Which Rolex has the 'best' History?

[watchthisway]

i like the pan am angle with the gmt pepsi's.

also subs and daytonas.

[Old Expat Beast]

The Oyster Perpetual. Where it all began.

[RolexPD]

Originally Posted by Spence4

I like the history of the Daytona via the Newman/Woodward story. She gave it to him and he wore it everyday for the rest of his life. My wife got me one for our wedding and the only time I haven’t worn it is when it has been in for service. So I have a personal affinity for that history.

Paul Newman didn’t wear his Daytona “everyday for the rest of his life.” He gave it to his daughter’s boyfriend in 1984, twenty-four years before he passed away.

[Mephist]

Originally Posted by Explorer1nyc

That's fine, but tell us why it has more history, i.e. "the sub was used in the military, the first Bond watch (on film,) etc

The Datejust has been around, sure - but what's the HISTORY behind it that makes it more Historic?

Iconic, yes - the DJ & the Sub are tied neck & neck in that dept

The Datejust was the first self-winding waterproof chronometer wristwatch to display the date in a small window at 3 o’clock on the dial. It was once considered to be the flagship of Rolex, lots of historical figures who changed the world wore a Datejust, I do not think I even need to mention what these figures did, because everyone in the western world can thank them for our freedom. Sir Winston Churchill, President of USA, Five star General and Supreme Commander of NATO Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Henri Guisan, Dr Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama, Pope John Paul II and the list goes on and on and on... they all used a Datejust.

And wean it comes to movies Clint Eastwood is one of the more known movie stars to sport a TT Datejust trough out the years. I remember Marlon Brando using a Datejust, Richard Gere, if you like James Bond then Pierce Brosnan used a Datejust, those are the once I remember of the top of my mind. So Datejust got an extremely rich history.

[Mephist]

The Oyster Perpetual has the longest history and a very impressive one. However the Datejust has a much richer and greater history wean it comes to achievements of those wearing a Rolex then any other Rolex line in my view.

So I would say either the Oyster Perpetual because it was so revolutionary and it was the source of all the other Rolex lines. Or the Datejust because of what the historical figures wearing a Datejust achieved, however Even the Datejust is an Oyster Perpetual Datejust.

[Brew]

All of these other historical posers owe their very existence to the OP.

[roosvelt]

I would say the sub. It helped push the exploration of the oceans in the 50 60 and 70s.

[mjrennie]

Sub.

[Watch Explorer]

Originally Posted by roosvelt

I would say the sub. It helped push the exploration of the oceans in the 50 60 and 70s.

Crazy that 95% of the oceans remain unexplored. not the Subs fault!

[Spence4]

Originally Posted by RolexPD

Paul Newman didn’t wear his Daytona “everyday for the rest of his life.” He gave it to his daughter’s boyfriend in 1984, twenty-four years before he passed away.

This just totally ruined my day :(

I like my fantasy world version much better. I wonder if my son will use this as justification to get mine early.

[Mephist]

Originally Posted by Spence4

This just totally ruined my day :(

I like my fantasy world version much better. I wonder if my son will use this as justification to get mine early.

Spence4 now that your day is ruined anyway it cannot do much more harm telling you that Paul Newman's daughter and her boyfriend broke up and he as you know sold off the watch after he found out it was very valuable now that Paul was dead. Made a nice fortune. So no happily ever after either. I hope tomorrow will be a better day for you

[Watch Explorer]

Originally Posted by Mephist

Spence4 now that your day is ruined anyway it cannot do much more harm telling you that Paul Newman's daughter and her boyfriend broke up and he as you know sold off the watch after he found out it was very valuable now that Paul was dead. Made a nice fortune. So no happily ever after either. I hope tomorrow will be a better day for you

Wow I knew it was sold but didn't know the story behind it.


I'm enjoying reading everyones info and opinions here

[Innocenti]

The Rolex with the best history is mine.

A 3 month old datejust .

I had a lot of watches but decided to sell most off.
Sold one and gave all the money to my girlfriend and said I didn’t want the money. She used half the money to buy me a birth year 5513 and the rest to book a family holiday.
Sold another and asked her to marry me,, she took me and my 3 year old daughter and got my daughter to pay for the datejust lol.

Used the rest of the money to pay for the wedding.

