Rolex & the US Open

Rolex & the US Open
A few weeks ago, I published a detailed story about how Rolex has become the official lead sponsor for the US Open. Rolex just released this cool video on the US Open which begins this weekend on August 27th and runs through September 9, 2018.

Bryan Ferry: Rolex Explorer

...Rolex Coolness...

Bryan Ferry

Roxy Rolex

Bryan Ferry's music influenced a generation of listeners, from his early days with Roxy Music, up through his solo career. Bryan wears a vintage stainless steel Rolex Explorer as seen in the photo below.

Bryan Ferry's vintage Rolex Explorer features a tropical dial which has faded to a beautiful brown color as seen in the photos above and below.

Bryan Ferry began his musical ascent as the singer and songwriter for the British glam art rock band Roxy Music.

Bryan is known for being a modern crooner, who was a pioneer glam rocker. He is considered to be a contemporary of David Bowie, but just like Bowie in later years, he developed a more classic sartorial style.

The next two photos of Bryan Ferry were taken by a reader of Jake's Rolex World named Hollister Lowe. 

Photo of Bryan Ferry appears courtesy of Hollister Lowe

Photo of Bryan Ferry appears courtesy of Hollister Lowe

In this next set of images, we see Bryan Ferry wearing his Rolex Datejust on a Jubilee Bracelet. 

Glam Rock

This first video show Roxy Music in a live performance back on August 24, 1972, performing their now classic hit song, Virginia Plain.



The Roxy Music Video below features Bryan Ferry in 1975 singing one of his best songs, titled "Love Is The Drug". Bryan's music is super iconic 80s music and early MTVish...

Next up we see Roxy Music performing their hit song "Dance Away" which was originally broadcast on the BBC on Christmas day of 1979.


The Roxy Music Videos below show Bryan Ferry singing Avalon and More Than This in 1982.

Next, we see Bryan Ferry's hit, Slave To Love from 1985, which was featured in the blockbuster hit movie soundtrack from 9 1/2 Weeks.

All this 80s music is starting to make me remember Nagel prints. Remember Patrick Nagel? His work was pretty cool and Rolex is pretty 80s anyway, isn't it?

Studio Shot Of The Day... Milgauss GV

...Studio Shot Of The Day...

Milgauss GV

1958: Men Who Guide The Destinies Of The World Wear Rolex Watches

...Rolex Time Machine...

Men Who Guide The Destinies Of

The World Wear Rolex Watches

1958

Who is responsible for Rolex Watch Spotting practices? Some would say it all began with Jake's Rolex World, but this 1958 Rolex magazine advertisement would suggest it was Rolex itself that originally recommended and encouraged the practice of Rolex watch spotting a half-century before Jake's Rolex World came into existence.

There are several interesting characteristics I notice when evaluating this 1958 Rolex magazine advertisement. The first is that the soldier in the forefront (with the sword) is British, and the three soldiers in the background are U.S. Marines. This is interesting as it was published only thirteen years after the Allied powers defeated the Axis powers.

Secondly, Rolex was coy about not revealing the identities of the leaders it refers to. This is because they promised the leaders they would not use their identities for commercial purposes.

Rolex gave General Eisenhower the 150th Officially Certified Swiss Chronometer Rolex, which is pictured below. When they gave it to him in 1948, it lacked a Cyclops date magnifier window, which was retrofitted later in a subsequent serving of the watch. Eisenhower was the President of the United States when the Rolex ad pictured above was originally published in 1958.

President Eisenhower appeared on the cover of LIFE Magazine in 1952 wearing his yellow gold Rolex Datejust.

President-elect Eisenhower is pictured below with current President Truman as they head to Eisenhower's Presidential Inauguration in 1952.

In this close-up photo of President Truman and Eisenhower, we clearly see the Rolex Jubilee bracelet on Eisenhower's wrist.

General Eisenhower is pictured below in his U.S. Army Uniform.

The three men in the foreground of this photo all wore yellow gold Rolex watches.

You can learn much more about the history of The Rolex President in my 11 Part series titled, "The Complete History of The Rolex President."

The Very First Rolex Day-Date

Rolex Day-Date Genesis Patent Discovered!!!

I have some stunning news to share with you about a discovery I recently made. How stunning is this news you ask? So stunning, I had to borrow Hodinkee's "BREAKING NEWS" Moniker again, as seen above!!

