In an emailed statement on December 20, 2008, Rolex Group, the Swiss watchmaker, named Finance Director and respected ZKB baker Bruno Meier as head of management after Chief Executive Officer Patrick Heiniger resigned. As respected as the Rolex watches the company makes, the resignation of Patrick Heiniger came as a major surprise, ending almost half a century of leadership under the Heiniger family. Heiniger replaced his father Andre in 1992 who was the first executive to lead the company since the brand was created by Hans Wilsdorf in 1908. With Meier’s ascension to the top post, it will be the first time in the history of Rolex that the company has not been run by either Wilsdorf or a member of the Heiniger family.

Rolex invented the Oyster, the world’s first waterproof watch, and the company is renowned for its consistent history of quality and precision. The Rolex Group makes more than 170 models of the Oyster, including the Rolex Day-Date and the Rolex Datejust Presidential models, now and employs 8,000 people. Under the leadership of Patrick Heiniger, Rolex took over the entire manufacturing process of its watches, avoiding any reliance on third-party suppliers. Interbrand Chief Executive Officer Jez Frampton said Rolex has maintained a focus on making the very best in luxury watches, while other brands have ventured have introduced cheaper versions of their products to attract new clientele. “They’ve stuck to their knitting, “ Frampton said, “This is the key for a luxury brand: you can’t sell yourself cheap.�

Although 2008 will have been a record year, according to the Rolex Group, under Heiniger’s leadership, the departing CEO could not escape recent rumors that he had invested the company’s profits in the worldwide ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff, the American asset manager charged with $50 billion dollar fraud. With a rumored loss of over a billion dollars, Heiniger, 58, stepped down for “personal reasons� to pursue “personal projects�. The company is privately owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, and, according to Interbrand, the Rolex brand is worth about $5 billion.

At ZKB (Swiss Bank Zürcher Kantonalbank), Bruno Meier was head of the Risk Management Unit, which seems appropriate given the risky times the luxury goods market is now entering. Here is the respected executives bio from the ZKB website: “Bruno Meier was appointed Head of the newly created Risk unit and a member of the executive board on 1 April 2008. He has served with ZKB since 1971, having performed a variety of key roles in distribution and risk management. From 2002 until the beginning of 2008, Bruno Meier was responsible for the credit office, where his remit covered credit analysis for the bank as a whole, specialist financing, as well as real estate valuation and consulting.�

Meier will be responsible for running the company along with the board of directors and management, Geneva-based Rolex said in an e-mailed statement today. This year will have been a “record� under Heiniger’s leadership, the watchmaker added that one of Meier’s first tasks will be to protect Rolex’s market share as the wealthy cut spending on luxury goods. The world’s richest people are likely to see the value of their assets shrink for the first time in at least 12 years in 2008, according to a report by Capgemini SA. Weaker spending may cause a drop of as much as 15 percent in Swiss watch exports next year, John Guy, an analyst at MF Global Securities, estimated. “The pain will be shared by all,� wrote Alessandro Migliorini, an analyst at Helvea SA in Geneva. “The shock wave from the financial crisis has finally hit all major markets.� With the end of the Heiniger era coinciding with the worldwide recession, Rolex enters new dangerous waters, which they believe can be navigated precisely by Meier as he raises the sails of continued quality and success at the legendary company.

Impresario Vince McMahon, the Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment and the Czar of professional wrestling in America since the 1980s, presented champion wrestlers Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels with Rolex watches. As Wrestling 101 reported in April of 2008, “Vince McMahon gave Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels Rolex watches. Both watches were inscribed with “24,” with Flair’s saying “To Be the Man,” and HBK’s saying “You Gotta Beat the Man.” Classy move by Vince.â€� Giving the Rolex watches revealed that McMahon could overcome his past resentments and feuds. In November 2001, Ric Flair returned to WWF after an 8-year hiatus saying that he was the co-owner of the WWF. McMahon hated this and said that he was the only owner of the WWF. The two faced each other at Royal Rumble 2002 in a Street Fight, which Flair won. On the June 10, 2002 edition of Raw, McMahon defeated Flair to end the rivalry and become the sole owner of WWE. Moreover, McMahon’s feud with Vince Michaels is legendary, including betrayals, sneak attacks and dirty battles with his son Shawn McMahon. Showing his true pride and glory, McMahon transcended the violent and sordid past with a magnificent gift of two diamond-studded, jewel-encrusted Rolex watches to Flair and Michaels.

