When, in 1963, Hans Wilsdorf was finally succeeded by Andrew Heiniger, the new boss of Rolex knew he had to shake things up. He needed a watch that made a statement for being unlike anything Rolex had made before. He turned to Gerald Genta – the watch design legend-tobe – and, 60 years ago this year, the aptly named King Midas would be launched.
The King Midas was a plain yet refined two-hander, though that description does not do the watch any favours. It features an asymmetrical pentagonal engraved case, with the winding crown shaped like a stylised sun, and placed on a minimalistic link bracelet. It was also gold, and in a big way: the King Midas was Rolex’s most expensive watch up until that time. It was also the heaviest gold watch then commercially available, and the first to use synthetic sapphire crystal glass.
The watch would find an unlikely fan in the perma-macho John Wayne and was, of course, the watch worn by Christopher Lee as Francesco Scaramanga, the villain in the James Bond film ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’, with marks its 50th anniversary this year. But the watch’s most apposite acolyte? The king of living large, aka The King, aka Elvis Presley; he would end up damaging his first of many by wearing it in the bath, such was his attachment to the watch.
Perhaps this was the tipping point, the moment when gold moved from being a noble material for classic dress watches to making any watch it came in a totem of flashiness; at best, a kind of wearable insurance. It is a gold Art Deco Patek Philippe, after all, that Michael Douglas – free of any other form of money – hawks for cash in ‘The Game’ (1997) in order to get back to the US from Mexico. “A man with a watch like that doesn’t have a visa problem,” he is told.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 72-utgaven av WOW Singapore.
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Hand-Finished Ceramic
Once thought impossible, Blancpain demonstrates how to bring handcraftsmanship to ceramic cases and bracelets with the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de lune 5054
Quanta Of Time
Just as hours, minutes and seconds are quanta of time, so too are days, weeks, months and years. We finally explore the story of the perpetual calendar in particular, in a year that invites such ruminations
Twice Upon A Time
The world's greatest double tourbillon wristwatch, the Breguet Classique 5345 Quai de L'horloge is back, with new hand-finishing touches
Coming In Thin
Bvigari’s releases for 2024 continue to stun the watch world with its trail-blazing innovation and sublime artistry
Light The Night
Luminox celebrates 35 years of existence by drawing on its heritage in the realms of the air, land and sea
New Frontiers
The outgoing CEO of TAG Heuer Julien Tornare shares his management style and values. No doubt these will remain consistent in his new role as Hublot CEO, just as they were in his Zenith tenure
Delighting To Surprise
Tissot CEO Sylvain Dolla weighs in on the novelties of 2024
Machine Learning
The mechanical calendar has been perfected over the last 100 years; it remains a challenge that invites multiple watchmaking and engineering approaches. We get into the nuts and bolts of how the perpetual calendar gets the job done
Expedition Hublot
A peek into the manufacture at Hublot reveals the amount of intricacies and technology behind the often quirky watches
STRUCTURAL STYLE
Parmigiani Fleurier CEO Guido Terreni explains the logic of the new Toric collection and takes us through his thoughts on style and elegance
