A legacy that encompasses some the greatest moments in history and propounds the pursuit of perfection could only belong to a brand as illustrious as Rolex. Down the ages Rolex has mastered the art of crafting the perfect timepieces that stand for more than mere devices to track time. Defining the method as well as the art of flawless functionality, Rolex proudly supports a number of sorting events around the world that act as a stage for development of exceptional talent and the propagation of the virtues of sportsmanship. Golf is has been one of the sports that Rolex has wholeheartedly been involved with. Already endorsing more than 10 world class golfing events around the globe like the Solheim Cup, Spruce Meadow Masters and The Masters, Rolex has taken the initiative of becoming the key sponsor of the much awaited ‘Race to Dubai’ event. No matter what the art or sport, Rolex provides its unwavering support if the event or activity is inclined to pursuing the highest form of perfection and individual achievement.
Unrivalled in its complete support of the various golfing events and prestigious challenges, world class golf tournaments have always looked forward to associating with Rolex. The core vision of Rolex has not been to merely sponsor the event as a silent partner; rather it seeks to be an inspiration and set a benchmark that others might follow and thus in doing so attain the greatest level of individual as well as human triumph. The Race to Dubai event comprises 49 golf tournaments that are to be held at 26 venues across the world, finally culminating into a climax event at Dubai where golfers that have qualified will play at the Dubai World Championship. In a strategic partnership with Leisurecorp, Rolex was made the primary and first official sponsor of the Race to Dubai golfing event. This partnership includes the sponsorship of the South African Open in 2009 along with the European Open. Already a sponsor of four primary golfing tournaments, Rolex adds three more golfing events to its prolific and prestigious events calendar.

Rolex earned the partnership deal on the 28th of may this year and was chosen amongst a multitude of other sponsors primarily due the fact that not only does itself follow the principals of perfection, it also has a long standing history of supporting illustrious and world class sporting events around the world. The Race to Dubai golfing event will draw some of the most talented golfers from around the world, who will compete in a spectacular showdown in November and prove their exceptional ability in the battle to ultimate victory.

Rolex is proud to be associated with such a prolific event that will transform the world of golf. In addition to the numerous sporting world class events that Rolex supports, the Race to Dubai golfing challenge is another endeavour by Rolex to show its unwavering support to the game of golf. With less than 160 days left for this premier event, anticipation amongst the golfers is on the rise as they strive to bring their best game forward and try to secure a place among the other champions, in this celebrated golfing challenge.

Ingenuity has to be followed by courage and belief in order to fully realise the potentiality of an idea. Rolex a trusted and well respected name in premium watches has been around for several decades. Right from the time of its inception in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis, Rolex has continually crafted the finest quality watches with a scrupulous attention to its design and functionality. The most incredible aspect of this world class company is that it does not limit the pursuit of perfection to its own craft and supports numerous organisations around the world in realising the true potential of human triumph. Rolex traces its origins back to the streets of London when it was referred to as ‘Wilsdorf and Davis’.

During that period however Rolex had not got into full fledged, manufacturing of trademark Rolex watches and sold most of their work to jewellery store owners, who in turn sold them as their product. One of the earliest models was a gold-filled, steel Rolex oyster that was launched in around 1942-43, commonly known as ‘Pall Mall’. The etymology of the name that was given to this particular make from Rolex can be traced back to the famed ‘Pall Mall’ street in London. Located between Trafalgar Square and St. James’ Palace in the City of Westminster in London, the ‘Pall Mall’ street was known to house many gentlemen’s clubs in the 19^th and the early part of the 20^th century like the Reform Club, Army and Navy Club and the Royal Automobile Club. This street is still owned by the crown estate and has always been associated with class, sophistication and resilient individuals that have chosen to strive towards being the best they can be.

The Rolex ‘Pall Mall’ was launched only in the Canadian, British and the commonwealth markets and was aimed at the aristocracy, the nobility, gentlemen as well as high-fliers of the society. The Rolex ‘Pall Mall’ watch has an innovatively designed dial that is quite unusual in its style. This watch features a two tone black dial where the outer part tracks the seconds while the inner one tracks the minutes. The numerals that appear on the Rolex ‘Pall Mall’ are Arabic even numbers with luminescence quality while the odd hours are marked with a luminous baton. The watch has the words Rolex Oyster Pall Mall etched across the face of the dial just below the 12 hour mark and has the word Observatory imprinted below the centre point. The movement this watch utilises is a hunter 10^1/2 with Swiss-made main plate and 17 jewels set in brass chatons. It features a lizard strap and has been crafted with meticulous passion and aesthetic design.

The Rolex Oyster ‘Pall Mall’ is more than just a finely crafted watch and represents the aesthetic sense, the perception and the period when it was crafted. A must have collectible for avid Rolex collectors the Rolex ‘Pall Mall’ symbolises the aspects of that epoch as well as the sensibilities of the master craftsmen.

