Project X Designs, a new London-based Rolex customizer, has already won some high-profile fans including James Bond himself - Daniel Craig. Project X, which also produces its own Limited Edition Rolex designs in small runs, began with a custom Submariner and Daytona a few months ago which have nearly all sold out. Two new Daytona models have just been released. Founder Daniel Bourn, 37, also launched the London Watch Company in 2003 which specializes in building collections of vintage "investment grade" Rolexes for private clients. Bourn is actually a former investment banker who developed an "obsessive compulsion" for collecting rare, modern and vintage luxury watches and decided to change careers.

Bourn launched Project X Designs (PXD), which has offices in Hanover Square, London W1, out of a desire to "provide a service to clients who appreciate the history and allure of original manufacturers' brand name – guaranteeing maximum performance with minimal maintenance – but who seek the individuality that contemporary high volume production does not offer." It's an aesthetic that appeals to celebs like Kanye West - The Classicist reported on his blacked-out Rolex earlier this year - and Craig, a diehard Rolex enthusiast as we noted last year, who owns PXD's custom Submariner.

PXD offers two distinct services via its website: the first, a bespoke service which, like a bespoke suit, tailors a new luxury wristwatch with unique features to the clients' own personal specification. For example, a leading Formula One Racing Team have commissioned a special Daytona - carrying the company logo on the reverse together with the details of the race victory - for each of its Grand Prix winning drivers. Ex Bond actor Roger Moore also has a bespoke watch in development from PXD. The second element of PXD is the introduction of collectible limited edition (runs of 24) customized Rolex watches inspired by the retro styling of the classic Rolex models from the past.



The bespoke customization service offered by Project X Designs is the 'backbone' of the site whereby watches can be tailored to suit the clients' demands. At present there are 18 Rolex models to choose from and 19 options ranging from different straps to DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) blacked-out watch cases at £1,650. Clients may choose as many of the bespoke options as they wish - more options are in development and will be added to the site in the future. The super-cool DLC Daytona pictured above from the new series is priced at £10,750 or about $17,500.

James Bond creator Ian Fleming's personal 1954 black dial Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer I (right), the inspiration for Rolexes worn by the world's most famous secret agent, will go on display in the U.S. for the first time this summer at the National Watch & Clock Museum in Lancaster, PA.

The exhibit will also feature several watches worn by 007 in both Fleming's novels and the Bond movies, mainly Rolexes including several Submariners, from the one sported by Sean Connery in 1962's Dr. No to the most tricked-out model, the magnetized and built-in rotating saw blade-equipped number from Live And Let Die (1973).

The first and only Rolex Fleming owned, the Explorer I was locked away in a bank vault for 20 years following his death. The watch made its first appearance in Fleming's novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service, published in 1963. Fleming wrote that "[Bond] could not just wear a watch. It had to be a Rolex."

[via Duncan Quinn]

Rapper, producer, designer, and tastemaker Kanye West could obviously have any watch in the world. The one he chose is a customized all-black Rolex Submariner by Swiss firm Black-Out Concept (above), on a black nylon NATO spec strap. Kanye made a decision a while back that Rolex would be his signature watch brand, but he wanted to add his own twist; Black-Out's version was perfect. "It looks hard, it looks really cool," he explained in naming the watch one of his 10 style essentials. "It's a new take on a classic watch." He also likes the fact that they take a Rolex and literally "paint it black" (coat it, actually).

Black-Out Concept was founded in 2007 by Fabrice Letellier in Geneva. An avid watch collector, racecar driver and all-round exotic car enthusiast with the means to indulge his passions, the idea was born when Letellier had some of his supercar collection given a matte black treatment, i.e. blacked-out. Next he decided to do the same with his Rolex, and soon some of his fellow car and watch aficionados followed suit. Obviously there was a market for it. Letellier contracted with one of Geneva's best watchmakers to perfect the black out process for timepieces, which is done using two low-friction, scratch-proof finishes used by the military, PVD and DLC (diamond-like carbon).

Black-Out also creates customized blacked-out cars, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley and Aston Martin; the Black-Out package on the latter (see the gallery) costs about $40,000. They do customized matte black motorcycles as well built on a Harley-Davidson base, blacked-out Vertu Ascent cell phones - basically anything you can think of that would look better in all black. In addition to the Submariner they also black out several other Rolex models, including the GMT II, Daytona, Milgaus, and Deepsea, as well as other brands like Panerai, Bell & Ross and Audemars Piguet. Letellier has his own high-end watch brand in the works as well.



Of course, Black-Out aren't the only ones to offer blacked-out Rolexes; we've written before about Bamford & Sons' $30,000 PVD Daytona and other models, as well as Jacques Picard's $18,000 DLC Deepsea. (No, we don't know who thought of it first.) Black-Out doesn't actually sell watches, however, they customize yours at a cost of €5,000, or about $7,000, which includes Fed-Ex'ing to and from Geneva, and a set of three different straps including the NATO. So you can in fact get the look of the far more expensive models for much less - if you pick up a used Submariner in the $5,000 range - yet still have a watch that's every bit as exclusive, not to mention Kanye-approved. You can contact Black-Out's U.S. representative Christian Ginet at blackoutconcept@mac.com for more info.

Steve McQueen's classic 1967 Rolex Submariner (right) sold for $234,000 - 20 times its estimate - at Antiquorum's Important Collectors' Wristwatches auction in New York Friday, setting a new world record for its reference.

In addition, McQueen's 1929 Scott Super Squirrel motorcycle, painted by Von Dutch, fetched an astounding $ 276,000 - double its estimate. And the Heuer Monaco watch that the actor wore in the 1971 racing film Le Mans sold for a world record $87,600.

"Today's auction is clear confirmation that in the current market, collectors are looking for horological rarities with noteworthy provenance, such as Steve McQueen's Rolex and Heuer," notes Evan Zimmermann, President & CEO of Antiquorum.

The other day we reported on the world records set at Antiqorum's recent $8.5 million Rolex auction, where the top-priced timepiece fetched $248,000. At Sotheby's Important Watches auction on April 23, however, that record was shattered by the sale of an ultra-rare 1971 "Albino" Rolex Daytona that formerly belonged to rock & roll icon Eric Clapton. Eclipsing its pre-sale estimate of $100,000 - $150,000, the Daytona went for a whopping $505,000 including buyer's premium.

Though the total proceeds from the Sotheby's sale, $6,588,451, were far less than Antiquorum's, the Clapton sale set a record for the Daytona and was the second-highest price ever achieved at auction for a Rolex watch. This model is known as the "Albino" because both the background and subsidiary dials are in a monochrome silver color, as opposed to the usual contrasting variations found on more common examples.

The second through fifth highest prices paid at the Sotheby's auction were all for Patek Philippes, ranging from $445,000 - $217,000. The sixth highest was also a Rolex, a so-called "James Bond" 1959 Submariner, which brought in $211,000.