Roger Federer Wins Australian Open for Fifth Time Wearing Rolex GMT-Master II (photo: ATPworldtour.com)

While the world waits to see what Rolex will present at Baselworld 2017 in March, the watchmaker is already making international headlines with their association with the world of sports. The Rolex 24 at Daytona took place this weekend at the same time the Australian Open came to a close. Roger Federer made a huge career comeback after an injury to win the men's final against Rafael Nadal yesterday, his fifth win at the Grand Slam tournament.

Rolex took full advantage of the exposure, with Federer wearing a GMT-Master II BLNR and the watch being featured prominently on screens at the event and on the homepage of their official website. This publicity may lead some to think that they will be releasing a new GMT configuration this model year. However, it mainly just seems like the watchmaker is wisely promoting one of their most popular stainless steel models at a time when precious metal configurations aren't selling as well on the international market.

Closeup of Rolex GMT-Master II BLNR (photo: Rolex)

The positioning of the BLNR at the beginning of this year (just after SIHH 2017) reinforces the strength of Rolex's international branding efforts centered around the Testimonee concept. Introduced by their founder, Hans Wilsdorf, almost one hundred years ago, this concept uses the achievements of public figures like Federer to catapult their timepieces into the spotlight. While there are other brands that have gained prominence in this century, very few have the amount of name recognition that Rolex does worldwide.

In a few weeks we will see what model configurations the watchmaker will be updating this year at their stand at Baselworld 2017. Federer was photographed wearing the Daytona 116500LN for their website after its introduction last year. Regardless of which models will get attention at the trade show, it is clear that Rolex is focusing on their most beloved model configurations, like the BLNR, for now. For more information on the Australian Open, visit atpworldtour.com.

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