Home :: Rolex

Rolex

FRIDAY 03 SEPTEMBER, 2010 |

History of Rolex Explorer

The Rolex Explorer was designed to suit the extreme conditions of a variety of different expeditions. It is evident from the fact that the two prototypes of the Explorer, numbered 6098 and 6150, were given to the members of the British Himalayas expedition team on May 29 in 1953, when they set out to conquer Mt. Everest's 29,035 ft. The soon to be released Explorer, model 6098, was given to the expedition member Tenzing Norgay, and it performed without fail. The name “Explorer” was adopted for the model after the widely publicized success of the expedition.

Initial Design

An attribute that makes the Rolex Explorer one of the most recognizable models is its dial. The earliest Explorer, model 6098, featured a white dial with arrow-shaped hour markers and hands while model 6150 looked exceptionally distinct with its black “Quarter Arabic” dial with only the 3-6-9 marked with numerals. In addition, it featured large Mercedes style hands. Later, model 6098 (renumbered as the 6298) was equipped with the famous black Quarter Arabic dial, although retaining the arrow shaped hands. The name “Explorer” appeared for the first time on the dial of model 6150 (renumbered as the 6350), positioned just above the numeral 6. In addition, these models used the “big bubbleback 10-1/2” A.296 movement. The early 6350 dials had a honeycombed texture with “Officially Certified Chronometer” signed just above the number 6. However, the popularity of model 6150 overshadowed the look of model 6350. The former was larger than the latter by 2mm and was only available as a precision model.

News for Thursday 02 September, 2010