, and you started a website named Jake's Rolex World @ RolexMagazine.com', I probably would have responded and said something like: "Are you Sure????!!!!! I think you must have the wrong Jake..." 

In my craziest dreams I don't think I ever would have thought I would go on to become the world's leading Rolex historian, but that is the way it's worked out, and the truth is that I am still madly in love with capturing and sharing my insight on Rolex with my readers...And I can assure you that the BEST IS YET TO COME...

Reality is Stranger Than Fiction

Another supreme Irony is Rolex used to publish a precursor to The Rolex Magazine named "The World of Rolex", and we see the title cover of the front page pictured above from an issue published in 1995. For the record—to the best of my recollection—I never knew this publication existed, and only discovered it several years ago, and I was like 'Wow!!! What an amazing coincidence!?!!' It turns out it is a small world after all...

One of my favorite quotes sums it up perfectly:

        “The vision recurs; the eastern sun has a second rise; history repeats her tale unconsciously, and goes off into a mystic rhyme; ages are prototypes of other ages, and the winding course of time brings us round to the same spot again.”  

—Mystic Rhyme 1845

One More ROLEX WORLD

The precursor to the publication mentioned above was another Rolex Magazine named ROLEX WORLD, and we see the cover of the April 1975, which was No 4.

Paper v. Digital

When I look at the pages from the Rolex World Magazine from 1975, I can't help but think about how back then it was a paper only world, and despite this fact Rolex still prints a biannual The Rolex Magazine which is paper, I publish Jake's Rolex World online only 365 days a year, only digitally on the web...

When a man has a WORLD in his hands,

you expect to see a Rolex on his wrist...

From 1966 to 1968 Rolex featured an ad campaign that had a slogan that read "When a man has a world in his hands, you expect to see a Rolex on his wrist", and if you look at the Rolex Magazine ad below you see that slogan at the bottom.

The Certified Pre-Owned Seal

THE ROLEX CERTIFIED 

PRE-OWNED SEAL 

Rolex retrieved an old logo from the archives to symbolize its newest program, the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned Program, which allows authorized dealers across the globe to sell pre-owned Rolex watches that have been authenticated. 

The Certified Pre-Owned guarantee card, which displays the seal, officially confirms that the watch is genuine and guarantees its proper functioning. This card serves as an official certificate of authenticity.

LOGO FROM A 1950s ROLEX ADVERTISEMENT

The official logo of the CPO program is printed in green on a beige color. If the logo looks familiar it's because it is inspired from the engraving found inside the clasp of each Rolex watch. The rhythmic linear pattern around the word "ROLEX" is called an arabesque.

The arabesque logo made its appearance for the first time in Rolex advertisements of the mid-1940s, like this very elegant German Rolex ad from 1946. The war had just ended and the logo seems to bring some jubilee. 

Notice again the arabesque in this 1947 ad in French. 

Under Hans Wilsdorf's signature in this 1948 Season's Greetings ad in English. 

1948 was a very good year for Rolex and the world of exploration. Rolex and Hans Wilsdorf were moving full-speed-ahead into a wonderful new era. In 1948 Hans Wilsdorf was 67 years old and despite his amazing achievements to date, the best had yet to come.

Rolex USA was so excited about the level of progress, they published the following magazine ad which featured Hans Wilsdorf as the "Watchman of our Time." The arabesque is prominently displayed at the bottom.

In this next Rolex Christmas ad from 1948, we see Rolex marking its 40th anniversary with the new five-link trademark bracelet, the Jubilee bracelet, as seen below on this first generation yellow gold Datejust. The arabesque is now white on green.

The following three ads displaying the Rolex arabesque logo are all from the 1950s. I couldn't find any ads past the 1950s with that design.

SKY-DWELLER: Rolex Macro Shot of the Day....

...Rolex Macro Shot of the Day... 

SKY-DWELLER

42MM Stainless Steel

These close-up macro images from Rolex's Official Instagram page of the released stainless steel and white gold 42MM Sky-Dweller. If you ever wondered what makes a Rolex a Rolex, just look at the amazing precision and design detail in this stunning images!!!

Rolex Celebrates Roger Federer

Rolex Celebrates
Roger Federer

Rolex celebrates Roger Federer’s journey of towering achievement and all-round tennis excellence. The brand treasures its enduring partnership with the sports legend and looks forward to maintaining those close ties as he embraces new paths, new challenges, beyond the playing court.

How Rolex Tests Its Most Extreme Watch

HOW ROLEX TESTS ITS

MOST EXTREME WATCH

By DANNY CRIVELLO

 

“Pressure makes diamonds.”

Gen. George S. Patton 

United States Army.

  

The timepiece Rolex unveiled a month ago surprised the watch community and industry experts. The new Deepsea Challenge is not only the first all-titanium example offered by Rolex, but it’s also the highest depth-rated watch ever to be commercialized, having undergone pressure testing to 25% more than the deepest point on the planet. Some say it is the most extreme watch. General Patton would have called the Deepsea Challenge a great example in gemology.

 

Still, Rolex's announcement it had unveiled a new diver in its collection was half the story, I felt. The other half was about Rolex's ability to rate a watch to a depth very few people had ever gone. In short, how do you build and test the ultimate watch of the deep from Switzerland, a country with ski slopes and lakes?

When I reached out to Rolex and asked about the pressure tank that was built to test the new Deepsea Challenge, I noticed the tank was referred to by employees of the brand as la cuve UHP.   

Top of UHP tank has the same engravings as the watch. 

 

Rolex's first Ultra High Pressure tank was built ten years ago, when it tested the experimental watch that would be strapped onto James Cameron's submersible in his record-setting solo dive in 2012. When the watch came out of the tank unscathed and perfectly ticking, the Rolex watchmakers and design engineers who were involved in the project burst into applause. 

The brand updated la cuve UHP to test the highest depth-rated watch ever to be offered to the public. As it’s the case for other Rolex divers, the new Deepsea Challenge had to be tested to 25% more than the advertised rating; so, 25% more than the deepest point known on Earth. The tank had to be built big enough to accommodate more than one watch at a time to make large-scale production possible.

 

The tank alone is a feat of engineering worth writing about. The pressure chamber inside the UHP tank is less than 4 inches in diameter but can hold 3.5 liters of water (though less water is required for the test, Rolex told me). It can test up to 10 watches at a time, and it is completely built in grade 5 titanium to avoid any potential problems with magnetic fields.

 

When the tank was first developed with Comex's help, it was designed to sustain a mind-boggling pressure of 2,510 bars, or 25,100 meters of water depth. That's more than twice Mariana Trench's depth. For safety reasons, the tank was derated to 1,750 bars and equipped with an automatic relief valve. The support structure used for closing the pressure chamber can sustain a pressure of more than 100 tons when the watches are being tested, according to Rolex.

 

Watchmaking is all about attention to details. And so is watch testing. Rolex uses water that has been deionized when it conducts the pressure test. Deionized water, I learned, doesn't leave stains on the watch. All the testing is done at the site of Rolex world headquarters in Acacias, central Geneva. 

A Rolex representative once told me that when the brand unveils a new collection each March, it always tries to show expertise not only as a watchmaker but also as a gem-setter — from the simple floral-motif Datejust 31 to the pavé-dial rainbow Daytona. 

You could argue Rolex did it again this November with the Deepsea Challenge. The watch has undergone so much barometric testing, General Patton would have certainly called it a diamond.

Read also:

Why the Deepsea Challenge is Rolex's Moonwatch