The Rolex Watches That Have Accompanied Intrepid Explorers in Some of Humanity’s Greatest Adventures
For the founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf, the world was like a living laboratory. From the 1930s, he began to use it as a testing ground for his watches, sending them to the most extreme locations, supporting explorers who ventured into the unknown.
Long History of Support for Exploration
For nearly a century, Rolex has been an active supporter of pioneering explorers, individuals who have pushed back the boundaries of human endeavour by venturing to the most extreme places on Earth to shed light on the natural world. Rolex watches have accompanied these explorers to the highest mountains and to the deepest oceans, serving as precise, reliable tools. In turn, these ground-breaking expeditions have proved to be the perfect living laboratories for the brand to test and develop its timepieces.
The Exceptional Vision of Hans Wilsdorf
At the beginning of the 20th century, the pocket watch was the most common and practical way for people to tell the time. Hans Wilsdorf, who began his career in 1900 working for a watch company in La Chaux-de- Fonds in Switzerland, observed how lifestyles were changing and particularly the rise in popularity of sports and outdoor pursuits. The man who was to found Rolex a few years later realised that pocket watches, which had to be protected within the folds of clothing, were not suited to these new kinds of use. An enterprising man of vision, he decided he would create watches to be worn on the wrist that their owners could count on for reliability and accuracy in their modern, active lives.
Rolex was one of the first brands to accompany exceptional individuals in their ventures and explorations. To test the reliability of its timepieces, Rolex asked professional divers to wear them on their missions, afterwards gathering impressions and suggestions for ergonomic or technical improvements. This procedure became an integral part of the Rolex development process.
Exploring the Extremes: From the Highest Mountains...
Rolex has been associated with some of the greatest feats of exploration of the past century. In 1933, the brand first accompanied the British Everest Expedition and again in 1953 on Sir John Hunt’s historic expedition, where
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Oyster Perpetual Explorer and Oyster Perpetual Explorer II
In honour of this milestone, Rolex launched the Explorer watch in 1953. The Explorer model was eventually improved with a reinforced case and a more legible dial for extreme conditions. While the Explorer’s appearance has remained substantially the same, the watch has benefited from every technical advance to Rolex timepieces.
In 1971, Rolex launched the Explorer II, featuring a date display, an additional 24-hour hand and a fixed bezel with a 24-hour graduation, enabling the wearer to distinguish hours of the day from those of the night. This was essential for exploration in dark environments – caves, for example – or polar regions that experience six months each of daylight and darkness.
Over the years, many explorers, mountaineers and scientists became Rolex Testimonees and were breaking records and testing their endurance and courage in creative ways, often equipped with Explorer and Explorer II watches. These intrepid men and women were increasingly concerned about the impact of humanity on the delicate balance of Earth’s ecosystems. The purpose of their expeditions started to change from pure exploration to missions designed to find solutions that will protect the planet.
…To the Deepest Oceans Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea
By 1960, Rolex’s involvement with exploration took a new turn – down to the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific, the deepest point in the oceans, the equivalent of the height of Mount Everest plus some 2,000 metres.
The bathyscaphe Trieste, piloted by Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, carried an experimental Rolex Oyster watch, the Deep Sea Special, fixed to its exterior as it descended to a record depth of 10,916 metres (35,800 feet). The watch was working perfectly when the vessel resurfaced despite the immense pressure it had been subjected to. Piccard and Walsh remained the only people to reach the bottom of the ocean for the next half century.
In March 2012, filmmaker and explorer James Cameron made a record-breaking solo dive 10,908 metres (35,787 feet) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean in the Deepsea Challenger submersible vessel to reach the world’s deepest frontier. The inspirational Deepsea Challenge expedition paved the way for a new era in scientific exploration of the ocean floor, the least known area of the planet.
Like the Trieste before it, James Cameron’s submersible was carrying an experimental Rolex watch. In Cameron’s case, the specially made Rolex Deepsea Challenge watch was attached on the exterior of the submersible’s hydraulic manipulator arm, with an additional two on its hull. The watches kept time perfectly throughout the nearly seven hours beneath the water and emerged unscathed.
The expedition included a team of scientists aboard the support vessel who helped to collect and analyse the samples and imagery that Cameron collected on his dives. In August 2014, James Cameron released a feature documentary, Deepsea Challenge 3D, tracing the expedition from its beginnings until the last of its 13 dives in the Pacific. The film serves as a reminder of just how much of this planet remains to be discovered.
Oyster Perpetual Sea-dweller
A technical divers’ watch, the Sea-dweller was designed in 1967 for the pioneers of professional deep-sea diving. The first Sea-dweller models were waterproof to a depth of 610 metres (2,000 feet); later, in 1978, the watch was certified to a depth of 1,220 metres (4,000 feet). Equipped with a helium escape valve, it was the ideal tool for saturation divers, the explorers and pioneers of the deep sea.
Perpetuating the Legacy
The vision and values of Hans Wilsdorf continue to guide the company today. As the 21st century has unfolded, exploration for pure discovery has increasingly given way to exploration as a means to preserve the natural world. Rolex continues the legacy of its founder, supporting the explorers of today on their new mission: to make the planet perpetual.