Pepsi GMT-Master Ceramic Bezel Insert

 

...Rolex Macro Shot of the Day...

Pepsi GMT-Master

Ceramic Bezel Insert

The level of detail, quality and sophistication in Rolex watches is truly amazing as we see with this close-up macro shot of the Pepsi GMT-Master with the ceramic bezel insert...

Sidney Mobell Designer and Creator of Fine Jewelry

Sidney Mobell

Designer and Creator of Fine Jewelry

1989 Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco

It's funny how life works. I seem to have this uncanny ability to recall and remember vintage Rolex ads from many decades ago, and the one below is one of my favorites. I grew up in San Francisco, and in the 1980s Rolex was all the rage. I remember seeing this vintage Rolex Ad back in 1989 for Sidney Mobell which was located in the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco. 

I have many fond memories of The Fairmont Hotel, especially around the holiday Christmas season, as I can still recall how magnificently elegant the Fairmont Hotel Lobby was and how it positively smelled of pine Christmas trees. I also remember dining late night at the hyper elegant Brasserie Restaurant which was located in the bottom of the Fairmont on California Street after many evenings of partying. 

This Sydney Mobell Rolex ad completely Deja Vu's me out in a positive way...and reminds me of Barbara Streisand's song, "The Way We Were", which has the great line "Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time re-written every line?"

Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day—GV Milgauss

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

GV Milgauss

Rolex Desk Clock In The Oval Office

Rolex Desk Clock

In The Oval Office 

Featured on 60 Minutes

"Time Flies, and waits for no one,

 and once lost, is never found. 

Yet still we try to keep time and measure it."

I originally published this story back on December 4th, and am bringing it back up as the top story, as CBS's 60 Minutes TV Magazine show not only ran this fascinating story on the Swiss Watch industry, but also featured a close-up of the Rolex desk clock Rolex gifted to the American people though President Trump."

Back on November 6, I published a story about how the CEO of Rolex visited President Trump along with other members of a Swiss Delegation in the Oval Office. 

Then, on November 10th I published a follow-up story about how Rolex had apparently given President Trump a Rolex Desk Clock that was on display in the Oval Office. This led to a mystery as there was not a high enough resolution photo that showed the actual engraving, until now.

Nick Gould brought this image to my attention which gives us a clear image of what Rolex engraved on the back of the Rolex table clock that they gifted to the American people on behalf of President Trump. This image was originally published on Woz.ch, and shows in great detail what the engraving said exactly as pictured below. 

Nick Gould originally claimed he could read the engraving on the back of the clock, and it turns out "Eagle Eyes" was correct, which is fascinating as I could NOT make it out originally, even when I blew up the text super large, but Nick got it right, and here is what it said:

ROLEX

PRESIDENT OF THE UNTED STATES

DONALD J. TRUMP

45-47

WITH APPRECIATION FROM ROLEX

Rolex Macro Shot of the Month: Jean-Michel's Rolex SEA-DWELLER

...Rolex Macro Shot Of The Month...

Jean-Michel's Rolex SEA-DWELLER

1977 Rolex Brochure Cover...

1977 

Rolex Brochure Cover

I am pretty certain this is the first Rolex brochure I ever looked at when I was young...Total Deja Vu when I look at this now!!!

1968 Rolex Magazine Ad Black Bezel Japanese GMT-MASTER

1968 Rolex Magazine Ad

Black Bezel Japanese GMT-MASTER 

Nick Gould recently discovered this super cool Japanese Rolex Magazine ad for the GMT-Master, and beside looking really great, it seem to be one of the first ads fro the all black bezel GMT-Master which I believe Rolex first introduced in 1967-1968. 

The earliest know photo I am aware of somebody rocking the all black bezel GMT-Master was Gunter Sachs who is pictured above and below rocking his all black bezel GMT-Master. Gunter was a German photographer, film director, mathematician, author and ultra successful industrialist. He was also married to the stunning Bridget Bardot.

Yellow Gold Submariner

 ...Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day...

Yellow Gold Submariner

I remember when I first saw this yellow gold Rolex Submariner photo on Instagram which was published by The Rolex Boutique in Tel Aviv, Israel and it blew my mind...talk about timeless...and therein lies a paradox of Rolex in the sense they are excellent time keepers, but they look so good, they transcend time...

1958 Rolex GMT-Master Brochure

1958 Rolex 

GMT-Master Brochure

Photoshop before Photoshop

If you are a regular reader of Jake's Rolex World, your are undoubtedly likely familiar with the 1958 Rolex GMT-Master brochure pictured below, but have you ever wondered what it's genesis is? Particularly with the image of the navigator rocking the Rolex GMT-Master? Continue reading to find out below:

Nick Gould discovered the image below in the WatchLibrary.org, and it shows the original image, and from this we may infer that the GMT-Master was superimposed onto the wrist of the navigator. I asked Nick how he discovered the image and he said, "Was a random discovery". But now you know why I coined the term 'Eagle Eyes' as a nickname for Nick:

Below we see the original 1954-1955 magazine article that shows the image, which was published originally in the Revue International de l'horlogerie, which was published in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and was originally printed in French.

I translated the text from French to English and it says:

    "must then, by means of buttons on the receiver - which functions as a calculating machine - bring the two points one on top of the other until they form only one in the form of a vertical line. At this point, he will note where on the scale this line is. He will obtain a number that he will find on a special map and corresponding to one of the arcs of a circle whose center is the main transmitter.

He will carry out a similar operation with a group of transmitters located, for example, on the coast of Greenland or Iceland. The place where the plane is located will then be determined by the place where the two lines intersect, corresponding to the two numbers noted on the scale of the cathode ray screen.

WATCHES ON BOARD

As it has been possible to judge from this simplified description of two essential elements of a transatlantic flight, the flight plan and navigation, the measurement of time is an absolute necessity on board an aircraft. This is why it is equipped with several watches or chronographs. In addition to his pocket chronograph, the navigator also has a fixed watch among the flight instruments at his disposal,"

My best guess is that Rolex Director, René-Paul Jeanneret probably saw this image when it was originally published, and thought it was perfect for conveying the value proposition of the GMT-Master. In all my years of studying Rolex Magazine and Newspaper images, I have rarely seen watches superimposed like this:

One such image is the Jean-Claude Killy Rolex Explorer II (Orange Hand) Reference 1655 Rolex Magazine ad pictured below, where we see the watch appears to have been superimposed on his wrist. I could be wrong, but it this image has always looks kind of strange to me.

I am not going to go into detail on this now, but in my upcoming book series in Volume 3, which is named, "THE COMPLETE HISTORY, ROLEX MAD MEN, VOLUME 3 OF 25: 1953-1963", I do a deep dive into the real hardcore history behind the GMT-Master, and showcase some amazing never before seen or published information that sheds tremendous light on its true Genesis, which is AMAZING!!!!

Cerachrom Bezel Insert Up Close Pepsi Ceramic

Cerachrom Bezel Insert

Up Close Pepsi Ceramic

When Rolex first mastered the production of the iconic Pepsi ceramic bezel insert, the excitement was palpable. They began with 'Cerachrom,' Rolex’s proprietary term for their high-tech ceramic bezels, initially crafting them in sleek black. Creating the vibrant red and blue combination, however, posed a formidable challenge, demanding innovative techniques to achieve the perfect color fidelity and durability. Through relentless ingenuity, Rolex triumphed, delivering the stunning two-tone Cerachrom bezel that has since become a hallmark of their GMT-MASTER craftsmanship.