Donald Trump is pictured below with his daughter Ivanka Trump and with Miss Universe, and if you look closely he is wearing his Rolex Day-Day Date.
Donald Trump is pictured below at his Mar-A-Largo resort in Florida, at a Rolex Awards Dinner reception where he presents golfer, Lorena Ochoa with a trophy. We see Rolex U.S.A. Vice President, Peter Nicholson standing next to Trump holding a Rolex which is part of the prize for winning the LPGA Player Of the Year Trophy.
In the photo below we see Donald Trump with Mark Bellissimo and Shelia Johnson attending the Central Park Horse Show which was presented by Rolex, on September 18, 2014, in New York City.
Bill Rancic
The First Apprentice
Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona
I have a confession to make. I remember being a big fan of the first several seasons of Donald Trump's, 'THE APPRENTICE' reality show. Bill Rancic was the very first candidate to by hired on by Donald Trump in the first season of The Apprentice, and in the photo below we see him sporting his stainless steel Rolex Daytona.
A Brief History Of The Rolex Precedent
Many years ago, I wrote a an 11 Part Series titled, The Complete History of the Rolex President, which goes into great detail on the ethos of the Rolex Day-Date, and tells the story of how it became so successful.
The first U.S. President to wear a Rolex was Dwight Eisenhower, who was the President from 1952 to 1960. Ironically, Rolex gave Eisenhower his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date in 1949, when he was serving as The Supreme Commander Of NATO in Europe after World War II.
In the photo below taken under the White House portico, we see then Senator Hubert Humphrey in the presidential limousine turned around looking at outgoing U.S. President Truman.
A Rolex President Mystery
U.S. President Kennedy was one cool cat. In so many ways he epitomized the best America has ever had to offer. So what is his Rolex Story?
As Sir Winston Churchill once said, "It's a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside and Enigma." The story put forth was that Marilyn Monroe gave her lover, JFK a Rolex Day-Date!!!
The Rolex 'President' Marilyn Monroe gave JFK is pictured below. As we see in is engraved on the reverso, with the message, "Jack, With love always, from Marilyn, May 29th, 1962."
Happy Birthday Mr. President
On JFK's 45th Birthday Marilyn Monroe gave U.S. President John F. Kennedy a special treat when she sang 'Happy Birthday' to him, as you can see in the video below.
Marilyn Monroe's performance in singing Happy Birthday, Mr. President was extremely controversial, for many reasons. First and foremost, due to the fact she wore a nude colored dress that initially shocked the audience as she took off her mink coat and exposed her dress, as she looks naked. In the rare photo below, we see JFK at the even watching Marilyn Monroe sing Happy Birthday to him.
The photo below is NOT supposed to exist. It was supposed to be destroyed by the Secret Service. It shows JFK and his brother, U.S. Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy chatting with Marilyn Monroe at a party after the event, at Arthur Krim's apartment in Manhattan. If you look closely, you will see Marilyn Monroe holding the Rolex Day-Date in her hand.
I mention this photo is not supposed to exist. The photographer who took the photo was a White House photographer, and he took many photos of JFK with Marilyn at this event. The Secret Service was ordered to visit his home after the event and destroy all the negatives in his dark room. As the story goes, the Secret Service scoured his home and destroyed all photos and negatives of photos that showed JFK with Marilyn, but they didn't realize he hid a negative by mistake in his clothes that were in his watching machine, which he later found and kept. If it was not for that mistake, the world would never have seen a photo of JFK with Marilyn. The logic was that the Secret Service was trying to hide any evidence they might be having an affair.
In the close up photos above and below, we see Marilyn Monroe holding the Rolex Day-Date in her left hand, which she gave to JFK. As the story goes, JFK gave it to a Secret Service agent and told him to get rid of it, as the engraving on the reverso was too tantalizing. The Rolex President showed up years later at auction, along with it's stranger than fiction provenance!
In the photos below, taken at the same event in New York, we see Marilyn Monroe walking with the Rolex Day-Date in here hand.
Men Who Guide The Destines Of The World Wear Rolex
Rolex was so excited that U.S. President Eisenhower wore a Rolex Day-Date. The Rolex magazine advertisement below is from 1956. Rolex began running the "Men who giude the destinies of the world wear Rolex watches" in 1953.
This next two Rolex 'Men who guide the destines of the world wear Rolex" ads are from 1957.
Lord Mountbatten
This next Rolex ad is from 1957 and features Lord Montbatten who is Prince Philip's Uncle. Prince Philip is of course married to Queen Elizabeth.
NBC Founder David Sarnoff
I am not 100% certain, but in this next ad I believe it is referring to David Sarnoff, the founder of NBC who was a maverick in Television Programming.
1964 Rolex President Ad
Today, Rolex is an aspirational brand. In other words, people aspire to own a Rolex. But as we see in the photos below, it was Rolex that was aspiring to prove itself to the world by attempting to make certain every head of state in the world wore a Rolex.
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson
Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date
White House Oval Office
Washington D.C. 1965
Have you ever wondered where the term The Rolex President came from? It took me many years to finally solve the mystery of how, when and where exactly the name The Rolex President came from. The Rolex President Watch for many decades has symbolized and been equated with being The International Mark Of Success and Achievement.
Rolex marketing, in the United States has always been handled through the adroit marketing firm of J.Walter Thompson. In 1966, J. Walter Thompson came up with the Rolex magazine ad pictured below, which ran in the United States.
