- The Rolex Explorer 1016 is considered by many collectors as the last real tool of the brand ever made.
- Produced from 1960 to 1989, it included a 36 mm case, a matt black dial, a tritium lume and no date.
- Inspired by the shipment of the Everest of 1953, the 1016 reflects the passage of Rolex from the adventurer's equipment to the luxury icon.
There was a time when Rolex was not the cultural and financial mastodon that he is today. Of course, Swiss luxury clocks have always been one of the most famous brands in the world, but in the 20th century, you could say that the market share was more balanced between other brands.
Watch brands have produced more pragmatic parts
The collection of watches as financial agents had not taken off in the same way as we see today. A Rolex can sit next to a modest Seiko in the same diving locker simply because he could do the same job.
Watches lovers, or what would later become known as collectors, examined pragmatism on prestige because watches were tools designed to measure the seconds of a race, keep the carrier in time during dives, or even resist the rigors of mountaineering in impartial conditions.
Luxury manufacturing was in competition with people like Omega, Heuer and Doxa, who all made difficult professional watches; The idea of spending five figures on a rolex as a symbol of status was simply unknown. This is why many consider it to explore it 1016 as “The Last Real Rolex”: a difficult, readable and unadorned timing that has been exceptionally well.
The First Explorer: The Last Real Rolex
Produced from 1960 to 1989, it was not only one of the oldest references in Rolex, but also a final example of the robust design philosophy and unanswered of the brand.
It was small. Just 36 mm. But that's what made him portable. A black matt dial with Arabic figures at 3, 6 and 9 made it instantly readable. The case housed the caliber 1560 or later, the battle horse 1570, both certified COSC. Tritium lume, an acrylic crystal and a vision crown made him ready on the ground. No date. No stuffed animals. Just pure rolex in the middle of the century.
Meanwhile, Rolex was based strongly on watches as tools for the adventurer. In 1953, the Swiss brand sent models of a perpetual expression of oysters prior to the daring mountaineer team, notably Sir John Hunt, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepal Sherpa climber, who became the first confirmed humans to reach the Everrest summit.
Later that year, Rolex published the first watch to put on the nickname of “exploring” emblematic “explore”.
Rolex then kissed modernity
The 1016 ended the production in 1989, just before Rolex inaugurated a modern era of brilliant dials, indices in white gold, sapphire and prestige crystals focused on marketing. The 14270 explorer who replaced it looked cleaner, yes, but also more business.
This is why, for many vintage collectors, the 1016 is the last reference which seems purely mechanical, purely functional and purely rolex, not corrupted by luxury positioning. It always represents the true Rolex spirit: humble, capable and quietly excellent. Although I doubt that one of them chooses him on a GMT master.
