Several expeditions and over thirty years of uncompromising determination have been devoted to conquering the summit of Mount Everest. Rolex has been participating in this exploit since 1933, providing the explorers of the 13 consecutive Himalayan Expeditions with its Oyster watches. The first triumphant ascent was conducted by Sir John Hunt on May 29, 1953, the New Zealand voyager Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay took their first steps on the top of the world at the altitude of exactly 8,848 meters. Rolex formally launched the Explorer model that same year, in honor of his achievement.

In terms of chronometric meticulousness, toughness, autonomy and legibility, Rolex broke new ground with the launch of the Explorer II in 1971. Over intense environments such as the Polar Regions, became the new testing laboratories for the Oyster watches over the decades that followed.

Rolex Explorer watches were made use of in numerous expeditions and every time these magnificent timepieces verified their being the finest watches for explorers. As the name says, the Explorer was intended for explorers. The watch features a high visibility dial and an extra tough case particularly for explorers. Some of the Explorer watches are lubricated with a unique oil that aids the watch to endure temperatures between -20 and +40.  
 
The earliest Explorers (6350) featured the "big bubbleback" 10-1,/2"' A296 movement. The majority of 6350 dials feature a “honeycomb” feel and are signed as Officially Certified Chronometer. Most of these watches had greatly luminized hands with a big circular luminous insert.

The 6350 model was replaced by the 6150 model of Rolex Explorer within a year. This model was powered by the same exact movement. It was 2 mm larger than 6350 and was only presented as the Precision model. The 6150 was manufactured until 1959 when 9this model was replaced by the 6610 that looked just like the 6350, but could be recognized by its flatter back. The easiest way to identify any of the early Explorers is to look at the dial. Even though the initial Explorers are steel watches, all the printing on the dials are in gold.  
 
One more Rolex Explorer distinction is “dress Explorer”. Dress Explorers are standard Oyster Perpetual in steel or gold with white non-explorer dials that have gold markers and hands. These watches are marked Explorer on the dials. These watches are available in both date and none-date versions. There are such models as Explorer Date, 5504 that is a non-date model, 698 models that bears the phrase “Self Winding” and many others among dress Explorers. Most of these watches were created in the 1950s or 1960s when Rolex was uncertain if the Explorer model would have been a hit or not. This way Rolex tried to promote the model by expanding the line.  
 
Rolex unveiled the new Rolex Explorer 1016 with a new 1560 caliber movement in 1963. This was the lengthiest running Rolex Explorer from 1963 up to 1989. The watch had a “hack” element that was intended to stop the hand when the winding crown is pulled out to the hand setting point. As a result the watch made it possible for the wearer to coordinate his or her time with a known source. In addition, the new Explorer had New Oyster Bracelet that was forged out of solid stainless steel. In 1989, 1016 was taken out of Rolex’s catalogue and six months later the new edition of Explorer was released.  
 
The new model was very different from all the other Rolex models, so the price in the collectors market for the old ones was amplified. The new watch had sapphire crystal and gold skeleton indicators with luminous tritium fillings beneath it. The movement was the newest beat caliber 3000.