Very little was known about the origins of the Rolex Day-Date until today. Questions like, who designed the movement, and what inspired Rolex to come out with such a watch have never been answered or even addressed? Today, that changes...

Below is one of the most remarkable pieces of Rolex history I have uncovered. You are looking at a patent application which was originally filed in Switzerland in February of 1950 for what would become the Rolex Day-Date. This patent application is significant as it predates the original 1955 Rolex Day-Date patent application by five years!!!!

This patent, which credits Marc Huguenin as being the inventor, shows Rolex's first attempt at creating a watch that displayed both the Day & Date on the watch dial. Rolex never brought this actual watch design to market, but I am certain it was the precursor to the Rolex Day-Date.

I published the story below last week, and am including it with this breaking news as the Patent Application from July 23, 1955, also credits Marc Huguenin as the inventor of the Rolex Day-Date.

1955

The Very First Rolex Day-Date

It never ceases to amaze me how timeless Rolex watches are, and in this photo, we see the very first Rolex Day-Date model which was patented by Rolex in 1955 and introduced at Basel Fair in Switzerland in 1956, which is 62 years ago!!! I love the red date wheel along with the red Day-Date designation on the dial. The Rolex Day-Date is commonly referred to as  The Rolex President, which is a fascinating story in and of itself.

My old friend, John Goldberger wrote in and included the photo below and said:

Dear Jake,

This is the first Day-Date with its original dial! The Day-Date showed today in your blog came from the Rolex collection but its dial is redone like many other dials in the Rolex Geneva collection!

Ciao John

It is worth noting that the Rolex Day-Date pictured above [36MM: Case Number: 134636, Caliber 1055] is the earliest know Day-Date in existence. It was manufactured in 1956 and sold in Italy, and the all details on the watch are original including the dial. The original hands on this watch are dauphine hands and the baton markers are pointed. Rolex later updated the hands and baton marker to make them all rectangular. 

I actually prefer the old-school style dauphine hands and markers which are late art-deco, which was a mid-century design known as Populuxe, which is reminiscent of 1959 Cadillac tailfin. Also, notice the date wheel was red, and in the photo below from Mondani Editore, we see an early Rolex Day-Date point of sale display which is showcasing a Reference 6511.

This is kind of a Rolex Mythbuster of sorts in the sense that the very first Rolex Day-Date models [Reference 6511 and 6510] came ONLY with Jubilee bracelets as seen in the photo above as well as the Rolex magazine ad below. When Rolex introduced the Day-Date at Basel Fair in 1956 it only came in 18Kt pink or yellow gold on a Jubilee bracelet. 

1956 Basel Fair Rolex Ad introducing the Rolex Day-Date Model

On July 23, 1955, Marc Huguenin from Rolex in Geneva filed a patent application #323982 (pictured below), which featured a seven toothed star wheel which sat on top of a 31 tooth calendar wheel. Both wheels were ratcheted once ever twenty-four hours at midnight.

The "President" bracelet would be added a year later in 1957 with the introduction of the Rolex Reference 6611, which featured an improved caliber 1055 that had a new free sprung Micro-Stella balance. This new model was also the first to feature the "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" designation on the dial. Notice the original Day-Date model pictured above has a dial designation that reads, "Superlative Chronometer by Official Test."

A few years ago I wrote an article for Rolex's paper magazine about the Rolex Day-Date, also known as the Rolex President, and I decided to share it below as part of this amazing Rolex history:

THE ROLEX MAGAZINE

ISSUE NUMBER 4

THE ROLEX PRECEDENT

BY

JAKE EHRLICH

Rolex asked me to write an article about the Rolex Day-Date, A.K.A., The Rolex President for their print Magazine, in Issue Number 4. 

I decided to title the story as "The Rolex Precedent", which is obviously a play on "The Rolex President." I hope you enjoy reading my article as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Tip: The way to read the story is to click on the first magazine page below, which should make it larger in your browser, then you can use the right and left keys on your keyboard to navigate through the pages.

THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ROLEX PRESIDENT

Table Of Contents

Part 1: Genesis

Part 2: Reclamation

Part 3: Ike Likes Rolex

Part 4: Mamie, We Are Not In Kansas Any More (Rolex Loves Ike) Ike Likes Rolex

Part 5: President Eisenhower's Rolex

Part 6: The Podcast (With the owner of President Eisenhower's Rolex)

Part 7: Heaven

Part 8: The Eisenhower Legacy

Part 9: They Mystery of the JFK Rolex President 

Part 10: Everybody Wants To Rule The World-LBJ's Rolex President

Part 11: President Gerald Ford Gets His Rolex President

Part 12: President Ronald Reagan and his Rolex Datejust

Part 13: President Bill Clinton and his Rolex Day-Date 

Part 14: Dick Cheney-The Rolex Vice-President

Part 15: President Obama and his Rolex Cellini

Part 16: President Trump - The Newest Rolex

Part 17: Origins Of "The Rolex President" Watch Name

Part 18: The Rolex Precedent by Jake Ehrlich

Rolex Becomes Official Sponsor for The U.S. Open

...The Perfect Fit...


The U.S. Open

Rolex Becomes Official Sponsor

The three greatest games are tennis, golf, and chess, and this is a great story about tennis and golf. Rolex has been a supporter of Tennis for many decades as well as being the Official Timekeeper for Wimbledon. Rolex and the U.S. Open recently announced Rolex has become the tournaments Official Timekeeper and Official Timepiece immediately and will debut with preparations for the upcoming 2018 US Open which will run from August 27, 2018, to September 9, 2018. Citizen was the previous official timekeeper of the U.S. Open for more than a quarter century.

The U.S. Open recently said that at the 2018 US Open, Rolex timepieces and clocks will be visible throughout the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, including the signature clock that is affixed to the outer façade of the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

There are famous Rolex Clocks all over the world at places like Pebble Beach, and Wimbledon, so we will probably see something like the one in the photo below.

Speaking of Billy Jean King and Arthur Ashe, one thing they have in common is their love of Rolex. The more I think about Rolex becoming the lead sponsor of The US Open, the more it seems like a perfectly natural fit. 

Arthur Ashe was one of the greatest tennis players in history, and every time I watch the US Open and I see the Arthur Ashe Stadium, I think of the photo below:

"I only wear Rolex." –Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe pictured above in 1970

The US Open recently released the following statement:

Swiss watchmaker Rolex, a longtime supporter of tennis, has become an official sponsor of the US Open and will serve as the tournament’s Official Timekeeper and Official Timepiece starting immediately with preparations for the 2018 US Open.

At this year’s tournament, Rolex timepieces and clocks will be visible throughout the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, including the signature clock that is affixed to the outer façade of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In addition to its new US Open sponsorship, Rolex will sponsor the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, completing its sponsorship of all nine Masters Series events.

The new multi-year partnership between the USTA and Rolex also includes Rolex's support of the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla., as well as the programs of the USTA Foundation, the official charitable arm of the USTA, which assists under-resourced youth.

“Rolex is a true champion of tennis that shares the USTA’s passion for the sport,” said Gordon Smith, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director, USTA. “As we celebrate 50 years of the US Open, we are delighted to welcome this iconic, luxury brand as a partner, and we are thankful for their support of the USTA’s mission to grow the game.”

Rolex has supported tennis for the last 40 years, beginning with its association with Wimbledon in 1978 and serving as Associate Sponsor and Official Timekeeper of the Australian Open.

“It was only natural that Rolex would seek to build on its Grand Slam heritage, in this case through an association with the USTA and its flagship tournament, the US Open,” said Stewart Wicht, President and CEO of Rolex Watch USA. “The partnership brings together two organizations who share a passion for quality, excellence, precision and performance.”

The US Open, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018, will take place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 9 in New York

World class tennis players who wear Rolex are common as we see in the photo below of Björn Borg & John McEnroe both sporting Rolex Datejust models back in the day...It's interesting to notice that one is wearing a Datejust on a Jubilee, and the other on an Oyster bracelet...Comme ci, comme ça...

Speaking of Björn Bjorg and John McEnroe, we see them below with the greatest tennis player of all time, who happens to be a Rolex Ambassador, and that is Roger Feder.

 In the photo below we see Björn Borg chatting with now former Rolex CEO Gian Riccardo Marini, and not only is Björn Borg still wearing Rolex, but he is also a Rolex brand ambassador.