Beyond the realm of Vince McMahon, Rolex always has played a strange role in professional wrestling. A Rolex watch has often been a wrestler’s symbol of success and luxury. Naturally, such a symbol becomes a target for the wrestler’s opponent. In the Wrestling Booking Sheet, Michael Cole wrote, “Mankind said he was dominating The Undertaker’s gang when The Rock came in. The Rock said he broke his Rolex for Mankind.â€� Yes, wrestlers have been known to destroy a precious Rolex wristwatch on camera in order to intensify a feud with another wrestler. Would anything make you angrier than having your Rolex Day-Date President or your Rolex Oyster Datejust Jubilee crushed right in front of your very eyes?

Vince McMahon is not the only major executive in the wrestling world to wear a Rolex. The following excerpt is taken from the Los Angeles Times in 1999: “Eric Bischoff, Turner’s wrestling chief, ponders how to make chicken salad out of a crisis that beset his World Championship Wrestling’s pay-per-view the night before. . . “You know we wouldn’t do something that looks like some manipulative ratings ploy, now would we?” Bischoff asks. Then he takes off his Rolex, dons his leather jacket and prepares to go before a sold-out arena in Phoenix to assume his on-screen persona–of a smirking, scheming wrestling czar.â€� What is so intriguing is the story represents another side to the proverbial coin: Bischoff’s Rolex is his own watch that represents his real world success in his personal life. In order to enter the crazy world of professional wrestling, the top executive removes and protects his Rolex watch, as he morphs into the crazy character he becomes on television. Indeed, Rolex and professional wrestling make for a strange marriage, but they have walked down the aisle for quite some time and, most likely, will continue to do so for many years to come.

Yes, it is true. The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, wears a Rolex watch, and he has worn a Rolex ever since he was a boy.The challenging question to answer is what kind of Rolex watch the Dalai Lama has worn and maintained for so many years. In the pictures of the Dalai Lama wearing the Rolex watch, only the back of the bracelet is evident.

According to the accepted tale, the American President Franklin Roosevelt gave the Rolex watch to the Dalai Lama. It is a known fact that Franklin Roosevelt wore a Rolex Day-Date. At the time, the Rolex Day-Date was not known as the Rolex Day-Date Presidential. The latter designation was assumed only after Rolex gave a Day-Date to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Before the Day-Date officially became presidential, Franklin Roosevelt wore the Rolex watch in the White House. Putting two and two together, it makes sense that the President would give the young Dalai Lama a Rolex Day-Date. Since Roosevelt died in 1945 and the Dalai Lama was born in 1935, the Rolex watch was given to a mere boy. The Dalai Lama has maintained the Rolex watch in excellent condition for over half a century. How has he been able to perform such a remarkable feat?

As historian Ron Gluckman writes: “Since childhood, the Dalai Lama has been an incorrigible tinkerer. He still has a Rolex watch given to him by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt — a credit to his do-it-yourself skills.â€� Being a lover of fine machinery, the Dalai Lama naturally fell in love with his Rolex watch. Since the beginning, Rolex has been at the forefront of watchmaking in terms of artistry and precision. Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf recognized two major requirements for watches: 1) To keep accurate time, and 2) To be reliable for which Rolex has been recognized for almost as long as watches have been worn. Such quality clearly was recognized by the Dalai Lama at a young age when he already showed signs of the spiritual leader he would become.

In 1990, Teresa Watanabe observed in the Los Angeles Times, “The Dalai Lama is motivated by kindness and love, and his broad appeal hardly seems more complex than that. He seems caring, people say. He seems genuine. He lives simply, wearing a maroon and saffron robe every day. His one apparent luxury, a Rolex watch, was a gift from Franklin Roosevelt. He actually seems to practice what he preaches, the rare leader who has managed to stay untarnished by any hint of personal scandal.� Like how the Rolex watches, which he loves, have come to represent the very best in luxury watches, the Dalai Lama has come to represent the very best in humanity. In a strange way, it makes perfect sense that such a man would choose to wear a Rolex watch. Still, we wish to know without any question or doubt, what model of Rolex is on the wrist of the Dalai Lama? Is his watch a Rolex Day-Date, or is it another one of the stunning Rolex watch models?

