Stallone's Rolex Sells for Nearly $100K

(Image credit: Sotheby’s)

Sylvester Stallone's Rolex has exceeded experts’ expectations. As reported in these pages, the Academy Award-winning director and actor is letting go of his collection, including a 2016 olive-green-dial Rolex Day-Date in rose gold with "SLY" engraved on the caseback.

Auction house Sotheby's estimated Stallone’s timepiece to go from $25,000 to $50,000. But it sold for almost double that — $96,000 plus auction fees, the latest sign watch provenance still wields power at auctions.

“This watch provided hours and hours of joy,” Stallone said in a video by Sotheby's.

Swiss Watch Exports 'Surprisingly Strong'

(Photo credit: Jake’s Rolex World)

The monthly statistics presented Thursday by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry surprised luxury experts. The decline recorded in the first quarter did not continue in April. Watch exports for April are up 4.3% compared to the same month in 2023.

At the opening of Watches and Wonders last month, Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour predicted 2024 would “be a challenge. A phase in which all manufacturers were doing well is coming to an end,” Dufour told Swiss newspaper NZZ.

Jean-Philippe Bertschy, a luxury goods analyst at Vontobel, a private banking and investment management group based in Zurich, said in his morning notes on Thursday: “The April statistics turned out to be surprisingly strong, at +4.5%. We expected a decline of 10%.”

China was the only one of the top ten export markets to show a drop, at -7.5%, a decline that was less than expected. The Swiss leading market, the United States, was up a robust 11.6% year-over-year. Japan registered the highest increase of all markets, at 13.6%.

In New Louis Vuitton Ad, Roger Federer Sports Rolex

(Photo credit: Annie Leibovitz/LV)

Tennis legend and Rolex brand ambassador Roger Federer rocked a Rolex Daytona next to Rafael Nadal during Louis Vuitton’s latest ad campaign shot by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The newly released campaign features the tennis champions in a “rare off-the-court pairing, ascending to the summit of Italy’s Dolomites mountain range,” according to Louis Vuitton. Besides the white-gold Daytona on Federer’s wrist, the tennis players were sporting LV bags.

For the campaign, Nadal and Federer are “not competitors but instead companions for one another on the journey up the mountain — a visual metaphor for their careers,” the luxury brand said. Federer’s meteorite-dial Daytona sits prominently on his wrist while it’s unclear if the Spaniard is wearing a Richard Mille, a brand with which he’s had a partnership.

Kevin Costner Rocks Rolex 'Pepsi' for GQ

(Photo credit: Fanny Latour-Lambert/GQ)

The cover star of GQ’s Summer 2024 issue is Kevin Costner in a bright orange anorak — a callback to the actor’s first appearance on GQ's cover in May 1987 — with a Rolex GMT-Master II ‘Pepsi’ 126710BLRO on the actor’s wrist.

Costner is the first star on GQ's cover to wear a watch since Donald Glover wore a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso in April of 2023.

The Rolex GMT is not part of Costner's personal collection, we've been told, just an accessory that accompanied Costner throughout the shoot for the magazine’s main feature, where he’s interviewed about “Horizon,” his latest project.

The Rolex is featured with Costner’s cable-knit cardigan as he’s enjoying a beer and again when he gazes into the Pacific Ocean in a faded crewneck sweatshirt. See more photos here.

Rolex Unsuccessfully Sues Perpétuel

The “Perpetual” element of Rolex SA's trademark is not so distinct that it merits protection from “Perpétuel,” the name of a United Arab Emirates-based luxury watch boutique — that’s according to the ruling by the U.K. Intellectual Property Office.

From similar-sounding names to customized watches bearing its logo, Rolex has been on a war path against trademark dilution lately. These pages reported this year alone on Rolex’s fights against Artisans de Genève, Texas-based BeckerTime and even the greeting card company Hallmark. Rolex is still in a lawsuit against a Florida-based real-estate firm called “Roleks Group LLC.”

In its latest lawsuit, Rolex was trying to block Perpétuel from registering a trademark series in the U.K. But Rolex failed to prove that consumers could confuse “Perpétuel” with the watchmaker's “Oyster Perpetual” brand name.

In an interesting twist, Perpétuel countersued, trying to block Rolex from protecting its international “Perpetual” trademark in the U.K., but was unsuccessful, as well.

Rolex 'Pepsi' Value Drops After W&W

(Data: WatchCharts.com)

The value of the Rolex GMT-Master II 126710BLRO has reversed trend since April 2024, when rumors of its discontinuation proved wrong at Watches and Wonders, a sign speculators are still very much active on the Rolex market.