There are few among us who possess the capacity of capturing the imagination without uttering a single word. Rolex the world renowned Swiss watches manufacturer has always believed and practiced the principal of appearance on the basis of performance. The British actor, comedian and writer Rowan Atkinson commands such an incredible screen presence and possesses such an incredible ability of being able to convince people of the varied circumstances that sometimes dialogues are simply inconsequential. The Rolex Submariner II is a watch that relies solely on its capacity to perform, much like the talented British actor Rowan Atkinson. External design is an integral part of overall appearance; nonetheless it is the internal capacity that plays a greater role in determining the essence. The Rolex Submariner II has been crafted to perfection and is able to stake a claim to being regarded as one of the most incredible watches in the world, only because this watch refuses to let any external factors deter its functionality. The immense capacity of the Rolex Submariner II as well as the exceptional actor Rowan Atkinson is fuelled by the urge to outperform, outlast and outclass the best.

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson was born in January, 1955 in County Durham, England and was the son of a farmer and company director. Raised as an Anglican, Rowan Atkinson was the youngest of the three children and was educated at the St. Bees School. He went on to study electrical engineering at the Newcastle University and then went on to pursue an MSc degree from the Queen’s College, Oxford. During his years at Oxford Rowan Atkinson performed plays for the Oxford University Dramatic Society, the Oxford Revue and the Experimental Theatre Club. It was during these performances that Rowan Atkinson met writer Richard Curtis and composer Howard Goodall with whom he continued to collaborate during his career. Right after completing his University he went on a tour with Angus Deayton and played the part of a straight man. This tour was later filmed for a television show. The success of this show got Rowan Atkinson a pilot project for ITV called Canned Laughter in 1976 right after which he went on to do a show titled Not the Nine O’clock News. This show turned out to be a runaway success and got Rowan Atkinson the lead role in a medieval comedy series called Black Adder. Though the first season of this series received mixed reactions, the second season was still penned down. From here on the Black Adder series came in a variety of different circumstances and time periods like Black Adder goes Forth and Black Adder the Third. The Black Adder series turned out to become BBC’s most successful situation comedies of all time. Rowan Atkinson’s most monumental work as Mr. Bean was still to come.

Known for his visual comedy, Rowan Atkinson’s first appearance as Mr. Bean was on New Year day as a half an hour special for the Thames television in 1990. Mr. Bean a character referred to as the modern day Charlie Chaplin went on to give Rowan Atkinson global recognition and paved his way fro future film projects. Eventually made into a film in 1997 called Bean that went on to become a huge commercial success, the Bean franchise churned out another part in 2007 called Mr. Bean’s Holiday. Beginning his film career in 1983 as a as a supporting part on the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again and then taking on roles in movies like The Witches, Hot Shots, Keeping Mum, Johnny English, Scooby Doo and Love Actually among others, Rowan Atkinson carved a name in the cinema world and accumulated an estimated wealth of 100 million pounds. The incredible screen presence of Rowan Atkinson is fuelled by passion, strength in character and complete confidence in his ability to perform.

The Rolex Submariner II is a new and improved version of the acclaimed Rolex Submariner. Built with the same passion, perseverance and ingenuity the Rolex Submariner II from the house of master craftsmen at Rolex features a 24 hours engraved bezel and is waterproof up to 330 feet. The Rolex Submariner II has a white dial and a sapphire crystal casing that makes it scratch resistant. The 24 hour hand can be set to reading the current time in different time zones. The ability of the Rolex Submariner II lies in its performance and not its exterior design. Like the intrinsic quality of the acclaimed actor Rowan Atkinson to be able to command such presence merely based on complete devotion to performance, the Rolex Submariner II from Rolex is able to garner a lot of admiration just through its flawless functionality.

Rolex has made supporting sporting events that provide a stage for skill development and pursuit of perfection a part of their rich legacy. Among the numerous sporting events that Rolex endorses around the world is the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament. This premier golfing championship is classified as a major event by both the LPGA as well as the Ladies European Tour. The Women’s British Open Golf Tournament is the apex of all championships for women golfers everywhere. Over the years it has grown in size as well as the skill level of the competing players. Rolex has played an instrumental role in partnering this tournament and propelling it forward to create awareness about this prolific event. The most vital objective of the organizers as well as the competing players is to advance the sport so that it would be treated with the same significance as the men’s golfing championships.

The Women’s British Open Golf Tournament was established in 1976 by the Ladies’ Golf Union and was primarily set up to serve as an equal to The Open Championship. Though the journey to reach the present level of popularity was a difficult one and marred with many obstacles, the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament has been able to secure its foothold in the golfing industry and now is able to claim the position of being the premier golfing event for women around the world. In the inaugural tournament that was held in the same year as its inception of the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament earlier known as Ladies’ British Open, was won by an amateur golfer, Jenny Lee-Smith. Initially it was difficult for the organizers to gather support for hosting the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament in prominent golf courses. During the early years of this event, the Royal Birkdale Golf Club was one of the few exceptions and played host to the tournament twice in both 1982 and 1986. The lack of support from sponsors nearly led to the collapse of the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament and it nearly crumbled in 1983.

