This is a story as big as the country that inspired the nickname.
They say everything in Texas is bigger. In terms of square miles, Texas is second only to Alaska in area. It is the largest of the 48 adjacent states. When we think of Lone Star State, we think of Big Hair, Big Sky, Big Ranch, and Big Money.
All those JR Ewings have to spend money to buy things, so why not watch it? Specifically, why not Rolex?
The Golden Rolex Day-Date is so ubiquitous among the rich that it is called “Texas Timex”. This is the story of how this watch became the favorite of wild cats.
Texmax
From 1963 to 1969, Lyndon Baines Johnson, a Texan, served as President of the United States. Johnson is also a watch connoisseur, owning watches from Hamilton, Vulcain, Patek Philippe and LeCoultre. The most famous watch in his collection is his 18K yellow gold Rolex Day-Date, which he wears on the bracelet now known as the “President”.
Why has Date-Just become his iconic timepiece among all the watches in LBJ’s wardrobe? Some people referred to a famous photo of President Johnson in 1965, pointing to the scar left by his gallbladder surgery. Rolex is as conspicuous as the incision. In an advertisement circulating in 1966, Day-Date was hailed as the “Presidential Watch”, which consolidated the position of the timepiece.
Especially Texas, deeply regrets this flashy official replica watches Review. Local authorized dealers were unable to meet the demand for Day-Date, which led to the birth of the modern waiting list. Then, in the 1970s, oil-producing Texas was flooded with old money and new millionaires, so that timekeepers became so commonplace among the upper class that the president received a second nickname—” Texas Timex”.
Deep in the heart of Texas
From oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens to Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, these golden codes can be seen on the wrists of many legendary residents of this mega-state. Although these millionaires and billionaires can afford more expensive watches, enthusiasts are still loyal to the brand and are attracted more by what it stands for than by its cost.
By the mid-1980s, Texas had sold more swiss Rolex watches than any other state in the United States. As demand for Date-Just exceeded supply, the nickname of Texas Timex quickly expanded to refer to any pure gold Rolex watch.
Lone Star
Speaking of legends, we must leave Date-Just to talk about the reference 5100 Beta-21 Quartz “Texan”, which is one of the rarest watches ever made by Rolex.
At the Basel Watch Fair in 1970, Rolex introduced its vision for the future of luxury watches: reference 5100, powered by the most advanced ultra-precision (+/-0.003 seconds/day) quartz movement. In the short time before the Quartz Crisis, this timepiece was almost maintenance-free and unaffected by the law of gravitation, which was a big deal.
5100 is the first Rolex in Rolex history to use synthetic sapphire glass, quick setting of the date, tray wheel second hand, and hacking functions to ensure accuracy when setting the watch. In order to maintain high-end, this mechanism is housed in a 40mm solid 18K gold case, rumored to be designed by Gérald Genta.
This bracelet is based on the president, but with some fashionable style of the 70s. Reference 5100 Beta-21 Quartz’s size and hiss quickly earned it the nickname “Texan”.
These first and only 1,000 Texan watches were sold before they left the factory-partly because Rolex gave everyone who joined this exclusive quartz club the opportunity to visit the factory. However, despite the initial popularity, production only lasted two years due to the saturation of the lower-priced quartz watch market.