Rolex & Roland-Garros – The quest to conquer the red clay

Rolex & Roland-GarrosThe quest to conquer the red clay

Another Roland-Garros tennis tournament is in the history books and Rolex just published these celebratory videos to celebrate their two ambassadors who won the men's and women's singles championship tournaments.

Jannik Sinner Wins U.S. Open!!!

Jannik Sinner

Wins U.S. Open

Lifts His Trophy 

Rocking a Root Beer GMT-Master

Rolex Ambassador, Jannik Sinner won the 2024 U.S. Open Men's Singles Championship, which was his second Grand Slam Title this year. You can watch the Full Match below which is AMAZING!!!!

Rocking Roger Shows Up at U.S. Open Rocking Rare Rolex Daytona...

...Rolex Super Coolness...

Rocking Roger

Shows Up at U.S. Open

Rocking an Exclusive Yellow Gold

 'Le Mans' 100th Anniversary Daytona

First Time Rare Daytona Seen in Public

Man, I don't even know where to begin with this story!!! Roger Federer is not only the greatest tennis player in the history of professional tennis, but one of the coolest guys on the planet. Rocking Roger Federer in many ways is the living embodiment of Rolex, in the sense he was born and resides in Switzerland, and is a top Rolex brand ambassador, or to use fancy Rolex parlance, would be to say Roger is 'a Rolex Testimonee.'

So Roger Federer recently was seen at the U.S. Open with Rolex CEO, Jean-Frederic Dufour, (pictured above) who is also another really cool guy, with great style. Jean-Frederic Dufour has always kind of reminded me of Steve McQueen in that he looks like McQueen with his blond hair, and the way he wears his Rolex on his right wrist. 

As an example, we see Steve McQueen pictured above in the 1968 movie named Bullitt, where he is roaring through the streets of San Francisco in his Army Green Ford Mustang Fastback, and he is wearing a sports coat. If I told you the man driving the Mustang in the photo above was Rolex CEO, Jean-Frederic Dufour, and you didn't know otherwise, you could confuse them. Also, as I previously mentioned, Steve McQueen also famously wore his Rolex Submariner on his right wrist, as does Dufour. No, that's not Dufour pictured below, but Steve McQueen back in the day...

Back to the main story, I originally discovered the image below which is a crop from the first image in this story on Perpetual Passion's Instagram page, and Matthew Bega wrote a great story on PerpetualPassion.com titled "Roger Federer at the US Open with the new Rolex Daytona 'LeMans' in yellow gold, ref. 126528LN-0001". Also, our Captain Danny also wrote a story titled "Exclusive Rolex Daytona Seen in the Wild for the First Time".

The Rolex Daytona 126528LN-0001 was very quietly introduced "off catalog" by Rolex at Watches and Wonders in Geneva, Switzerland earlier this year, and it was almost identical to the original Rolex Daytona 100th Anniversary of Le Mans model with debuted in white gold earlier, but this one is yellow gold. 

Speaking of coolness factors, I will let you in on a Rolex strategic marketing strategy that most people probably are not aware of. Watch brands like to associate themselves with cool things. For instance, Omega wanted to associate themselves with the James Bond Franchise, and came out with watches that said "007" all over the dial which was an exercise is kitchy, campy goofiness. Rolex has always taken the opposite minimalist approach and the 100th Anniversary of Le Mans Daytona is a concrete example. 

Instead of plastering the name "Le Mans" all over the dial, Rolex ever so subtly added a red 100 on the bezel insert, as well as adding vintage Paul Neman Daytona Subdials, to set this beauty apart from all other Rolex Daytona models. For clarity sake, we see Paul Neman's actual Exotic White Dial Daytona pictured above, which sold at auction for more than $17 Million, and notice the three black subdials have markers that are shaped like a See's Candy Lollipop.

Matthew Bega from PerpeualPassion.com beautifully summarized the significance of Rocking Roger rocking this new Rolex model when he said:  

"This model features a yellow gold case with a black ceramic bezel and a dial with 'Paul Newman' style counters, a configuration very similar to the Daytona reference from the era of manual movements, the 6263/8.

The new Rolex Daytona 126528LN-0001 “LeMans” in yellow gold, unlike the references 126500 which mounts the caliber 4131, has a 24-hour totalizer thanks to the caliber 4132, a modified version of the caliber 4131 of the classic Daytona, making it perfectly suited to an endurance race such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

We could consider Roger Federer's appearance with the new Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 'LeMans' in yellow gold, as a real official launch. The most famous and recognized face among the Ambassadors of the Rolex family, with a new reference on his wrist that has found little space in the official communication of the brand.