The GMT Master II with the red and blue “Pepsi” bezel had been defying Rolex's pre-owned market trends since last autumn, as first reported in these pages, amid speculation Rolex would be discontinuing its ultra-popular BLRO at this year’s Watches and Wonders.

Rumors suggested that the failure rate for the manufacture of the iconic blue-and-red 24-hour bezel for the GMT is so high that Rolex would cut the watch from its catalog.

Even publications like WatchPro reported rumors in November that production of the Pepsi bezel was proving problematic, and the reference would be facing the axe in 2024.

New Discovery Shows Rolex Used to Alter Photos

A watch writer based in Australia has recently made an interesting discovery about a Rolex brochure. Nick Gould posted on his Instagram account on Saturday that Rolex tinkered with a picture to show a navigator in the 1950s wearing a GMT-Master while in fact he wasn't wearing one, a sign of how far the brand was willing to go to market its watches as professional tools.

Nick said he had recently stumbled upon the original photo by accident. The 1955 photo shows a navigator taking Loran readings, an early radio system used for long-range navigation. In the original photo, the man wears a white-dial watch that looks nothing like a Rolex.

The picture used by Rolex and captioned “…for pilots, ships' captains, navigators, travellers and members of the Armed Forces” shows a GMT-Master on the wrist of the navigator. Rolex seemed to have super-imposed a drawn GMT-Master 6542 on his wrist — an early method of “photoshopping,” as Nick puts it — and used the picture for the cover of the GMT-Master booklet included with the watch.

Federer Rocks Rolex Daytona 'Le Mans' in New Film Poster

(Credit: Amazon Prime)

Amazon Prime announced this week the documentary exploring the final twelve days of Roger Federer’s career will premiere on June 20, and the official poster released shows the tennis star wearing a Rolex Daytona “Le Mans.”

“Federer: Twelve Final Days” is directed by Asif Kapadia and Joe Sabia, and takes a behind-the-scenes look at the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s final moments in his career. A trailer was released on Wednesday.

Anachronistically, Federer is wearing a Daytona “Le Mans” on the official poster though the final days portrayed in the film take place at the Laver Cup in September 2022, nine months before the watch was released.

Rolex High-Profile Brand Ambassador Arrested

(Image source: Rolex)

Scottie Scheffler, a Rolex brand ambassador and the No.1 ranked golf player in the world, was arrested on Friday morning as he tried to make his way into the PGA Championship in Louisville, Ky.

The 27-year-old was booked on four separate charges: felony assault of a police officer, misdemeanor criminal mischief, misdemeanor reckless driving and misdemeanor disregarding signals from officers directing traffic, according to jail records.

It’s unclear if the arrest will jeopardize his contract with Rolex. The brand stuck by Tiger Woods after the pro golfer pleaded guilty to reckless driving, in 2017.

The records show Scheffler has since been released. “I never intended to disregard any of the instructions,” he said in a statement. “I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.”

Rolex Gears up for the French Open

The second Grand Slam tournament of the season, Roland Garros, begins next week, and Rolex, a sponsor since 2019, has already uploaded an unlisted video on YouTube, featuring the Datejust in Everose gold with a sundust dial to represent this year’s French tennis event.

A slew of Rolex brand ambassadors will tackle the red clay starting Monday, including Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff and Stéfanos Tsitsipás. And while Świątek won last year’s event, no Rolex Testimonee has won the Men’s title at Roland Garros since Roger Federer in 2009.

Rolex's global director of communication and image, Arnaud Boetsch, who is largely responsible for bringing Federer to the brand, is a former tennis pro himself. Rolex is now sponsoring more tennis players than any other kind of celebrities.

This year’s edition marks a memorable milestone for two Rolex legends. It was 50 years ago, in 1974, that Chris Evert and Björn Borg arrived at Roland Garros as teenagers and won their maiden Grand Slam titles.

2024 Rolex Release Hits the Pre-owned Market

(Photo credit: DavidSW)

David Sylvestre-Williams, who co-founded DavidSW in 2008, a pre-owned watch and jewelry dealer based in Orlando and Miami, listed the first 2024 Rolex release, a gold Deepsea, on Sunday, just one month after its unveiling at Watches and Wonders.

The watch — listed in unworn condition — was sold within hours. DavidSW had priced Rolex's newest gold diver at $75,675.00, a $23,570 premium over retail price.

As always, list price doesn't mean it sold for that much. But given how quickly the listing went, DavidSW must have gotten close to its asking price.

Stallone to Auction off More of His Collection

(Credit: Sotheby’s)

Less than four years after Sylvester Stallone auctioned off some of his watches with Phillips, including a Richard Mille, the Academy Award-winning director and actor is letting go of more of his collection, but this time with a different auction house.

