Rolex Coolness: Eric Clapton-Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date Ad

...Rolex Super Coolness...

Eric Clapton

A Brilliant Musical Career With Rolex Keeping His Time

Eric Clapton has enjoyed an amazing musical career. He is the only three-time Rock and Roll Hall of fame inductee, as a solo artist, as well as a member of the Yardbirds, as well as Cream. Eric Clapton is arguably one of the most influential and successful guitarists of all time.

Eric Clapton is a vintage Rolex collector as well as being a Rolex Ambassador. In the photo above and below we see Eric Clapton sporting his Paul Newman Rolex Daytona on a Fatstrap, the exact way Paul Newman wore his.



Just for frame of reference, I thought I would share this photo of Paul Newman wearing his trademark Exotic Dial Daytona on a Fatstrap. If you compare the photo above and below you see that Eric Clapton's Paul Newman Daytona is absolutely true to form.

Rolex Coolness: Eric Clapton

Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date Ad

Rolex Coolness: Eric Clapton

50th Anniversary Rolex GV Milgauss

Clapton Sporting a Rolex Submariner

Clapton Sporting a Rolex GMT-Master

Riding With The King

Eric Clapton is pictured below with B.B. King. Eric is wearing his Submariner and B.B. King is wearing his trademark yellow gold Rolex President which is not visible in this picture. B.B. Kings Rolex President is as much a part of his kit as his guitar–Lucille.

Speaking of Eric Clapton and B.B. King, here they are pictured above with John Mayer, and they are all wearing Rolex watches. B.B. King, Eric Clapton and John Mayer are considered to be the greatest guitarist of their respective generations.

Of course when B.B. King played his trademark Gibson Lucille (Model ES 355) he wore his trademark Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date President.

In this photo Clapton is also wearing a Day Date and John Mayer is wearing one of his vintage Rolex Explorer II watches with the orange hand.

Eric's Great Buddy

Talk about a Mentor and Protege...Blues guitar legend Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton at a Crossroads Charity event. Crossroads is Eric Clapton's charity organization.

Buddy Guy is one of the greatest Blues and Rock guitarist that ever lived. If it was not for Buddy Guy's early innovation on the guitar playing style on the guitar there never would have been a Hendrix.

Buddy does not just play the guitar, he completely dominates it like I have NEVER seen anybody else do.

Eric Clapton's Rolex Watches At Auction

Eric Clapton was one of the first celebrities to get into collection vintage Rolex watches. Over the years he has auctioned many of them and donated the benefits to his charity foundation. This Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona set a world watch auction record a few years ago by selling for $505,000.

The watch is considered to be very rare because it has an "Albino" dial.

Eric Clapton's Albino Daytona

Eric Clapton once owned this Extremely Rare Rolex watch dubbed "The Yachtmaster Daytona which was a Prototype Rolex and was never offered to the public. It is fascinating to see how Rolex experimented with the nautical theme in the 60s and early 70s be creating a 39MM Yachtmaster. Of course, Rolex did not bring the current Yachtmaster to market until decades later.

Eric Clapton's Rolex Yacht-Master prototype sold at a Christie's Auction in 2003 for $125,000, and Eric Clapton donated the proceeds to his Crossroads Foundation. His Rolex Yacht-Master is picture below and appears courtesy of Christie's Auction House.

Here is another photo of Eric Clapton's Rolex Yacht-Master Prototype Reference 6239/6242. There are only 3 known examples of the Rolex Yacht-Master Prototype. The first is this one that was owned by Eric Clapton. The second one is owned by John Goldberger, and the last one is owned by Rolex and kept in their private collection and it has a special bezel [Reference 6542].

Two Tone Jubilee Bracelet

 ...Rolex Studio Shot of the Day...

Two ToneJubilee Bracelet

I Dream Of Rolex: Larry Hagman & Barbara Eden

I Dream Of Rolex

Larry Hagman & Barbara Eden

Rolex Lady Date & Day-Date

What does I Dream Of Jeannie have in common with Rolex? They are both beautiful Timeless Classics that make people smile! I Dream Of Jeannie is one of the most iconic TV shows in history, right up there with I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show. 

I Dream Of Jeannie originally aired on TV in 1965 and ran to 1970, which covered 5 seasons and 139 episodes. The premise of the show was that a NASA Astronaut was in a rocket that was launched and went off-course and landed on a desert island, where he finds a beautiful genie in a bottle he opens, who calls him 'Master'. Probably every man's dream :-0

Larry Hagman passed away on November 23, 2012, and in the photo below, we see Barbara Eden who played Jeannie, and Larry Hagman who played Major Nelson on I Dream Of Jeannie, hanging out together not so long before he passed away, and notice both of them are still wearing their yellow gold Rolex watches!!!

So let's go back in The Rolex Time Machine and take a closer look at their Rolex watches. 

First we see Barbara Eden wearing her yellow gold Rolex Lady-Date model on Jubilee Bracelet.

