Back to Nature: Presenting this Year’s Oscars®️ Greenroom Designed by Rolex

Soon after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded in 1927, a dinner was hosted at the Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles to discuss the new organisation's objectives. One of those goals was to establish a way of recognising remarkable achievements, driving higher levels of quality in all aspects of film production. Needless to say, the objectives were met and how.

Over the years, powerful partnerships have been forged to recognise excellence in cinema. In 2017, luxury watchmaker Rolex collaborated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Rolex became the Academy's “Exclusive Watch”, a proud sponsor of the Oscars® and the Governors Awards. The timepiece maker is also a Founding Supporter and Official Watch for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The Oscar® ceremony is a one-of-a-kind celebration of the excellence, inspiration, and technical genius required to create a cinematic masterpiece. This unique event, broadcasted live in more than 200 regions globally, does more than just celebrate cinema; year after year, it helps define the global film landscape. For the eighth time, Rolex was a proud sponsor of the Oscars® event, which took place at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood on March 10 this year. 

Craftsmanship, storytelling, and the delicate dance of accuracy and inventiveness connect watchmaking with cinema, despite their apparent disparity. This convergence is not just metaphorical, but also real, with watches playing important parts in films and watch brands frequently cooperating with the film industry to create timepieces that reflect the essence of films and characters. Rolex is the official host of the Greenroom, the Oscars®' antechamber. Nominees and presenters meet in this lounge before and after taking the stage during the Oscars® event, with some returning with precious statuettes. Each year, Rolex creates a fresh immersive experience and decor for the Greenroom. In 2024, it depicted a light and delicate vegetal landscape, drawing inspiration from images of fans. The concept combined natural components, such as organic structures and chlorophyll, to achieve harmony through a multicoloured cosmos. It was a Greenroom in every sense of the term!

The geometries in this vegetal cosmos evoked details like the fluting on watch bezels and the brushed metal surfaces of watch dials. On display in the Greenroom was the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 in 18 ct Everose gold, featuring a slate ombré dial. The Day-Date is a high-end watch that has always been fashioned of precious metals and is easily recognisable, thanks in part to its characteristic President bracelet. The Day-Date's regal presence, shimmering in the nature-inspired décor of the 2024 Greenroom, underlined the significance of the Oscar® ceremony. Like classic films, the Day-Date claimed its own place in history.

Furthermore, as a founding supporter of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Rolex contributes to the preservation of cinema's past while also inspiring the art form's future. The Museum, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, was opened in Los Angeles in September 2021. It celebrates filmmaking's long and cherished history, cultural significance, and science. It is the largest museum of its sort in the United States and will celebrate its third anniversary this year.

The Museum houses a wide collection of film production and film technology artefacts, exhibiting the complex tales of filmmakers and the works they create. Among the hundreds of things on display are the only surviving “shark” from the filming of Jaws (built from the original mould) and items invoking luminaries, from Pedro Almodóvar to Agnès Varda.

The modular displays on the museum's third level, known as the Rolex Gallery, are created as one-of-a-kind experiences through many periods in film history. Visitors are immersed in the work and lives of directors from all around the world. Installations in the Stories of Cinema core exhibition explore the numerous aspects of filmmaking ― animation techniques, special effects, artists, history, and societal influence, to name a few ― through diverse voices that portray the beauty of the big screen. 

Acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar developed an immersive multimedia installation just for the Museum. The Gala, presented and sponsored by Rolex, has raised major funds for the Academy Museum's exhibitions, screenings, education, and community initiatives. The third annual Academy Museum Gala, held in December 2023, honoured Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, and Sofia Coppola.