How much do you know about the first Rolex Explorer?

Why did Rolex introduce the prototypes of Explorer in the 1930s? Who was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest? Why he wears a Rolex? What was the first Rolex Explorer model? What's so special about the Rolex Explorer 6350?

How much do you know about the first Rolex Explorer?

• Why did Rolex introduce the Explorer?

• Who was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest wearing a Rolex?

• What was the first Rolex Explorer model?

• What's so special about Rolex Explorer 6350?

Why did Rolex introduce the Explorer?

Rolex introduced the earliest Oyster Perpetuals models in the 1930s for the Himalayan expeditions. The Oyster Perpetuals watches need to keep perfect time at -50 degrees Fahrenheit with a 70% lesser oxygen level than the sea level. Rolex gathered user feedback from the Himalayan expeditions to identify areas for improvement. The Oyster Perpetuals watches were the pre-Explorers, the prototypes of the Explorer.

Who was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest wearing a Rolex?

Tenzing Norgay was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest wearing a Rolex. He was a Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. He wore the Rolex Oyster Perpetual ref. 6098 big bubble back watch during that Mount Everest expedition.

On 27 May 1953, the British Mount Everest expedition was the ninth mountaineering expedition to attempt the first ascent of Mount Everest. The Joint Himalayan Committee organised and financed this expedition. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary (New Zealander) reached the South Summit at 9 am and reached the summit at 11:30 am on 29 May 1953. They were the first two individuals known to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

What was the first Rolex Explorer model?

Rolex introduced the first Rolex Explorer (Rolex Explorer 6350) in 1953 to celebrate the Mount Everest climb by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary. The Rolex Explorer 6350 has a 36mm diameter reinforced Oyster case, stainless steel construction, and Calibre A296 with 18 jewels. The Rolex Explorer 6350 features the “Explorer” on the black dial and has pencil-shaped hands, 3-6-9 numbers, and index numerals.

What's so special about the Rolex Explorer 6350?

The Rolex Explorer 6350 is the first Explorer to have ‘Explorer’ printed on the dial. The dial is simple with 3-6-9 numbers and indexes, allowing the mountain climbers and explorers to read the watch easily. You can see the Officially Certified Chronometer printed on the dial.

The Mercedes-type hour hand and the pencil-shaped minute hand are attractive. The legendary hour hand became the inspiration for the Rolex Submariner line. The hour hand is the same as the hour hand in the legendary Rolex Submariner 6200 and 6205, introduced a year later.

The case of the Explorer was robust. It could withstand extreme temperatures between -20 Celsius and +40 Celsius. The A296 movement in the 6350 Explorer remains the same as the prior model (Rolex 6150). The winding crown is a Brevet type.