Rolex Explorer Ref. 1016 - 'MK5' Dial W/ Box & Papers

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 piece that we have here, a Reference 1016, hails from circa 1984 and features a 'MK5' dial. It comes to us in excellent overall condition, with a thick and symmetrical Oyster case that shows normal wear throughout, a matching smooth steel bezel, and a correct solid-link Oyster bracelet with a blade clasp — all of which are in matching condition. Inside the matte black dial is simply outstanding — seemingly flawless throughout, with evenly patinated Tritium elements and a perfectly matching handset.

Last but not least, while it would be enough to enjoy this piece on its own, this piece is accompanied by its inner and outer boxes, booklets, green vinyl cardholder, original purchase paper dated May, 1987, a secondary purchase receipt dated 1/13/2007, and German punched papers dated May 1985.

This is a phenomenal example of what many enthusiasts consider to be a perfect watch, and they simply do not surface as often as you might think in condition like the one we have here.