The organizers had to approach the second tier golf courses like Woburn Golf and Country Club that played host to the tournament for ten years in a stretch from 1987 to 1996. The increase in the eminence of the tournament soon allowed it to be held at other golf prestigious courses like the Turnberry golf course and the old course at St. Andrews in 2007. The adoption of the no-links policy enabled the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament to increase the number of potential venues unlike its male counterpart. Growing in prestige and popularity the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament was soon made an official stop for the Ladies’ European Tour in 1993 and an official stop for the LPGA in 1994; this further fuelled the already growing appeal of the tournament. Karrie Webb of Australia and Sherri Steinhauer of United States have both won the tournament t a total of three times, twice before the event was counted as a part of the LPGA tour and once after it was recognized as a part of the LPGA tour. Debbie Massey from the U.S. is the only player after Sherri Steinhauer to win the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament twice in a row. The 2008 championship was won by Korean LPGA member Ji-Yai Shin who rushed past the third round leader Yuri Fudoh to claim the top spot.

The Women’s British Open Golf Tournament comes back again this year and will be held from the 30^th of July to the 2^nd of August at the Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s Golf Club located in Lancashire, England.

Rolex has proudly supported the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament and played a crucial role in assisting the organizers furthering the tournament. As the Women’s British Open Golf Tournament presented by Rolex comes around world keeps a close eye on the winners of this prestigious ladies’ golf tournament.

The capability of one to perform exceptionally in all functions is a precondition for attaining greatness. Rolex in its continual spirit of pursuing perfection has mastered the art of producing the finest watches around. The Rolex Sea-Dweller from the house of Rolex bears an intrinsic quality of functionality above everything else a principal that runs deep in the English actor, musician and producer David Bowie. The Rolex Sea-Dweller has been crafted to perform in a gamut of circumstances and perform with perfect precision. It is only the willingness to challenge insurmountable tasks that leads to triumph and the achievement of a whole new level of performance. The Rolex Sea-Dweller is a result of astonishing craftsmanship and committed vision. The meticulously designed Rolex Sea-Dweller is able to withstand the harshest of conditions and still function flawlessly. The aspects of unconquerable determination and fortitude bind the Rolex Sea-Dweller and the exceedingly brilliant performer David Bowie.

Born in January 1947 in London, England David Robert-Hayward Jones or David Bowie was the son of a cinema usherette mother and a promotion officer father. He was punched in the eye at age 15 by George Underwood who is friends with him till this day and also did the cover designs for some of his albums, David Bowie lost the ability to define colour in the damaged eye and developed a faulty depth perception. David Bowie’s long standing affair with music began when he was just nine under the influences of Fats Domino, Tutti Frutti and Chuck Berry. His infatuation with musicians like John Coltrane resulted in his mother gifting him a saxophone on his birthday. Forming his first band in 1962 called the Konrads, David Bowie played in a number of jazz-blues bands like the Manish Boys, the King Bees, The Riot Squad and the Lower Third. This multi-instrumentalist has been able to adapt himself to almost every genre and the songs that he produced over the decades he has been around cover almost every category and style. He took on the name David Bowie that was inspired by the Alamo hero Jim Bowie and his Bowie knife in order to avoid confusion with David Jones from the Monkees.

Catching the attention of the public in 1969 with the release of the song Space Oddity, David Bowie is regarded as an innovator and respected by many musicians who see him as an inspiration. Constantly experimenting to produce innovative songs David Bowie reinvented himself as his alter ego Ziggy Stardust in 1972 and took out an album called ‘The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’. However his first American success came only in 1975 with the song ‘Fame’ which he had co-written with John Lennon. In a poll conducted by BBC in 2002 David Bowie was rated as number 29 on the list of the Top Hundred Britons. Regarded by numerous musicians as a formidable entertainer David Bowie was rated at the number 39 spot in The Rolling Stone’s magazine survey of the hundred greatest Rock and Roll musicians of all time. Selling over 136 million albums till date David Bowie has the incredible capacity of adapting himself to perform a range of styles. The popularity of his distinct singing style and his songs is seen in the fact that even today many main stream Hollywood movies like Shrek- 2, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Underworld. The exceptional ability to adapt and perform in almost every condition and still being able to awe the audiences around the world is a quality that separates David Bowie from all other musicians.

The Rolex Sea-Dweller from the master workshops of Rolex is an incredible piece of machinery that does not compromise on either functionality or aesthetic design. Improving on the design of the submariner the Rolex Sea-Dweller is an astounding watch that has been crafted specifically for the divers. The latest version that was released in 2008 is capable of performing flawlessly even at 12800 feet. Constructed using the trademark 904L alloy of steel the Rolex Sea-Dweller features a black dial with a rotating black bezel. The bracelet has an oyster fliplock with a glidelock clasp while the sapphire crystal utilized in the design renders the watch completely scratch resistant. It features an innovatively designed gas escape valve that prevents pressure build up form inside and allows the watch to function flawlessly. Though the Rolex Sea-Dweller was built for deep sea divers it still is able to perform under a remarkable range of conditions. The characteristic ability of David Bowie to adapt to varying situations is mirrored in the Rolex Sea-Dweller.