Lex Barker Rolex Collection: From Tarzan to La Dolce Vita...

Lex Barker

Kept Time With Rolex

Lex Barker was an international movie star. He played Tarzan in 5 movies, was very popular in Europe and was in the famous Fedrico Fellini movie, "La Doce Vita." Lex was married to Lana Turner.

Lex Barker wore a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date as we seen in the picture above and below.

Lex Barker also wore a stainless steel Rolex Submariner as we see in the next two photos.

Nick Gould discovered the photo below of Lex Barker wearing his stainless steel Rolex Submariner.

Lex Barker joined the U.S. Army in February 1941, nearly a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor and rose to the rank of major during the war. He was 6'3 and 208 lbs. He was injured in action while fighting in Sicily and after he recuperated in 1945 he left the army to return back to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. We see Lex in the photo below wearing what is clearly a U.S. Naval uniform, which was a publicity photo for a movie in which he played the role of an officer named Away All Boats. 

Lex Barker was in many movies in the United States, but is most famous for playing Tarzan. 

I never realized that Tarzana, California is named so after the Tarzan movies, but I discovered this fact while doing research for this story. I am learning all kinds of interesting things by writing about the history of Rolex!!!

In Tarzan's Magic Fountain, Lex Barker became the tenth official Tarzan in the movies.

Lex also starred in many Westerns. In 1957 he moved to Europe (he spoke French, Italian, Spanish and German) where he became a huge star. He starred in over forty European movies. 

He is pictured above wearing a Stainless Rolex Submariner.

Lex is pictured above with Sidney Poitier in Hollywood.

Lex Barker is pictured below in Fedrico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" which is Italian for "The Good Life." He is pictured below with Anita Ekberg where he plays her fiancé.

Lex Barker is pictured below wearing his Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date.

Steve McQueen & Paul Newman The Towering Inferno Movie [1974]

...The Kings Of Rolex Coolness...

Steve McQueen & Paul Newman

The Towering Inferno Movie [1974]

What could be cooler than a movie starring Steve McQueen wearing his trademark Rolex Submariner? A movie with Paul Newman co-staring with him!!!

The two most famous actors who wore Rolex starred together in this movie named The Towering Inferno, which set a high-water mark for early 1970s action adventure movies. In 1974, nothing was cooler than Steve McQueen and Paul Newman!!!!!

I just completed a HUGE update to the Steve McQueen Rolex Story and I added all these new screenshots from Towering Inferno and many more!!!

Steve McQueen is pictured below sporting his trademark Rolex Submariner.

Of course, The Towering Inferno was an action adventure movie, and in these next shots we see Paul Newman and Steve McQueen James Bonding it up!!!

When I say "James Bonding it up" if you have ever worn a Rolex Submariner and you know what I mean, you will recognize this next pose in this image that shows Steve McQueen sporting his trademark Rolex Submariner ;-)

To learn much more about the Towering Inferno, check out the update Part 3 of the Steve McQueen Rolex Story.

The Texas Timex

The Texas Timex

Texas Monthly, February 1984

Let's hop in the Rolex time machine and go back to 1984 to learn about how and why Texan's nicknamed the Rolex Day-Date: THE TEXAS TIMEX.

Below we see a photo of the often crass President Lyndon Johnson showing his gallbladder surgery incision after his operation in October of 1965. This famous photo is mentioned in the Texas Timex article seen above.

Back on Top: Rolex Ranks #1 in 2022

THE MOST REPUTABLE

COMPANY

IN THE WORLD. AGAIN.

 By DANNY CRIVELLO    

       

Rolex has earned the top spot as the most reputable company in the world. The data was compiled by the Boston-based Reputation Institute as part of its yearly Top 100 ranking of 7,000 brands across the globe. The institute surveyed more than 230,000 individuals in 40 countries. LEGO took the first spot in 2020 and 2021.

"No other company has enjoyed the title of the world’s most reputable company as often as Rolex," the Reputation Institute wrote in its report. "Rolex was ranked the #1 most reputable company globally for four years (2016-2019), and now again in 2022. The strength of Rolex’s reputation lies in the quality of its products and since 2020, people’s perception on this front has improved significantly."

Rolex's statement about the news:

"Rolex is proud to have been elected as the World’s Most Reputable Company in 2022. This recognition reflects our perpetual quest for excellence.

"Thanks to our values of perfection and to our culture of continuous improvement, we strive to always go further. Our aim is to constantly improve not only our products but also our environmental and social performance, as well as our impact on society. This leadership position encourages us to pursue our efforts for the good of all."

SailGP: Yachting's global racing championship continues to thrill

SailGP
Yachting's global racing championship continues to thrill

SailGP continues to redefine the sport of yachting. It blends cutting-edge technology with athletic sailing talent as national teams of men and women race identical F50 catamarans at speeds exceeding 50 knots in some of the world’s most famous waters. Season 2 of this global championship culminated in San Francisco Bay in March when, after 47 races spread over eight events, Team Australia triumphed in the Grand Final against the United States and Japan, securing the title for a second time. 

Rolex has been a partner of SailGP from the outset as part of its close association with yachting dating back more than 60 years. The synergy between the two organizations is based on a commitment to perform at the highest level in all their respective activities. The partnership encompasses the most prestigious yacht clubs, races and regattas, along with remarkable individuals.

