The Edmund Hilary Smiths watch at the Science Museum London yesterday.

 

Suck it Rolex!

 

Has it been relumed?

 

Shouldn't it be a Rolex?

 

That’s just what they want you to believe!
As far as I have read, Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa, wore a Rolex. It is debatable which one of them actually reached the summit first,

 

A letter was published in the British Horological Journal in the 1950's (can't remember the exact date) from the Chairman of Rolex apologising to SmithS for suggesting that Rolex was on the summit with Hillary and accepting that it was a SmithS. I think if Tenzing was wearing a Rolex much would have been made of it and there wouldn't have been a public apology.

There are lots of threads about this on the internet these days and over on TZUK and the MWR forum.

 

Yeah, thereafter Rolex used some very crafty language to *associate* itself with Hillary and his broader Everest-related efforts, despite knowing he wasn’t wearing a Rolex. Rolex never said boo about Tenzing; which if he’d been wearing one, you’d think we’d have never heard the end of it (unless, of course, some prevailing biases would cause the brand to swing away from being associated with the non-white *servant* role).

 

The British 1953 expedition was sponsored by Smiths.
The 1952 Swiss expedition was sponsored by Rolex.
To suggest that Tenzing wore his gold Rolex to the summit is lunacy. Way to valuable for his family.
Best

 

Always exciting to see 34 mm and 36 mm wrist watches
No need to point out other forums, as we have our own topics:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/wha...tch-sir-edmund-hillary-wore-on-everest.29349/

Foresight move as on 26 January 1953 Rolex registered Swiss patent to use the name "Explorer" as they were already sponsoring Himalayan expeditions since 1933 (e.g. April 1933 Dame Houston - Sir Douglas Hamilton Mount Everest flight expedition).

 

July 3, 1953 the British Mount Everest expedition returned to Great Britain bringing Nepali-Indian sherpa/mountaineer Tenzing Norgay to Albion.
Note in the photos with John Hunt, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary... Tenzing wore two wristwatches,
An interesting paper about this:
Tenzing's Two Wrist-Watches: The Conquest of Everest and Late Imperial Culture in Britain 1921-1953
(Oxford University Press - by Gordon T. Stewart )

 

I think the same though a prominent member of the Smiths FB group says otherwise.