Rolex Explorer ref. 1016 'Tiffany & Co.', 'MK3' Dial

Dealer description — Oliver & Clarke

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, however, is no run of the mill Ref. 1016... Dating to circa 1974, this 'MK3' example comes to us in strong overall condition. The case is likely unpolished and retains correct factory proportions, with thick and symmetrical lugs and shows honest wear throughout. The correct smooth steel bezel remains unpolished and is in matching condition. The dial within is the real highlight here... Just above the chronometer text on the lower half you'll find an additional retailer stamp from New York's Tiffany & Co. The dial itself is in beautifully preserved, with excellent printing and a clean matte surface. The Tritium indices exhibit an attractive and uniform patina throughout with a perfectly matching handset. This is a phenomenal example of what many enthusiasts consider to be a perfect watch, and an example like this with extra spice on the dial simply do not surface often.