Reflected glory
According to the legend the Explorer model was created for and worn by the climbers to reach the summit of Everest in 1953. Some suggest that Tenzing Norgay wore a Rolex Explorer and that Edmund Hilary wore an English Smith’s watch. If so, no one knows for certain which was first at the summit. This matter little however since, in the end, it was Rolex fantastic publicity machine that succeeded.
Moreover, the Explorer had, in fact, a quite legible and uncluttered dial, an extra strong case, and, on request, it could be lubricated with a special oil which could withstand temperatures of between -20°C and +40°C without changes in its viscosity. Thus, it was suitable for adventurers and have been popular among Everest climbers and other explorers ever since and possibly before the first successful Everest expedition.
The Explorer II, 1655, an entirely different watch, was introduced in 1971. It featured an extra hour hand that was intended specifically for spelæologists, or cave explorers, who “soon lose all notion of time: morning, afternoon, day, or night.” The 24 hour hand help the wearer differentiate day from night.
Between the introduction of the Explorer II in 1971 and around the mid 1970s the extra hour hand was bright orange. After that the hand has been red. The Explorer II orange hand is also called the Steve McQueen Rolex, even though Steve wore a Monaco on LeMans and a Submariner on other occasions.
The Explorer II, 1655, wasn’t very popular when introduced but today the orange hand is one of the most sought after Rolex models around and will most likely remain a holy grail to me. Variants with faded “albino” hands are especially attractive to some collectors.
With its clean and stealthy appearance, the Explorer II 16570 of today, with black or white dial, is one of the most attractive contemporary Rolex models.
The reflected glory of the Explorers, and their supposed ability to “behave flawlessly under any and all the worst conditions imaginable,” are probably the reasons for their continued popularity. They are indeed exceptional deskdiving tools.
(Sources: circulated web material.)
