Rolex Explorer & Explorer II

Conquering Everest. The Rolex Explorer was designed and made to supply the members of the 1953 expedition to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay, on May 29, 1953, were the first to reach the summit of Everest. While Rolex Explorer watches were supplied to all the members of the expedition, as Rolex was the official supplier of the expedition, Edmund Hilary chose to wear a Smith watch. Smith, an English watchmaking company was also a sponsor of the 1953 Everest expedition.

Whether a Rolex or Smith watch made it to the top first, we will never know. Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay, when asked who made it to the top first, both answered "it mattered nothing who made it to the top first."

Rolex Explorer. The Rolex Explorer was designed for use in adverse environmental conditions. and so small modifications were made to suit it for this purpose. Instead of the Rolex Crown at the 12 o'clock position, it had a high visibility luminous triangle. Large Arabic numerals were used at the 3-6-9 o'clock positions. Later, Mercedes style hands were added. All this was to make the dial more visible in the dark and during adverse whether conditions.


An extra strong case was used, and, on request, it could even be lubricated with a special oil which could withstand temperatures of between -20°C and +40°.

Explorer Specifications. The Rolex Explorer has a 36mm diameter case. The watch powered by the Calibre 3000 movement which produces 28,800 vibrations per hour (vph). The watch is water resistant to 100 meters.

Rolex Explorer II. In the 1970's the Rolex Explorer II was released, this time based on a Submariner type case. The watch came with a 4th hand, a 24 hour hand which could was used in conjunction with the 24 hour markers on a fixed bezel. Essentially it as a GMT Master with a fixed bezel. Rolex claimed this was designed to be used by speleologists (cave explorers) who might loose their notion of day and night. I guess this may be true in really long cave expeditions.

Rolex Explorer II Ref. 16570

The current model of the Rolex Explorer II uses the same movement GMT Master II. Unlike the Rolex Yacht Master, which started life with a shaky purpose, and was developed to be a Yacht Racing specific tool, the Rolex Explorer seems to have lost its identity. From a high visibility Oyster Perpetual style watch, it is now GMT Master clone with a fixed bezel. Despite this, it does have a place in the Rolex line-up as the Explorer II is US$1,000 cheaper than the GMT Master. That is MSRP. Your AD will give you a bigger discount on the Explorer II, as much as 15%. The GMT Master will sell at about MSRP. This makes the Explorer II almost US$2,000 than a GMT Master in the real world. Not a bad trade-off for the fixed bezel.

Explorer II Specifications. The Rolex Explorer II has a 39mm diameter case and is powered by the Calibre 3186 movement which produces 28,800 vph. The date is displayed under the cyclops (2.5x magnification lens) at the 3 o'clock position. The date function is linked to the operation of the 12-hour hand. The watch is water resistant to 100 meters. It comes in two versions, one sporting a white dial, and the other a black one.

About Rolex. Rolex SA is a Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches and accessories founded in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis. Rolex is the largest single luxury watch brand by far, producing over 2000 watches per day. Rolex is the best known and most sought after watch brand in the world.

Other articles.If this watch interest you, you may also want to look at the Rolex GMT Master II.