1966 Rolex President Ad
It is amazing when you think about it, how remarkably timeless this vintage 1966 Rolex Day-Date ad is. It features a wrist shot of a man wearing a yellow gold Day-Date holding a red phone in his hand. Kind of reminds me of Commissioner Gordon talking on the red Batphone ;-)
It is interesting to note, in this 1966 Rolex Day-Date watch ad, how the title says "The presidents' watch." This of course, is referring to then elected, U.S. President, Lyndon Johnson. This moment in Rolex history represented a high-water-mark–having the sitting U.S. President wearing Rolex's flagship watch model.
Vintage 1967 United Nations Rolex Day-Date Ad
It is interesting to note that when Rolex says, in the magazine ad below, "many heads of state", I believe they were specifically referring to Lyndon Johnson who was the President Of The United States when this ad was published. Notice in 1967 the Rolex Day-Date in yellow gold was only $1000!?!!
Rolex President: Gerald Ford
A President Wearing A Rolex President
[38th President Of The United States]
President Ronald Reagan
Stainless Steel Rolex Datejust: Jubilee Bracelet
It is probably worth noting that President Trump is a huge fan of Ronald Reagan. So much so, he even borrowed President Reagan's 1979 campaign slogan of "Let's Make American Great Again". One thing President Trump and President Reagan have in common, is they were both Democrats before converting to Republican.
"Some may try to tell us that this is the end of an era, but what they overlook is that in America, every day is a new beginning, and every sunset is merely the latest milestone on a voyage that never ends. For this is the land that has never become, but is always in the act of becoming. Emerson was right: America is the Land of Tomorrow." –Ronald Reagan (Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony, The White House, January 13, 1993)
Mark McCormack
Another Rolex Myth Busted And Mystery Solved!!!
This is the quintessential 1980s Rolex ad. In 1986 Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States and Rolex was reaching new heights in status and popularity.
This cool vintage Rolex ad contains a very interesting detail! One of the unanswered Rolex folklore questions always was:
Where did the term The Rolex President come from?
It has always been put forth that Rolex began referring to the bracelet on the Rolex Day-Date as "The President" bracelet (around 1967) but never referred to the the actual Day-Date as the Rolex President. It was believed that people just started refering to the Rolex Day-Date as The President, but that Rolex never specifically referred to it as such.
It turns out that was a false myth which I first busted in 2010. In 1986 we have direct evidence of Rolex specifically referring to a watch model named:
"The Rolex President Day-Date Chronometer. Available in 18kt. gold, with matching bracelet."
This ad was very popular in the 1980s and I believe it clearly proves it was indeed Rolex that specifically coined the term: The Rolex President.
Wow!!!!! Rolex appears to have briefly referred to the watch as The Rolex President, then they stopped, and went back to calling it just The Day-Date, but the term "The Rolex President"stuck, and once the cat was out of the bag, that was it!!!!! Another fascinating Rolex mystery solved!!!!!!
Mark McCormack
World's First Super-Agent To The Stars
Founder Of International Management Group (IMG)
Mark McCormack who is featured in the ad above was born in 1930 and passed away at the age of 73 in 2003. Mark was a attorney in the the Untied States and wrote many books. He also founded a was chairman of International Management Group (IMG) which is an international management company which pioneered managing the commercial affairs for sports figures, and celebrities.
Mark McCormack was a pioneer in sports celebrity management and in the early 1960s was the first person to really understand the potential of marketing sports personalities on TV. As a matter of fact, International Management Group's first client was Arnold Palmer, and he went on to sign and manage superstar sports figures Jackie Stewart, John-Claude Killy, Björn Borg, Rod Laver, Chris Evert-Lloyd, Greg Norman, Pete Sampras, Michael Schumacher, Derek Jeter, Charles Barkley, Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh.
As I mentioned, Arnold Palmer was his first client and he got Arnold $500 to use his likeness in Heinz Ketchup ads for a year, and 45 years later he represented Tiger Woods and got him $80 Million in commercial endorsements in a year!!!
He was also hired to represent celebrities like Kate Moss, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II and even fashion super-model Kate Moss.
Mark McCormack published many famous books, including the New York Times best-seller, What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School.
A Rolex President
Bill Clinton
A President Wearing A Rolex President
[42nd President Of The United States]
The history of the Rolex President is absolutely fascinating, and what is more interesting than seeing a U.S. President wearing a Rolex President? Bill Clinton is pictured below wearing his platinum Rolex President.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is a hardcore watch collector and enthusiast. In the photo below we see a U.S. President, wearing a Rolex President, with trays of Rolex President models in front of him.
Hillary Clinton is pictured below wearing her steel and yellow gold Rolex Lady Datejust. Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy marked the first time a woman ran for President of the United States, which is a genuinely remarkable achievement in-and-of-itself.
U.S. Vice President
Dick Cheney
Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date
There have been many U.S. Presidents who have worn Rolex watches over the years, and Dick Cheney is the first Vice President of the United States that I am aware of to wear a Rolex Day-Date during his two terms in office. Today, Dick Cheney still wears his Rolex Day-Date with a champagne god dial as seen in these recent photos that appear below.
The two photos below show are from The National Archives, and show U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney during the 911 Crisis, as he dealt with managing all the details around the event.
THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ROLEX PRESIDENT
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