The photo below of Barbara Eden was taken when she turned 90 years old and notice she is still wearing her yellow gold Rolex Lady Date. Today Barbara is 91 years young.

DALLAS

Next we see Larry Hagman who went on from playing Major Nelson on I Dream Of Jeannie, to playing J.R. Ewing on the epic TV Show Dallas. Dallas ran from 1978 to 1991, and was ultra successful. Larry Hagman is pictured below wearing his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date on Dallas.

In later episodes of Dallas, Larry Hagman's character started sporting his yellow gold Rolex "President" on a special special custom-made gold and leather strap with his J.R. initials on it, as seen below.

Larry Hagman reprised his role as J.R. Ewing on Dallas when it came back to TV in 2012, and in the photos below we see Larry Hagman wearing his Rolex Day-Date on his special JR Gold Band.

On I Dream Of Jeannie, Larry Hagman played the role of Air Force/ NASA Major Anthony Nelson. The show aired from 1965 to 1970 and in many ways it mirrored the times. Specifically, between 1965 and 1970, NASA went from Project Mercury to Gemini to Apollo. Project Mercury put the first American in space to orbit the Earth, and Apollo was the first to put a man on the moon. At the time, the NASA Astronauts were like the new cowboys. 

DEADLY ENCOUNTER

1982 Helicopter Action Movie

Stainless Steel Rolex Submariner

Reference 1680

In the photos below we see Larry Hagman in a different role, rockin' a different Rolex model–this time he is wearing a Rolex sports watch, which appears to be a Submariner Reference 1680 in Stainless Steel.

I received an email a decade ago from a reader of Jake's Rolex World who lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, named Luiz, and he sent me the following email:

Hi Mr. Jake...

My name is HEITOR AZEVEDO, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil... I´m a Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter pilot. I have two Rolex Submariner Supercase Ceramic... and I´m a great admirer of your blog and histories.

I saw a Larry Hagman´s movie from 1982. In the first scene, you can see Mr. Hagman proceeding a helicopter pre-flight check wearing a beautiful Rolex Submariner in the movie DEADLY ENCOUNTER.

I was looking for this movie, to watch the helicopters performances, but I was very surprised when in the first scene I saw Larry Hagman wearing a Submariner almost like my two 116610LN (I have one with steel bracelet and another one with a black rubber bracelet with white needlework line that I usualy wear to work).

I hope to have helped to improve your fantastic blog histories.

Thank you very much, best regards,

HEITOR AZEVEDO – Rio de Janeiro – Brazil.

Thank you so much Heitor, and yes I watched the whole movie and got some screen grabs of Larry Hagman wearing his stainless steel Submariner. By the way, Larry Hagman made this movie in 1981, while he was staring in Dallas. Dallas began in 1978 and ran until 1991. 

Watching this movie was a trip. The helicopter flying and stunts were fascinating, but it was really kind of a cheesy early 1980s movie. Think, Airwolf, meets Charlie's Angels, meets Star Wars, meets Miami Vice ;-) Either way, it is still a trip to see Larry Hagman rockin' a stainless steel Rolex Submariner.

Brian Niccol Starbucks CEO

...Rolex Coolness...

Brian Niccol

Starbucks CEO

Rocking a Starbucks LV Submariner 

This is an interesting story about Starbuck's maverick CEO, Brian Niccol who is in the process of reinventing Starbuck, in a back the future way, and he's doing is with a Starbucks LV Submariner on his wrist. Talk about life imitating art. 

The image above, taken by Jessica Chou, is from a fascinating FAST COMPANY story titled "Behind The Brand: Venti Expectations. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol built a reputation for quickly reviving fast-food empires. He’s trying to do the same for the coffee giant by reconnecting the brand with its original soul. But this time, change is a slower brew."

It should probably come as no surprise that Starbucks CEO, Brian Niccol rocks a Submariner as Howard Shultz, who is Starbucks founder, has the most amazing Rolex collection, which I have documented in great detail in the past.

Rolex History Puzzle Piece: Abraham-Louis Perrelet

...Rolex History Puzzle Piece...

Abraham-Louis Perrelet

Inventor Of The Self-Winding Watch

1729-1826

This is an absolutely fascinating vintage Rolex ad, which I believe is from the 1950s. It pays homage to Abraham-Loius Perrelet and discusses how Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex was inspired to perfect Abraham-Louis Perrelet's automatic movement.

This Rolex ad says:

"As simple as it was hard to find, the Rolex 'Rotor' the invention that solved the self-winding problem, owes its existence to the inspiration of Mr. Hans Wilsdorf of the Rolex Watch Company, and his brilliant technical Chief-Director M. Emil Borer."

This is a significant historical piece of the Rolex history puzzle because nobody ever knew who M. Emil Borer was since his name appeared on the Rolex patent application, but nobody knew who he was.

I just added this Rolex ad to The Complete History Of Rolex. Part 1: The Hans Wilsdorf Years, which is absolutely fascinating if you have not read it!!!