What better communication strategy than having it worn by Roger Federer, the one who more than anyone else embodies the values ​​of the brand?"

Carlos Alcaraz Wins Men's Singles Champion...

Wimbledon 2024

Carlos Alcaraz Wins Men's Singles Champion

Rolex's history as a top supporter of Wimbledon is awe inspiring and has endured over many decades. Today, Rolex celebrates ambassador and testimony, Carlos Alcaraz's second back to back men's singles championship win.

Federer Twelve Final Days...

 FEDERER

TWELVE FINAL DAYS

Feature-length Documentary

Rolex sponsored the making of an amazing new documentary on tennis legend, Roger Federer's final days of his professional tennis playing career. The Federer documentary is available for watching exclusively on Amazon Prime beginning today, on June 20th. 

"Federer: Twelve Final Days" was directed by esteemed directors Asia Kapadia, and Joe Sabia, and examines Roger Federer's last days of his amazing tennis career achievements as the 20-time Grand Slam Champion. Much of the film chronicles occur during his participation nine months earlier in September of 2022 during the Laver Cup.

As you can see, there are a zillion video clips of Rocking Roger sporting his magnificent harem of Rolex watches. In this next video, we see Rocking Roger reacting to watching scenes from his documentary.

When I began publishing Jake's Rolex World, back in 2008, I believe Roger Federer had recently become an official Rolex brand ambassador, or as they say in Rolex parlance, a "Rolex Testimony". Below is an early Roger Federer Rolex ad I published in 2009:

I've been contemplating consolidating all my Roger Federer stories into one, which I might do in the future.

Jannik Wins the Australian Open...

Jannik Wins the Australian Open

Rolex has been a proud sponsor of the Australian Open Tennis Tournament since 2008, which ironically is the same year I started Jake's Rolex World. Today, Jannik won the Men's Singles Championship, which represents the first time he won this highly coveted title. 

When Jannik was signed by Rolex, in early 2020, the 18-year-old Italian tennis player had never reached past the second tour of any Grand Slam tournament. But on Sunday, Jannik lifted the trophy with a Rolex Submariner on his wrist -- that's showing Rolex's knack for discovering future talents!

Pro skier Lindsey Vonn and Jannik Sinner

Rolex and the U.S. Open

Rolex and the U.S. Open

In my mind, nothing represents the end of summer more than the annual advent of the U.S. Open Tennis match—even more than Labor Day. Rolex is no stranger to professional tennis around the world, and they recently put up a brilliant Tennis Microsite on Rolex.com, which I recommend checking out. Rolex beautifully articulates the value proposition of the U.S. Open:

The electrifying ambience of the New York summer provides the backdrop to the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season. In the ultra-charged atmosphere of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, players must dig deep into their well of resources and feed off the energy of the exuberant crowds to emerge victorious.

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. 

The brand 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.

Princess of Wales and Roger Federer Play Tennis at Wimbledon

Princess of Wales 

and Roger Federer 

Play Tennis at Wimbledon

Yesterday I covered the epic Wimbledon Men's Singles Finals which is tennis at it's best. This video which features the Princess of Wales and Rocking Roger Federer playing tennis at Wimbledon is tons of fun!!!

Also, if you missed the AMAZING Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship Finals yesterday, then you will love this extended highlight recap from Wimbledon!!!

Wimbledon 2023

Wimbledon 2023

July 3 - July 16, 2023

It's that time of the year again and Wimbledon is in full swing so I thought it would be fun to hop in the Rolex Time Machine with Tennis G.O.A.T. Roger Federer and go back to take a look at the history of Rolex and Wimbledon.

Roger Federer 
It is so bizarre to see Rocking Roger Federer in the audience at Wimbledon 2023, since he retired from playing professional tennis.

Nick Gould discovered the photo of Roger and Mirka at Wimbledon 2023, and Rolex just released this superb video about Rocking Roger's amazing tennis career achievements.

Borg v. McEnroe
1980 Wimbledon

The rivalry between John McEnroe and Björn Borg is one of the greatest in history. Rolex created this really cool video so I thought it would be great to share a little more detail on their relationship.

In the photo below taken back in the early 1980s, we see Björn Borg and John McEnroe and they are both wearing Rolex Datejust watches.