Realizing the unique connection between Rolex and Royalty, Zara Phillips, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II of England, has signed a contract to be the new face of Rolex watches. The Rolex watch chosen for Zara Phillips to endorse is the classic Rolex Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust. An elite equestrian who attained the title of Eventing World Champion in 2006, Phillips will receive £100,000 pounds and three free watches to appear in advertising for the Swiss watchmakers. The first Rolex advertisement-featuring Phillips appeared in Vanity Fair, which is a further display of the great value placed by Rolex in the acquisition of such a high profile representative in the United Kingdom and beyond. The advertisement shows Zara Phillips with her horse Toytown who carried her to victory in the Eventing World Championships.

In order to illuminate the Rolex watches that Phillips has been chosen to endorse, here is a more in-depth examination. A description of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust is as follows: Stainless steel case and bracelet. White dial. Date displays at 3 o’clock position. 18kt white gold bezel. Synthetic sapphire crystal. Hidden deployment clasp. Case diameter 26mm. 31-jewel chronometer automatic movement. Water resistant at 30 meters (100 feet). A description of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Lady Datejust Pearlmaster is as follows: Stainless steel case. 18kt yellow gold and stainless steel bracelet. Gold dial. Date displays at 3 o’clock position. 18kt yellow gold bezel. Synthetic sapphire crystal. Hidden deployment clasp. 31 jewel chronometer automatic movement.

Rolex has supported excellence in human endeavors for over eighty years, and many of their spokespeople have been champions in their respective sports. Zara Phillips provides a unique combination of Royal blood and athletic excellence to the Rolex stable. Zara was voted 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year by the British viewing public. What is truly fascinating in the story line is that Zara’s mother, Princess Anne, was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971. Clearly, like the lineage of one great Rolex watch design to the next, Zara Phillips follows in her mother’s footsteps of athletic excellence. Zara was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2007 New Years Honours List for her services to equestrianism. Married to England rugby player Mike Tindall, Phillips has expanded her commercial activity since becoming a professional eventer to help meet the £500,000-a-year cost of maintaining seven horses. She receives no money from the civil list, but her mother, Princess Anne, gives her free accommodation. Imagine how proud the Queen must be to have her Granddaughter chosen to be the new face of Rolex watches.

Rolex is the new champion in the auction house, certifying the watch company’s legendary position as the creator of the highest quality wristwatches. On April 23, 2008, an ultra-rare 1971 “Albino� Rolex Daytona, formerly owned by rock n’ roll legend Eric Clapton, sold at Sotheby’s “Important Watches Auction� for $505,000 including buyer’s premium. Although it was expected to fetch $100,000-$150,000 by watch experts, the Rolex Daytona broke all records when it sold for over half a million dollars once the dust had settled.

Created by Rolex in 1971, the watch is nicknamed the “Albinoâ€� Daytona because the background and subsidiary dials are a monochrome silver color, in stark contrast to the normally contrasting dials of more common Rolex Daytonas. It was a design that was not too popular, as the contrasting outlined sub-dials make for better visibility. If you look at the Rolex Daytona models today, they have no “Albino’s”. Basically, the watch was an unpopular variant of a popular model. Before the auction, the Rolex Daytona was not even expected to be in the top three of most expensive watches sold on that day. At this auction, the 6th most expensive watch sold was a “James Bondâ€� Rolex Submariner from 1959, which brought in $211,000. The 2nd through 5th most expensive watches sold at this auction belonged to Pate Philippe and ranged from $217,000 to $445,000. At the Antiquorum’s recent $8.5 million Rolex auction, the top-priced timepiece sold for $248,000.

For years, Eric Clapton has been recognized as a major Rolex watch collector. The guitar legend’s personal collection is quite extensive, and Clapton even named his record collection of greatest hits, Timepieces. Still, nothing in Clapton’s collection compares in price to the 1971 Rolex “Albino� Daytona, which will now go down in history as the Rolex that shocked the refined world of high-priced auctions.