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Rolex Explorer - Watch History
The original Rolex Explorer has been advertised as the watch that has traversed the journey to the Arctic Circle as well as the Himalaya mountains. Most notably, the Explorer line has experienced fame at the wrist of another famous group of explorers, the Everest expedition team. Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest on May 29th, 1953 and one of them was wearing a Rolex Explorer model 6350 watch which has since been enshrined in the Rolex Museum in Switzerland.
The Rolex Explorer line was designed with extremely challenging conditions in mind. It needs to withstand temperature extremes while delivering the accurate time in an easy to read format. This is the watch line that first received the triangle marker at the top of the dial instead of a "12". The luminescent and oversized triangle makes locating the 12 o'clock position a breeze in any position or light level.
Models
Like the model worn to the top of Everest, the first Explorer model is the 6350. This model sports an A296 movement, non-Mercedes hands, honeycomb dial texture, and "Officially Certified Chronometer" printing. This model was replaced with the 6150 model, which was two millimeters larger and was the first to have "Explorer" printed on the dial.
In 1959, the 6150 model was replaced with the 6610 which had a new movement, a more flat backing, "Mercedes" styled hands, and the depth rating of "50m = 65ft". The 6610 model was released in 1959 and is the version that most enthusiasts would recognize today.
It was replaced with the 1016 model in 1964 which had the 1560 movement and an improved waterproof rating. The second version of the 1016 was produced with the 1570 movement which introduced the "hacking" feature, a new Oyster bracelet, and a revised case design. The 1016 model was discontinued in 1989 after an astounding 26 years in production.
A new model 14270 would be introduced shortly afterwards and featured a revised case, dial, sapphire crystal, and a new 3000 movement. This would be the last version of the regular Explorer watch.
Explorer II
The Explorer II was first introduced as the model 1655 in 1970. This watch had a fixed twenty four hour bezel, a twenty four hour hand, crown guards, and a new 1575 movement (which it shared with the GMT-Master). This watch was marketed especially towards those that dwell in perpetually dark conditions that may let them loose track of time such as cave explorers or pilots.
There are two versions of the 1655 Explorer II and the most notable difference is the orange twenty four hour hand used in the earlier version and the red one used in the later one (after 1985).
Special Edition Explorers
In the early days, Rolex released a number of different models such as the Air King and Submariner with Explorer dials to test the potential popularity of a unique Explorer line.
Some of the Air King model 5500 watches were produced with the Explorer dial which with the word "Precision" printed on it. A majority of those watches were sold in the Middle East, likely to members of the British Military.
Some model 5513 Submariners were manufactured with dials from the Explorer. These Submariners had a very limited run and were mostly sold in Europe.
During the model 1016 production period, a number of examples were made and labeled "Space Dweller". These watches commemorated the exploration of space and were intended to honor the astronauts as the ultimate explorers. |
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