Sold another watch and paid for the honeymoon.

It’s been a busy summer!

I think the datejust for me has the best history. I’ve always admired my friends DJ bought for him by his father) he was a member of the British SAS and is a true adventurer. I have climbed a lot of mountains with him. For me that is THE explorer watch.

My little girl bought it me , I wore it at my wedding and on the honeymoon and it’s starting to pick up it’s first layer of scratches and scuffs which I hope to overlap with more scratches lol

Buy the watch you like the look of most. Ignore the marketing BS - Then make its history your own.

[jdpny]

My buddy was a paratrooper in the Army, as was I. He wore a 5513 Sub while on active duty in the 82nd Abn in the early 80's. I wore a Seiko 6309 during my active duty days.

But the real star was the Rolex 1016 Explorer his Special Forces father wore during two tours in Vietnam in the 60's. He has pictures of his dad wearing it with the Montagnard soldiers in the jungle while on ops. His dad lost it in the Utah desert around the late 80's. My friend does have his dad's Randall Model 18 knife but he really wishes he had that Rolex.

[Spence4]

Originally Posted by Mephist

Spence4 now that your day is ruined anyway it cannot do much more harm telling you that Paul Newman's daughter and her boyfriend broke up and he as you know sold off the watch after he found out it was very valuable now that Paul was dead. Made a nice fortune. So no happily ever after either. I hope tomorrow will be a better day for you

World shattered! Have some class and give it back the daughter.

[Mephist]

Originally Posted by Spence4

World shattered! Have some class and give it back the daughter.

That was just the short version, you can google the whole story, some of the 15million or so he got for the watch was given to the daughters charity organization.

[pandrew]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

https://www.timepiecechronicle.com/f...x-turn-o-graph

Thank you Sir, this is a great reference.

[Mystro]

This question is a moving target. It depends on what generation you are as to which model might have more historical significance.

[Rolex fan 61]

Explorer

[Kostas]

Originally Posted by Mystro

This question is a moving target. It depends on what generation you are as to which model might have more historical significance.

agreed

[Watch Explorer]

Originally Posted by Mystro

This question is a moving target. It depends on what generation you are as to which model might have more historical significance.

Makes it more interesting imo. Historic facts are still facts though, but it's great hearing people's opinions on whats important to them.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

The Oyster Perpetual. Where it all began.

When I think of Rolex and it’s history, this is what I think of as well

[1rolexman]

Submariner or Daytona


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pauln]

This is a very interesting discussion. It’s true that the Explorer as we know it today did not reach the peak of Everest in 1953, but it is the result of what Rolex learned by supplying Himalayan expeditions with a dozen or so watches every year that needed to be returned to Rolex after the climbing season for testing. Tenzing Norgay was, supposedly, wearing an OP when he reached the summit. An OP gifted to him because he was a member of the unsuccessful 1952 Everest team. I don’t think this takes away from the Explorer’s role in climbing history. That would be like saying the Sub’s historical record is less because the watches Rolex put on the Bathyscaphes didn’t have the word “Submariner” on the dial.

I think both the Sub and Explorer have fantastic histories and have been used by many famous climbers and divers. Other Rolex’s take a back seat, IMO.

I know we’re discussing Rolex, but when it’s all said and done, it’s hard to beat the history of the Speedy Pro.

[Chaching]

"THE" Paul Newman Daytona . . . . .

[JohnGT3RS]

Since I just picked an Explorer yesterday, it has to be the Explorer. Sub close second. For one specific watch, Paul Newman’s Daytona.

[vazquez1085]

But who was the first President with the “President”?

[ras47]

While the Sub is certainly one of the most iconic Rolex (or any brand) watches, having a history is a specific criteria. I'd give the nod to to the GMT. It's creation as a cooperative effort between Pan Am's international pilots and Rolex, and availability since 1954, qualify as quite the history in my book. Also, the GMT did indeed make it to space as others have said. Not as part of NASA's official required equipment list, but as the personal choice of Astronauts.

[Watch Explorer]

I think I side with the Oyster Perpetual for sheer historical impact.

Nice GMT Ras47

[TimeToWatch]

It’s got to be Paul Newman’s Paul Newman. Rolex wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for that watch. From a free market perspective, its unprecedented price is reflective of its importance.