Rolex is well accustomed to mountaineering expeditions, having famously strapped Rolex Oyster watches on the wrists of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay when they became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, which led to the release of the Rolex Explorer in that same year to celebrate this historical achievement.
During 1971 while preparing for this expedition to the Snow Mountains of New Guinea (now Indonesia), our gentleman went to Rolex and asked if they could sponsor the trip. The brand gladly agreed to sponsor the expedition by gifting him a Rolex Explorer II ref. 1655, making this watch a first generation Rolex Explorer II. At the same time, I’m sure that Rolex was glad to have someone take this watch on a real expedition and see it tested to its true performance.
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