Abraham-Loius Breguet

1747-1823

It is fascinating to note that Abraham-Louis Perrelet sold several of his watches to a younger watchmaker who happened to have the same first and middle name, Abraham-Loius Breguet.

Breguet, as mentioned in the ad above, attempted to improve upon Perrelet's automatic watches and named his attempted design improvement "Perpetuelles." Perpetual is a French word for automatic. Breguet's "Perpetuelles" were never reliable and he stopped making them in 1800.

Abraham-Loius Breguet was a watchmaker apprentice in Versailles, and during the French Revolution (1789-1792) he went into exile in Geneva, Switzerland, and when he returned to France he became the principal watchmaker of the French Empire. Breguet was a profuse inventor and in particular, his innovative improvement of the balance spring was later incorporated into many watches.

There Was Only One Christopher Columbus Rolex Ad from 1957

The Very First Rolex Day-Date Advertisement 

1957 Rolex Day-Date Ad

There Was Only One

Christopher Columbus

Today is Columbus Day in the United States, so I thought it would be great to hop in the Rolex Time Machine and travel back to yesteryear and take a look around Rolex's World in 1957. It is absolutely amazing how much you can learn about Rolex history from reading vintage Rolex ads. This Christopher Columbus Rolex ad does a wonderful job of summing up the pioneering spirit that went into developing Rolex as a brand. 

1956

The Very First Rolex Day-Date

The Christopher Columbus Rolex ad was published in 1957, which was three years before Rolex's founder, Hans Wilsdorf passed away, and it walks the reader up through the history of innovation at Rolex that lead to the Rolex Day-Date, which had just been introduced the year before at Basel Fair in Switzerland in 1956. To the best of my knowledge it is the very first Rolex Day-Date magazine ad—at least that I am aware of. The photo below shows a very early Rolex Day-Date from 1956. Notice it has a red DAY-DATE dial designation, as well as a matching red DATE wheel numbers.

Yellow Gold Hermes Rolex Daytona

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

Ultra-Rare

Yellow Gold Hermes Rolex Daytona

1968 Reference 6241

Dave Brubeck The King of Cool Jazz...

Dave Brubeck

The King of Cool Jazz

1920-2012

This is a story I have been wanting to write for a long time about California born pioneering Jazz Virtuoso, Dave Brubeck. Dave Brubeck was a pioneer on many levels, and enjoyed an amazing lifetime of spectacular achievement.

Dave Brubeck was born in Concord, California and was drafted by the U.S. Army. He was fortunate as he was able to avoid combat due after he played a Red Cross show, which was a tremendous success. In 1951, Brubeck started the Dave Brubeck Quartet in San Francisco, California, with Paul Desmond on saxophone, which was one of the first racially diverse bands. Dave Brubeck's father, was of Swiss ancestry, so it's not surprising he kept the time of his life with a Rolex Datejust on his wrist as seen below.

The Classic Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond of alto sax, Dave Brubeck on piano, with Eugene Wright playing bass, and Joe Morello on drums..

Over the years of his life, the Dave Brubeck Quartet maintained its name despite the fact that its lineup of prolific jazz musicians kept changing. The most famous and successful lineup of the quartet existed for a decade between 1958 and 1968, and recorded their seminal Jazz album in 1959 titles "Time Out". 

This most famous jazz quartet consisted for Paul Desmond who played alto sax, Eugene Wright on bass, and Joe Morello playing drums, with Dave Brubeck on piano. Time Out was Brubeck's best-selling album, as well as the first jazz album to sell more than a million copies. 

Joe Morello

Drummer King

1928-2011

Joe Morello was Dave Brubeck's drummer and was a member of The Dave Brubeck Quartet from 1957 to 1972, and as we see he also wore a Rolex Datejust.

1966 Chrysler Imperial Brochure

1966 Chrysler Imperial Brochure

Featuring A Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date

You don't often see Rolex watches used in other brands advertising, but in this 1966 Chrysler Imperial brochure, we see a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date featured. Paul, who is a reader of Jake's Rolex World found this image and sent it in. Paul is a fan of vintage Chrysler automobiles and he found this image in this cool 1966 Imperial Brochure.

It is fascinating to see how in 1966, the Rolex "President" (Yellow Gold Day-Date) was positioned as The International Mark Of Success. This vintage 1966 ad, which features a Rolex Day-Date is totally Mad Men! 

At the time the above 1966 ad was published, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson was in the White House Oval Office wearing his Rolex Day-Date as seen below.

The Rolex President

U.S. President Lyndon Johnson

Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date

White House Oval Office 

Washington D.C. 1965

Just for frame of reference, I am including the 1966 Rolex ad below, that refers to the Rolex Day-Date as "the president's watch."

Speaking of Mad Men, what is cooler than Jon Hamm in Mad Men, playing Donald Draper wearing his Rolex Explorer as seen in the images below!!!

When I reflect back on the TV show Mad Men and how amazing it was, it kind of Deja Vu's me out. It was sooooo gooooood...