Rolex & Tennis

Rolex & Tennis

Rolex's long-standing relationship with tennis dates back more than 40 years, to 1978, when it became the Official Timekeeper of The Championships, Wimbledon. Its support for the game now extends to all four Grand Slam® tournaments – the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open – as well as legends of the sport such as Rod Laver, Chris Evert and Swiss phenomenon Roger Federer, along with today's champions, including Garbiñe Muguruza and Dominic Thiem, and the next generation of stars, notably Bianca Andreescu and Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

Rolex is a key partner at leading team events, the Davis Cup, the Laver Cup and the ATP Cup, and of the organizations that govern the professional game worldwide. Rolex's contribution to excellence in tennis is based on a rich heritage of continuously championing supreme performance and innovation while respecting the sport's finest traditions.

Ferdinand Piëch Porsche Pioneer & Billionaire

Porsche Pioneer & Billionaire

Ferdinand Piëch

1937-2019

Ferdinand Piëch was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche who founded Porsche. Piëch was an engineer and was responsible for creating the Porsche 917 that won Le Mans.

Ferdinand Piëch rocking his GMT-Master at Le Mans in 1969

The image above of Ferdinand Piëch wearing his GMT-Master was discovered by my pal Cam @ Craft & Tailored.

Ferdinand Piëch was also involved in the design of many iconic German cars including the Porsche 911, as well as the Audi Quattro and Volkswagen Phaeton. In the photo below we see Ferdinand Piëch pictured in 1969 on the left with his cousin, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (middle) and his brother, Hans-Michel Piëch on the right. The three of them are largely responsible for the design of the Porsche 911.

Ferdinand Piëch in pictured below with his Porsche 917 race car on March 12, 1969 at the Geneva Motor Show Press Day event talking to Gerhard Mitter who was a Porsche racing driver.

Ferdinand Piëch was a billionaire who developed the Volkswagen Group which acquired other iconic brands like Lamborghini, Bugatti and Bentley. Ferdinand began his automotive career at Porsche but was forced to leave after a restriction said that no member of the Porsche or Piêch families could work in day-to-day operations at Porsche.

Ferdinand Piëch moved on to Audi where he eventually became the CEO. During his tenure at Audi Ferdinand grew Audi into much larger company that would compete successfully with Mercedes and BMW.

Monte Carlo 2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas

THE KING OF MONTE CARLO

Stefanos Tsitsipas Wins Again 

 

     

Today Stefanos Tsitsipas successfully defended his Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He captured his second ATP Masters 1000 crown in a row... with a Crown on his wrist, a two-tone Submariner 126613LN.

Tsitsipas has now become the sixth player to win back-to-back Monte Carlo titles in the Open Era joining Rafael Nadal, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Thomas Muster, Bjorn Borg and Ilie Nastase.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS

A new generation of tennis players have carried on the perpetual torch of Rolex. Rod Laver, Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Roger Federer—all have kept the time of their lives with a Rolex on their wrists. Now the next generation is here, including 23-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is the highest ranked Greek tennis player in history.

Tsitsipas is the second youngest player ranked in the ATP top 10, and currently has a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world, making him the highest-ranked Greek player in history. Tsitsipas was the champion at the 2019 ATP Finals, becoming the youngest winner of the year-end championships in eighteen years. He has won seven ATP singles titles.

Tsitsipas throwing a football on the Harvard University campus, a Rolex Cellini moonphase on his wrist, an unusual sight as he is always spotted with a white-dial, ceramic Daytona.

At 6-foot-4 (1.93m), Tsitsipas is often nicknamed the Greek God by his fans, especially female fans, because of his striking features. His father is Greek and his mother is Russian of partial Greek descent. Both of his parents are experienced tennis players. His mother was a world No. 1 junior who had a career-high professional ranking inside the top 200 and represented the Soviet Union in the Federation Cup.

 

His parents had been working as tennis instructors at the Astir Palace resort hotel in Vouliagmeni at the time of Stefanos' birth. They originally met at a WTA tournament in Athens where his mother was competing and his father was a line judge.

...Rolex Super-Coolness...

ROD LAVER

Australian Tennis Legend

Yellow Gold Datejust

Special Burled Madrone Wood Dial

36mm Reference 16018

Rolex has published a Rod Laver profile on the "Every Rolex Tells A Story" gallery on Rolex.com. Being a tennis player and huge professional tennis fan, over the past decade I have written many stories about Rolex and tennis, and I have been meaning to write a piece about Rod Laver, so here it is:

Rod Laver is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players in history with an unmatched record he holds to date of having won 200 singles titles. Laver was a dynamic player that excelled on all court surfaces including hard, grass, clay, carpet and wood/parquet.

He began his amateur tennis career being ranked at Number 1 from 1961 to 1962.  From 1964 to 1970, he was ranked as the number one tennis player in the world, which spanned four years prior and three years after the beginning of the Open Era in 1968. 

I have to admit, I am totally fascinated with Rod Laver's yellow gold Rolex Datejust he is wearing in these official Rolex photos. As far as I know, Rolex no longer makes burled wood dials, which is a big mistake in my opinion. In the 1970s through the 1990s Rolex made these wood-based dials with applied yellow gold indexes, that were magnificent. Each wood dial is unique and has a very warm vintage look. 

In 1981, Rod Laver purchased his yellow gold Datejust which was the same year he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. What a cool guy, and what a cool Rolex!!!!

The 1979 Rolex ad seen below is from my Vintage Rolex Christmas Story and shows a yellow gold Day-Date with a similar dial. Rolex refers to this wood as being from a Madrone tree which is an evergreen tree belonging to the genus Arbutus, which grows in North America and Canada, as well as in Europe, and are known for their pale reddish-brown wood.