In a video posted by Sotheby's earlier this week, Stallone describes the beginning of his love affair with Rolex after he saw Gregg Allman [of the Allman Brothers] wearing a gold Rolex. He decided to reward himself after filming “Rocky” and bought a gold Submariner. “It's not about keeping time. It's about keeping in step with where you are in life,” he said in the video.

Sotheby's will be presenting 11 pieces from his collection on June 5th, including a rose-gold Rolex Day-Date, which features an olive-green dial and a customized engraving on the caseback.

“This watch provided hours and hours of joy,” he said. “Oh, it says 'Sly' on the back, so I can relate to that. It is just a beautiful conversation piece.”

In Battle of the Crowns, Rolex Takes on Hallmark

(Source: USPTO)

What happens when an American greeting card company, which has used the crown as a logo for seven decades, wants to use the same logo to sell jewelry?

In a trademark opposition proceeding filed with the USPTO, Rolex U.S.A. claims that Kansas City, Missouri-based Hallmark is “seeking to apply a crown mark on goods that are identical or in some way related to Rolex’s famous watches.”

Hallmark has used the crown as a logo since 1952 and filed last year a trademark registration for the logo to be used in Class 14 (jewelry). Hallmark also owns a television channel and a dozen famous brands, but it doesn’t sell watches.

Still, Rolex argues that if the greeting card company is granted a registration for its lookalike logo that extends to jewelry products, that would cause damage to the Rolex brand as it has spent “in excess of $100 million, over the past 60 years, advertising and promoting its crown design trademark” to consumers in the U.S. market.

Tom Cruise Rocks a Rolex Daytona. Again

(Photo by Ricky Vigil M / Justin E Palmer/GC Images)

All of Tom Cruise's moves are scrutinized by the press — and the movements on his wrist, too.

After spending time in Paris for the filming of “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part 2,” Cruise went to London for Victoria Beckham's 50th birthday and made quite an entrance as he stepped out of a black Mercedes. The 61-year-old actor looking sharp in a tuxedo was rocking a Rolex Daytona ice-blue dial in platinum.

This past year Cruise has seemed to feel the need, the need, to wear a Rolex: A white-gold Daytona at the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix, a Pepsi GMT-Master II, a black-dial Sky-Dweller, and even a Yacht-Master 42 in RLX titanium during the promotion of the last “Mission: Impossible” installment.

I wonder here whether Cruise could reach Paul Newman-level in terms of brand ambassadorship.

High-Profile Watch Auction Could Buoy Industry

(Photo credit: Christie’s)

Eight of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher’s luxury watches will be exhibited at Christie's in New York from May 3 to May 5 before they are going up for auction in Geneva, including a Rolex Daytona reference 6262.

The high-profile auction — a seven-times Formula 1 World Champion selling one of the most iconic racing watches ever made — could be a shot in the arm for an industry that is going through a painful downturn. In April, analysts at WatchCharts and Morgan Stanley said the Swiss watch industry overall could suffer a double-digit decline in exports in 2024. Prices for pre-owned Rolex watches have fallen for the past three years.

Schumacher’s 1971 Rolex Daytona 6262 featuring a Paul Newman dial will be auctioned off on May 12 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva. More details here.

Rolex For-Sale Listings Have Doubled in 2 Years

Source: WatchCharts, Morgan Stanley

Inventory for Rolex watches on the pre-owned market more than doubled in just two years, the latest sign Rolex owners are trying to cash out as prices continue to fall.

According to the latest WatchCharts & Morgan Stanley research, Rolex pre-owned inventory is at 110% what it was in March 2022 with prices now reaching a three-year low.

Rolex pre-owned inventory rose 8% in the first quarter of 2024.

These pages reported last week Rolex official retailers in the Certified Pre-Owned program have added a staggering 1,200 pre-owned pieces in just one quarter, a jump of 33%.

Rolex's Collection Is Becoming More Unisex Than Ever

(Photo credit: Rolex)

Rolex Daytonas with diamond-cut bezels are not new. But it's the first year Rolex is introducing them as official catalog pieces, the brand's acknowledgement diamonds on men's sports watches are joining the main stream.

Professional athletes like baseball player Aaron Judge or soccer player Lionel Messi have been spotted with serti Daytonas.

Still, gem-set bezels on men's watches blur the line between a men's and ladies' collection, a fact acknowledged by the brand.

“This unisex trend has been quite obvious for sometime,” a Rolex representative in Geneva told me. “And it's not just because of gem-setting. For several years now, women have been wearing more masculine watches.”

But Rolex also admitted their popularity depends on the market, as such watches try to strike a balance between elegance and abundance. While they might find a niche in the Americas, the Persian Gulf and South-East Asia, they tend to be less popular in Europe.