by Nick Gould
You may recall Serena Williams playing while wearing an upside-down Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 37mm during the Wimbledon 2019 fortnight.
Williams was beaten in the final by Simona Halep in a lightning-quick 58 minutes! Halep is an Hublot “friend of the brand” but did not lift the trophy during the presentation ceremony with a watch on her wrist – most likely due to being overwhelmed with emotion and excitement after winning her second Grand Slam tournament of 2019 after the French Open at Roland-Garros.
Novak Djokovic hoists the Wimbledon 2019 trophy wearing a Seiko Astron GPS Solar SSH003 (photo courtesy Getty)
In the men’s final, Novak Djokovic duked it out with Roger Federer – one of the game’s all-time greats – for the men’s championship. Djokovic prevailed in an epic five-set match that lasted almost five hours, setting the record for the longest men’s final at Wimbledon.
Djokovic lifted the trophy with a Seiko Astron GPS Solar SSH003 on his wrist; the world number one is sponsored by the brand, having signed a contract that runs through 2020 (see Seiko Nets Renewed Partnership With Novak Djokovic).
Wimbledon 2019 runner-up Roger Federer wearing a Rolex Day-Date 40 mm (photo courtesy Getty)
As an impeccable Rolex ambassador, Federer collected his runner-up plate wearing a gold Rolex Day-Date 40 mm with green dial.
Wimbledon sponsor Rolex an obvious fan favorite
Apart from the players, I spotted some interesting timepieces on the wrists of spectators during the tournament.
Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams was in attendance for the women’s final. His watch was by far the most expensive of the lot, even eclipsing the price tag of Rafael Nadal’s match-worn RM 27-03. Nadal, a Richard Mille ambassador, lost to Federer in the semifinals.
Williams wore a $983,000 Richard Mille RM 25-01 Tourbillon Adventure. This watch was designed in collaboration with actor Sylvester Stallone, who is a big Richard Mille fan. As its name suggests, it features a tourbillon in addition to a chronograph and compass. Capping off the “adventure” part, it also houses five tablets for water purification.
Pharrell Williams wearing a Richard Mille RM 25-01 Tourbillon Adventure at Wimbledon 2019 (photo courtesy Getty)
The Duke of Kent is the president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Having held the position since 1969, he attends the tournament every year, presenting trophies to the winners. I spotted him wearing an uncommon vintage Rolex Oysterquartz with black dial as he presented Halep with the winner’s trophy.
The Duke of Kent presenting Wimbledon 2019 winner Simona Halep with the trophy while wearing a vintage Rolex Oysterquartz (photo courtesy Getty)
Among the plethora of interesting watches on view in the Wimbledon crowd, I’d like to finish by pointing out golfing legend and Rolex ambassador Jack Nicklaus, who attended the tournament early in the first week. Nicklaus was sporting a gold Rolex Day-Date with black dial – probably the replacement for the signature Day-Date he has worn for more than 50 years, which he has recently agreed to let Phillips auction to benefit the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation.
Jack Nicklaus (left) at Wimbledon 2019 wearing what is presumably a new Rolex Day-Date (photo courtesy Getty)
Quick Facts Richard Mille RM 25-01 Adventure Tourbillon
Case: 50.85 x 23.65 mm, titanium and Carbon TPT
Movement: manually wound Caliber RM 25-01 with one-minute tourbillon, free-sprung balance with variable inertia, 35 jewels, 3 Hz/21,600 vph frequency, 72-hour power reserve, torque and function indicators, fast-rotating barrel
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; 24-hour display, chronograph, power reserve, compass and spirit level for holding watch horizontal
Limitation: 20 pieces
Price: $983,000
Remark: watch case contains five tablets for water purification
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I’m glad to see of all the other participants at Wimbledon wearing watches other than Rolex. Rolex doesn’t deserve the “free” publicity you are giving to them while they treat their customer base with such dismissiveness and arrogance. You ought to be reporting on their terrible agenda of keeping their sport watch production down to where their watches are not even to be found on their AD’s shelves. Their treatment of their own distributors as well as their customer base is atrocious and you don’t think there is a story there to tell? No, you have fluff pieces about them which comes across as nothing more than shilling for big daddy Rolex. What a shame. While Rolex has you seemingly ensconced in their back pocket, they carry on with their disingenuous ways with no consequences. And you call yourselves “journalists”? I hope not.
Rolex isn’t screwing customer base. It’s protecting owner base. Making it hard to get Rolex so that not every Tom, Dick, and Jane with poor taste can walks around with one thus diluting the prestige of the brand. Rolex is like a currency and they are combating inflation. They don’t just “make watches”, they mint them
Sorry, but every Tom, Dick, and Jane with poor taste have Rolex… At least here, where I live, Rolex is on the wrist of every idiot with a bit of money… Because they’ve heard that Rolex is good, Rolex is nice… Rolex is a statute of wealth… :))).
I have no pro or against feelings about what you said. Just that, most of the Rolex wearers have no idea what Rolex really offers and means.
I agree with your sentiment. I can understand them trying to protect their brand and exclusivity which I think is a fine balance. Many people want to celebrate big occasions in their lives with a Rolex and sadly, they can’t do that because they just aren’t available and Rolex doesn’t care about that. Not everyone is looking to buy just to resell it. Genuine people with an interest in horology like me are denied the chance to own a timepiece because of these practises.
Hi Abhishek, shops all over the world are full of Rolex watches, you can easily buy a new Rolex in most parts of the world. Thy sell over a million watches a year so are hardly ‘difficult to get’. What you seem to be upset about about is that the rarer Rolexes – which are in demand only because they are rare – are hard to get. If anyone wants a Rolex the only impediment is having the money to buy. Rolexes are not in short supply, it’s just that people want the hard-to-get Rolexes because they are hard to get.
Regards, Ian
Fully agree with Ian! I live in a relatively small town and there are at least two boutiques that sell Rolex and there are at least ten pieces available… Not the rare ones, of course.
Stuttgart, the nearby bigger city has on the main shopping street a few boutiques (plus an official Rolex one) with plenty of pieces… Plus the pre-owned market.
Dear Nick,
Love your article, as always! I was waiting for it! 🙂
Love how you showcase what each player/person is wearing. Thank you for this writeup!