Rolex and Wimbledon: A long-lasting relationship
The relationship between Rolex can hardly have passed anyone. The partnership is as evident as Rolex and Formula 1, or Omega and the Olympics.
Rolex and Wimbledon’s relationship dates all the way back to 1978 when Rolex became Official Timekeeper of The Championships, Wimbledon. This marked the start of a great partnership between two iconic and well-respected brands.
Rolex, as you know, Rolex is the world’s most recognized watch brand in the world, and Wimbledon the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. This sounds like the perfect match.
Since Rolex’s first tennis partnership in 1978, the company has continued to promote itself within the tennis space, teaming up with other tournaments such as the Australian Open, Shanghai Masters, BNP Paribas Open, Monte-Carlo Masters, and more.
In addition, Rolex has also made a number of professional tennis players into ambassadors.
In this article, we are looking closer at a very iconic partnership between a brand and a sporting event.
Rolex and Wimbledon’s relationship
2018 marked the 40-year anniversary between Rolex and Wimbledon.
For 40 years straight, Rolex has supported and backed the tournament, and it doesn’t look like this partnership is ending anytime soon.
Wimbledon is the world’s oldest and most prestigious Grand Slam tournament which takes place in London for two weeks each summer, bringing together world-leading players on the green grass.
Now, Wimbledon Championships is not only the oldest tennis tournament, but it is the most prestigious tournament. It is extremely traditional in the sense that it requires players to wear 90% white clothing, and play on English grass. During the breaks, strawberries with whipped cream are served to spectators.
The tournament embraces old tennis traditions, but that is what makes Rolex a perfect partner. In its watch manufacturing, Rolex relies on traditional and timeless designs, equipped with the latest technology. The brand is very traditional and mainly relies on the traditional models, lines, and shapes, which have proven to stand the test of time of being truly timeless. The Wimbledon green together with Rolex’s signature color also adds to the perfect match.
As the official timekeeper of the tournament, Rolex handles all timing. But as mentioned, it also supports a number of players on the field, such as Juan Martin del Potro, Caroline Wozniacki, Caroline Garcia, and perhaps most importantly, Roger Federer.
Not only is Federer a dominating player who has won 8 Wimbledon titles, an all-time record, but he is also Swiss, which is a perfect match with Rolex.
After each Wimbledon tournament when Federer (and other Rolex-sponsored winners) raise their trophy, you can spot them wearing a Rolex watch. This is perfect product placement or Rolex (Assuming one of their ambassadors win), and it also aligns perfectly with Rolex’s iconic slogan ”A crown for every accomplishment”.
To celebrate the 40 year anniversary, Rolex placed current tennis stars like Federer, Wozniacki, and Muguruza, along with tennis legends like Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, and Chris Evert, in their 40 Love campaign. In the campaign, the brand highlighted the tagline, “It doesn’t just tell time. It tells history.”
Whilst Rolex joined the Wimbledon about 100 years after the first tournament, the brand has now become synonymous with it.
Rolex and sports
Today, Rolex is a sponsor of countless sports events and tournaments all over the world including sailing, golf, formula 1, and more. It all started in 1928 when Mercedes Gleitze became the first woman to swim through the English Channel, wearing the newly developed Rolex Oyster while doing so. This event made history, and at the same time, the Rolex Oyster too.
This would also become the start to Rolex putting their watches to test in real-life demanding situations to prove their durability and reliability.
Rolex Datejust 41 ”Wimbledon” – The Unofficial Watch of the tournament
You may be surprised to hear that what most people think about when they hear Rolex and Wimbledon together in the same sentence isn’t the tennis tournament. Instead, it is a design of a watch. More specifically, the Datejust 41 and a particular dial for the model.
The name ”Wimbledon” in Rolex context refers to a Datejust 41 with a special dial. The dial is slate grey and has painted roman markers surrounded by a bright green grass color which can be seen as a nod to the grass on the Wimbledon fields.
The Rolex ”Wimbledon” was first released in 2019 with the reference 116333. Whilst Rolex has never explicitly used the name ”Wimbledon” for the model, it has been closely promoted together with the Wimbledon tennis tournament. This has made the Datejust 41 with the now-known-as ”Wimbledon dial” the unofficial watch of the Wimbledon tournament.
If it would have been a different watch brand, you would probably have seen “Wimbledon” in the watch’s model name and you’d likely see numerous Wimbledon limited and special edition timepieces to tribute to the relationship.
But not from Rolex. Rolex simply makes a watch that works as a nod to whatever they are tributing.
The ”Wimbledon” dial has been incorporated in all of the other Datejust 41 references such as the 116234, 116300, 126334, 126300, 126331. In other words, Datejust 41 references either in full stainless steel, yellow gold two-tone, or rose gold two-tone.
Some people have criticized the dial because it only has one applied hour marker, which is set at 9 o’clock, but the reason it is there is to create symmetry with the date bubble and window positioned at 3 o’clock. With that said, the dial has limited lume, which harms the legibility. Only the 9 o’clock hour marker, minute, and hour hands have applied lume.
Technically, the yellow gold two-tone Datejust with the smooth bezel is the ”official” Wimbledon watch as this is the watch that has been most closely promoted with the event. But since Rolex does not have an official Wimbledon timepiece, it is the dial, regardless of the version which is known as Wimbledon.
Rolex Federer has been seen wearing the Rolex Datejust Wimbledon several times. In fact, Federer even wore his Rolex ”Wimbledon“ at the award ceremony. He wore a yellow gold and steel version reference 126303.
