It was a little over a year ago that Roger Federer posted a photo of himself eating fondue while wearing an unreleased Rolex, the Land-Dweller. Many assumed it was a manufactured leak meant to generate buzz ahead of Watches and Wonders 2025. Coronet reported it was not. If it had been, the playbook would likely have been repeated this year with one of Rolex’s 155 Testimonees. Instead, a more organic moment presented itself this week and was missed by Rolex.
On Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Tom Slingsby, one of the most accomplished sailors of his generation and a Rolex Testimonee, steered the Bonds Flying Roos to a commanding victory at the Rio Sail Grand Prix, despite everything his rivals and the conditions threw at him. His team moved to the top of the championship standings after the fourth event of the 2026 season. Winning all four races in a SailGP event is rare; doing so on the shifty, gusty waters of Guanabara Bay is exceptional. The result came just hours before Rolex was set to introduce a new regatta timer, the Yacht-Master II, at 6 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on Monday.
Rolex has been trying to promote SailGP since leaving Formula 1, deepening its ties with a series often described as the “F1 of sailing.” It now sponsors a sport it presents as “climate-positive,” featuring catamarans capable of reaching 100 km/h. Still, sailing remains underrepresented in its ambassador ranks, with seven Testimonees compared with 32 in tennis and 55 in golf. One of those sailors had just delivered a four-race sweep hours before the unveiling of the new Yacht-Master II. On the podium, as Slingsby and his team sprayed champagne, his wrists, in front of the world, remained bare.