THE EXPLORER
After the two-tone Datejust, the Rolex Explorer is one of the most easily recognizable of all Rolex models. With its black dial, large luminous triangle marker at 12, and luminous arabic numerals for the other quarters, it is the perfect mixture of a sport and a dress watch. It seems to have been around as long as there have been Rolexes , but that is not exactly true. However, as with most legends, finding the truth is never simple.Before we get into the history of the Rolex Explorer it is perhaps first worth defining the watch itself. The generally accepted definition al an Explorer is that ii is any watch with the dial described above. Unfortunately, one often encounters watches with the word "Explorer" proudly printed on their dial, which bear no resemblance to this description. More rarely, one sees an Explorer dial on other Rolex models. In this discussion of the Explorer we are exercising our writers' prerogative and choosing to include all of the above as Explorers.
The generally accepted origin of the Explorer is that it was first designed and made in honor of Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay, who, on May 29, 1953, were the first to reach the summit of Everest and who did so wearing Rolex wristwatches . The only problem with this hypothesis is that it can not possibly be true. The climbers on Everest were, in fact, wearing Explorers. so the watch had to have been introduced before the climb and not after. One of the watches worn on that expedition was auctioned by Sotheby's London on July 19, 1988 as lot 117, (see photograph on page 243). As you can see the watch was a classic early Explorer down to the "Mercedes" hands, except for the absence of the word "Explorer" on the dial. The shape of the watch land the description by Sotheby's as a "Bubble Back" Explorer) leads us to believe the watch is in fact a model 6350. This hypothesis is strengthened by the photograph on page 246 which shows another model 6350 with art almost identical dial. The main difference between the two is that the Sotheby watch lacks "Explorer" but has the word "Precision" above the 6, whereas the other watch has the word "Explorer" but lacks either "Precision" or "Officially Certified Chronometer" above the 6. Instead it has a British military marking in their place, as well as on the case back. In the early 1950s, the period these watches were made, Rolex often stamped the in- side of the case back with the date of manufacture. The military 63,50, marked Explorer, shows the manufacture date as IV 53, meaning the 4th month of 1953. As stated above, Everest was conquered on the May 29, 1953. Using these facts, it seems likely that Explorers were in production prior to the conquest of Everest. It is also worth noting that the name "Explorer" was registered in Geneva on the January 26, 1953, obviously well before the conquest of the world's highest mountain.
