Watch Book Rolex: Next Generation

Born in 1947, Gisbert L. Brunner has pursued his interest in wristwatches, pendulum clocks and other precision timepieces since 1964. During the 1970s quartz crisis, his love of mechanical watches, an ostensibly endangered species, grew. In the early 1980s his passion for collecting watches led him to pen his first articles. More than 30 books on the art of watchmaking were to follow. Brunner writes for publications such as Chronos Japan, Prestige, Materialist, GZ and ZEIT Magazin. In 2018, together with his partner Wolfgang Winter, Brunner launched the popular internet platform www.uhrenkosmos.com.

• FOREWORD 4BRAND HISTORY 6120 Years of Service to Watches 8Hans Wilsdorf: Credit where Credit is Due 24Rolex and the Cultureof Testimonials30Timepieces for Explorers and Scientists38Timeline: Models 50EVERYDAY CLASSICS 56Rolex Oyster / Oyster Perpetual 58Rolex Datejust 68Rolex Day-Date 72Trophies, Treasures and Triumphs 80ETERNAL ELEGANCE 88Rolex Perpetual 1908 90THE SILENT WORLD 94Rolex Submariner 96Rolex and James Bond: A Successful Liaison 106Rolex Sea-Dweller 112Rolex Deep Sea Special and Deepsea Challenge 118Rolex Yacht-Master and Yacht-Master II 124UP IN THE AIR 130Rolex GMT-Master I and II 132Rolex Sky-Dweller 140Rolex Air-King 144Century-old Victim of Counterfeiting 148FROM SPORTS TO SCIENCE 154Rolex Explorer I and II 156Rolex Daytona 162Rolex Oyster Perpetual Milgauss 174Rolex Land-Dweller 178Vintage Rolex Sports Models:From Factory Finish to “Frankenstein” 186THE ROLEX UNIVERSE 210Rolex and Customer Service 212Second- or Third-hand Objects 218Important Rolex Models and their Nicknames 222Challenge and Encourage – the Rolex Way 238Rolex Calibre Development 242Technical Terms and Proper Names in the Rolex World 248About the Authors 254Picture Credits 255