In the photo below from 1980, we see André Heiniger with legendary tennis star Bjorn Borg on June 11. On the evening of Men's singles finals at Wimbledon. The 1980 Wimbledon Men's final match was between Björn Borg and John McEnroe was a dramatic struggle which went on for a long time with Borg prevailing. This amazing photo appears courtesy of S3C.

...Rolex Presents...

The Spirit Of Wimbledon

Four Part Series 

Wimbledon from 1877 to 2011

Rolex is the primary sponsor of the Wimbledon Tennis tournament, as well as being the official timekeeper. Rolex recently released this amazing four-part documentary on the history of Wimbledon and it is amazing!!!

Rolex Celebrates Roger Federer

Rolex Celebrates
Roger Federer

Rolex celebrates Roger Federer’s journey of towering achievement and all-round tennis excellence. The brand treasures its enduring partnership with the sports legend and looks forward to maintaining those close ties as he embraces new paths, new challenges, beyond the playing court.

Rolex & The U.S. Open

Rolex & The U.S. Open

The US Open takes place in the electrifying ambience of a New York summer, bringing to a close the Grand Slam® tennis season. Energised by the exuberant crowds in the ultra-charged atmosphere of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the best men’s and women’s players dig deep into their well of resources to produce world-class displays.

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. The brand 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.

Zizou v. Roger

Zizou v. Roger

Welcome To Switzerland

Roger Federer is not only one of the longest standing Rolex ambassadors, but one of the coolest guys that ever lived. Instead of commenting on this video, just watch and see what makes Ranking Roger an amazing man!!!

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Roger Federer (@rogerfederer)

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.

Wimbledon 2021: Roger Federer: On The Evolution of The Rolex Oyster

Wimbledon 2021

June 21 - July 12, 2021

It's that time of the year again and Wimbledon is in full swing so I thought it would be fun to hop in the Rolex Time Machine with Tennis G.O.A.T. Roger Federer and go back to 1926 to check out the first Rolex Oyster.

Roger Federer 
On The Evolution of The Rolex Oyster

I couldn't help but notice that there is a photo of Rolex's brilliant founder, Hans Wilsdorf sitting on the table next to Roger Federer. One thing Wilsdorf & Federer have in common is they are both The Greatest of All Time.

Nick Gould discovered the photo below and see Roger Federer at a 2021 Wimbledon Press conference and he is rocking his Rolex Oyster Perpetual with the yellow Stella style dial which is very cool.

Borg v. McEnroe
1980 Wimbledon

The rivalry between John McEnroe and Björn Borg is one of the greatest in history. Rolex created this really cool video so I thought it would be great to share a little more detail on their relationship.

In the photo below taken back in the early 1980s, we see Björn Borg and John McEnroe and they are both wearing Rolex Datejust watches.

In the photo below from 1980, we see André Heiniger with legendary tennis star Bjorn Borg on June 11. On the evening of Men's singles finals at Wimbledon. The 1980 Wimbledon Men's final match was between Björn Borg and John McEnroe was a dramatic struggle which went on for a long time with Borg prevailing. This amazing photo appears courtesy of S3C.

...Rolex Presents...

The Spirit Of Wimbledon

Four Part Series 

Wimbledon from 1877 to 2011

Rolex is the primary sponsor of the Wimbledon Tennis tournament, as well as being the official timekeeper. Rolex recently released this amazing four-part documentary on the history of Wimbledon and it is amazing!!!

Rolex and Roland-Garros

Rolex and Roland-Garros

Rolex & Tennis An Enduring Partnership

 

Rolex & Tennis
An Enduring Partnership

Dominic Thiem Wins First Grand Slam Title @ 2020 U.S. Open

Dominic Thiem
Wins First Grand Slam Title 
@ 2020 U.S. Open

Rolex and The Australian Open

Rolex and The Australian Open

Paul Boutros Arthur Ashe Stadium rocking his Pepsi GMT-Mster

...Wrist Shot of The Day...

Paul Boutros

Arthur Ashe Stadium

U.S. Open 

Paul Boutros from Philipps Auction House is attending the 2019 U.S. Open Tennis Tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York and he just shared these AMAZING photo of this Pepsi GMT-Master. Paul was the first person in the United States to get ahold of the new Pepsi GMT-Master in stainless steel just after it was introduced!

Rolex & Roland Garros Paris Clay Court Grand Slam Coming Later This Month

Rolex & Roland Garros
Paris Clay Court Grand Slam  Coming Later This Month