Who was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest? What's so special about the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Expedition Watch that Tenzing Norgay wore during that expedition? Why did Rolex introduce the first Rolex Explorer model?
How much do you know about the Mount Everest Expedition?
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Who was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest?
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What's so special about Rolex Oyster Perpetual Expedition Watch?
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Why did Rolex introduce the first Rolex Explorer model?
Who was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest?
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's so special about Rolex Oyster Perpetual Expedition Watch?
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.
Why did Rolex introduce 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.
