Rolex Explorer 14270 Swiss Only B&P 1999

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ROLEX Explorer Ref. 14270, Swiss Only Dial, Full Set Box & Papers, 1999
Serial: A159300
Circa: 1999
Reference No: 14270

DIAL: Black ‘Explorer’ dial with Triange 12, Numeral 3-6-9 and baton luminova luminous hour markers

MOVEMENT: Caliber 3000, Automatic, 27 jewels

CASE: 36mm, stainless steel with smooth bezel, sapphire crystal

BRACLET: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster Short Fliplock 78790/558B Code X1

CONDITION REPORT: Excellent condition, unpolished, sticker on the back.

NOTES: Includes Box, Outer box with reference sticker, Punched papers, booklet and serial hangtag.

The Explorer 14270 was the successor to the 1016 with the introduction of the sapphire crystal, Caliber 3000 and the applied hour markers on the glossy black dial instead of the printed markers on a matte dial.

The Explorer is widely known as the tribute for the first Rolex watches to have been at the top of Mount Everest; a record feat. Rolex had been sponsoring Himalayan expedition since the early 1930’s and also equipped climbers with watches for the extreme conditions they would encounter. On May 29, 1953, Rolex automatic chronometer watches accompanied Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, led by Sir John Hunt, as they completed the historic achievement of reaching the top of Mount Everest.
The epic feat was so emblematic of the robustness Rolex was putting into its watches that it this occasion sparked the launch of the Rolex Explorer in 1953. It incorporated the technical features improved upon during the Himalayan expeditions over twenty years to make it one of the most rugged of all Oysters.