1959 Rolex King Midas
Unique Inspiration Mystery Watch
Eagle-eyed Horological Investigator Nick Gould recently stumbled upon a fascinating clue that sheds light on the potential inspiration behind the design language of the Rolex King Midas Watch Model.
One of my greatest passions is unraveling the creative forces that have propelled Rolex to become a master of horological artistry over the centuries. This particular Rolex watch, as depicted in the image below, was meticulously crafted and hand-finished by Suzanne Rohr, a renowned watch painter who later achieved fame in the field.
There is so much we don't know about the watch pictured above, but what he do know is that it's an original design made by Rolex of Geneva, and features blue enamel on 18ct. gold. Suzanne Rohr, the renowned Swiss enameler (born 1939) won the Hans Wilsdorf Prize at the annual competition at the Geneva School of Decorative Arts in 1959 for this design the year she graduated. Suzanne Rohr is regarded as one of the greatest enamelers of the 20th and 21st centeruries, and went on to hand enamel watches for Patek Philippe for decades, which often took here 1-2 years to complete, many of which can be seen today in the amazing Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, Switzerland.
1962 Rolex King Midas Debut
The watch Rolex made in 1959 that is pictured above shares the same silhouette, and overall shape as the Rolex King Midas which is pictured below in a Rolex Magazine ad from 1962 introducing this new family of Rolex models which included the King Midas, Queen Midas, and Princess Midas.
Kings and Queens
Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf, and his right-hand-man and Rolex marketing director, René-Paul Jeanneret were seemingly obsessed with Royalty and all things regal. Rolex introduced the Rolex Datejust in 1945, which remains arguably the greatest Rolex archetype, and a decade later, in 1955, transcended its design by introducing the Rolex Day-Date.
Overall, both the Datejust and Day-Date were grand slam hits, and René-Paul Jeanneret wanted to top it, and thus in 1962 Rolex introduced the King Midas Collection, which began as a limited edition series, which is pictured below. The King Midas was the heaviest Rolex gold watch ever made to date, and its design language featured a late art-deco style know as populuxe.
While the King Midas was popular and successful and served as the genesis for Rolex's later Cellini line, it didn't really transcend time, and was later discontinued, but there were a number of famous people who wore them, including Elvis Presley, who is pictured below holding his Rolex King Midas. Legendary cowboy actor, John Wayne, also rocked a Rolex King Midas.
