Comments:
Eine Uhr fallt ins Meer und zieht sich automatisch auf. (A watch falls into the sea and winds itself up automatically.)
The little Rolex advertisement (see enclosed) from the December 1945 Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper can easily be lost to history but the little advertisement is directly related to one of the most historic Rolex advertising campaigns, namely the "Fantastic Story" advertisements of the early 1950s and specifically the 1952 advertisement "The Professor of Milan".
The text of the 1952 The Professor of Milan advertisement...
THE Professor went swimming off Capri and he swam wearing his wrist-watch. It was waterproof—perfectly-safe to swim with. But then—calamity! The strap buckle was loose, and it came undone. Vainly the professor tried to save his watch; Sadly he saw it twinkle and disappear into the green depths of the sea. And he returned to shore convinced that his watch was gone forever. But back on shore he remembered the divers. They were working on sunken ships close to where he had been swimming. He asked them to keep an eye open for his watch. The next time, they dived, a week later, they remembered that request, and looked around for the watch. And—yes they found it and brought it gingerly to the surface. And when on dry land they examined it, they gazed at it in stupefaction. For the watch that bad lain on the seabed a whole week was still keeping perfect time. Incredible? Not at all. The watch was a Rolex Oyster Perpetual. The waterproof Oyster case had protected the movement form salt water and the clinging; insidious sand, and the Rolex Perpetual self-winding mechanism had kept it wound. The Rolex Rotor, the secret of the success of the Perpetual, does not work on the "jerk" principle. A complete semi-circle of metal, rotating on its axis, it turns and spins at the slightest movement. And in this case, it was the gentle motion of the sea that actuated it! Well, that's what happened to one particular Rolex watch, And the professor got his watch back unharmed. But now, he's careful when he goes swimming. For next time, there may be no divers to find it. Doesn't apply to you? You're not likely to drop your watch in the Mediterranean? True—but all watches have enemies—dust, damp, dirt, perspiration—and the sort of watch that will tell the time at the bottom of the sea will hardly be affected by ordinary hazards. And remember that the Rolex Perpetual isn't self-winding just to save you the trouble of winding it up. A self-winding watch tends to be more accurate than a hand-wound watch because the tension on the mainspring is much more even, much more constant. Yes, a Rolex Perpetual is made to be accurate and stay accurate. This is a true story, taken from a letter written by the professor concerned (Professor Cutolo of Milan University) to the Rolex Watch Company. The original letter can be inspected at the offices of the Rolex Watch Company, 18 Rue du Marché, Geneva Switzerland.
The 1945 Neue Zürcher Zeitung advertisement tells the same story but adds the date of the incident (July 20, 1942) and the specifics of the watch (Rolex Perpetual No. 124514/348); the full-page Professor of Milan advertisement appears 10 years after the story and seven years after the Neue Zürcher Zeitung advertisement.
The text of the 1943 Neue Zürcher Zeitung advertisement...
Eine Uhr fallt ins Meer und zieht sich automatisch auf. Professor Cutolo von der Universitat Mailand liess am 20. Juli 1942 bei Capri seine Rolex-Perpetual No. 124514/348 ins Meer fallen. Acht Tage spater sah er an der gleichen Stelle einige Taucher arbeiten. Er bat sie, nach seiner Uhr zu suchen. Schon wenige Minuten darauf brachte ein Taucher die Uhr herauf, die nicht nur Yollstandig unverschrt war, sondern zur Ueberraschung aller Anwesonden die richtige Zeit anzeigte, Die Stromung des Meeres hatte genugt, um den Rotor der Perpetual zu bewegen und die Uhr automatisch aufzuzehen.
A watch falls into the sea and winds itself up automatically. Professor Cutolo from the University of Milan dropped his Rolex Perpetual No. 124514/348 into the sea near Capri on July 20, 1942. Eight days later he saw some divers working at the same spot. He asked them to look for his watch. Just a few minutes later a diver brought up the watch, which was not only completely undamaged, but to the surprise of everyone present, showed the correct time. The current of the sea was enough to move the rotor of the Perpetual and wind the watch up automatically.
Note regarding the Professor of Milan Rolex advertisement...
Among the ten Rolex "Fantastic Story" advertisements the "Professor of Milan" advertisement was the first published, most often published and the only advertisement produced in color (Illustrated London News). The "Fantastic Story" advertising campaign (at least to me) really ushered in the golden age of Rolex advertising; Rolex's passion for the advertising campaign is evidenced by advertisements for the advertisements published in the 1952 May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December issues of the Horological Journal which even highlight the illustrator of the advertisements which makes sense since Eric Fraser at the time was one of the most, if not the most, famous illustrators in England.
The Professor of Milan Rolex advertisement appears in a feature on Eric Fraser in the 1957 issue of Graphis Magazine (No. 70).
Fascinating. I love these vintage / historic adverts.
Insights on lots of levels. Cheers.
...and yes the Professor of Milan was a real person...
Aldo Alessandro Cutolo (28 March 1899 – 14 March 1995); I wonder if the watch the Professor is wearing is the Rolex from the advertisement?
