Rolex Explorer I Ref. 1016 - Gilt 'Chapter Ring OCC' Dial

May 29, 1953

After an arduous journey starting on March 10th of 1953, and an extremely difficult assault on the summit, Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first people to successfully summit Mt. Everest. On their wrist? NOT a Rolex Explorer.

Whoops.

Well, to be fair the Rolex Explorer wasn’t created yet. So why the hullabaloo about Sir Edmund Hillary? Well - he was wearing a Rolex. A Rolex Oyster Perpetual. After hearing of the success of this expedition and ruggedness of the watch - the decision was made to replace the Oyster Perpetual with a new model named in Hillary’s honor - The Explorer. Or so the story goes.

Either way, the Rolex Explorer I was introduced in 1953 but like many Rolex models, the first series was not considered ‘the best’ reference. For many collectors - the ultimate Explorer I is the reference 1016. It’s clean, highly legible and still tough enough for use in modern day wear. While using the same case as a Datejust, the smooth bezel and applied luminous Arabic 3,6,9 lend a more rugged and utilitarian aesthetic to the watch. Early models, like this, were made with gilt dials. Gilt dials are when the lettering and fonts are punched out of the dial so that the brass ‘gilt’ color shows through creating a golden text appearance. These are not very easy to produce and were ultimately discontinued by Rolex in the later half of the 1960s as they couldn’t be produced in the same quantity as a matte dial - but nothing shines and glows like a Rolex gilt dial.

The example that we have here, a Reference 1016, dates to circa 1960 and is offered in excellent overall condition. The case and smooth steel bezel have been professionally refurbished to factory specifications and show only faint signs of wear. Inside, the glossy black 'gilt' dial is the earliest known variant, with 'OCC' text on the lower half and a chapter ring on the outer edge. The luminous indices exhibit an attractive and even patina throughout, with a nicely matching handset. This piece comes fitted to a rare period-correct Jubilee bracelet produced by J.B. Champion for the U.S. market.