Watches of Mount Everest: Hillary, Norgay, Smiths & Rolex
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- Опубліковано 7 жов 2024
- The conditions on the summit of 8,847m Mount Everest are truly brutal. Nothing lives here and probably never will. Even so, in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay succeeded in reaching this remote place for the first time. The watches on their wrists have become the stuff of legends from Rolex and Smiths. This story, however, is much more interesting and complex that it at first seems. In today’s video, let’s take a trip back to 1953 to find out what happened.
#rolexexplorer #smithseverest #watchchronicler
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The local (Tibetan) name of Everest is Chomolungma. It means 'Holy Mother/Goddess Mother of Mountains'
P.S. Rolex models in the past were much more beautiful than the modern ones
Indeed, they look very charming and much more graceful than newer ones.
Agree, for that reason I bought a 1955 Oyster Perpetual. Oozes charisma…
An English company based in Tunbridge Wells still services the original SMITHS wrist watches, the 1953 A409 was a modified A404 model for the British Himalaya expedition.
At the time Hillary said he "carried" the Smiths watch he was speaking (in my opinion) from the background of having been born in a time when men's watches were customarily "carried" (in men's vest, coat, or trouser pockets). It would be more of a surprise to hear him declare that he "wore" the watch to the top of Everest as watches were not fashion pieces, but tools. That's where I come down on the topic. Thanks for the posting. Keep at it!
Even Rolex themselves admitted that no Rolex was worn to the summit. They have also never claimed that a Rolex was worn by either climber at the summit. I’ll post more on this shortly.
Freddie Turner Regarding the carry/wore discussion, we’ll never know but he would definitely have had it close to hand as time was essential in oxygen management. It was normal for climbers to wear watches over clothing - like a dive watch. As another has commented, the linguistic peculiarity could be down to Hillary coming from an age where watches were ‘carried’ not ‘worn’; coming as they did from pocket watches and also being considered equipment not clothing.
@@jsytac Rolex are on the record as saying Hillary did not wear one of their watches to the summit in 1953. Mr. R. A. Winter, Director of the Rolex Watch Co., Ltd wrote that Hillary was only wearing one watch at the summit, "and that a Smiths watch." He goes on to congratulate Smiths "on the fact that their Smiths de Luxe ordinary wind wrist watch reached the summit with Sir Edmund Hillary." (BHI's Horological Journal, Letters, October 1953, 651)
@@oliverharrison2157 Quite right. I thought I’d posted a longer version in this thread but I can’t find it. I did write an extended comment for this video (ua-cam.com/video/ZkKgh2zqYic/v-deo.html), which links to some amazing research done to prove these facts. Well worth a read.
i realize I'm quite off topic but does anyone know a good site to watch newly released series online ?
@Charles Antonio try flixzone. Just google for it :)
Hillary wore a Smiths, he always wore one and no mountaineer would change his lucky watch as its taboo . Rolex sponsored the trip and the rolex was kept in the bag.
I recently saw a photo of Hillary on an expedition wearing a square steel watch on a steel bracelet- definitely not a Smiths. Also, Smiths sponsored the 53 expedition by supplying a package of equipment that included watches for each team member alongside altimeters and breathing apparatus.
2:50 Smiths didn't use Longines movements in any of their wristwatches
3:38 "Everest" wasn't added to the dial of any Smiths watch until c.1963 (probably to mark the 10th anniversary of the first ascent).
6:00 none of the colour photos of Tenzing on the Hunt expedition show a gold watch, only a silver coloured (presumably a chrome or stainless steel) one.
6:18 the Rolex "Explorer" didn't exist at that point and was introduced later that year (1953)
6:57 Rolex are on the record as saying Hillary did not wear one of their watches to the summit in 1953. Mr. R. A. Winter, Director of the Rolex Watch Co., Ltd wrote that Hillary was only wearing one watch at the summit, "and that a Smiths watch." He goes on to congratulate Smiths "on the fact that their Smiths de Luxe ordinary wind wrist watch reached the summit with Sir Edmund Hillary." (BHI's Horological Journal, Letters, October 1953, 651)
7:47 were the Rolexes returned to Geneva after the expedition? The paperwork stated that they were “Free Gifts - supplied through our Geneva Office”. Who returns a free gift?
The chap is confusing Smiths with West End Watch Co, which was the only company authorized to repackage Longines movements under their own dials (the owners were neighbors). Interesting error though…
3:40 In fact in the Science Museum London
@@wohltemperWest end watch Co
Was the watch worn
Interesting video. Subscribed.
Would love if you could update this video with a a follow up considering what we now all know about the Rolex being left at the camp
November 2022 Christie's rare watches auction presented 3 Rolex watches linked to Himalayan expeditions.
Already on 1953, January 26 Rolex applied & registered the Swiss patent for the name "Explorer" as the wrist watch brand had been sponsoring Himalayan expeditions since 1933.
Lots of 1952-1953 photos show British Mount Everest expedition members wearing these Swiss-made cream dial pre-Explorer Rolex Oyster perpetual and British-made cream dial Smiths wrist watches (Bourdillon, Evans, Hillary, Hunt, Lowe, Norgay, Wylie to name a few).
With the upcoming 70th & 75th anniversaries it will be interesting to see if Rolex will commemorate the succesfull 1953 Chomolungma ascent with a cream dial wrist watch !
I just ordered a smiths Everest expedition yesterday. Good timing
I am also a Matt H. Reading your comment was good timing.
Same but 36mm black
Hopefully my order for an Expedition has been accepted by Eddie.
@@IDKline I only had the family Guinea Pig to hand. I hope Eddie still accepts that, the girls were livid.
Congratulations - you now own a chinese made Rolex knock-off with the word "Smiths" printed on the dial.
George Mallory wore a Borgel Trenchwatch and it was found in his coat pocket when they found his body.
Lots of mistakes here. There are dozens of photos in the RGS archives showing Norgay on both the ascent and descent wearing a steel watch on a bonklip bracelet. Not a Rolex jubilee and not gold (and quite plausibly a West End Watch Co Sowar, standard army issue in India and Nepal for much of the 20th century). Also, Norgay was not one of the 13 climbers issued an Oyster Perpetual by Rolex because he wasn’t on the ascent team at that point. Not all the watches were returned to Rolex, Charles Wylie's is owned by a collector and George Band's is owned by his son, for example. James Dowling claims to have ‘irrefutable proof’ that the watch in the Rolex museum was Tenzing’s, given to him by Roland Lambert after the ’52 Swiss expedition, and that he subsequently presented it to Hans Wilsdorf, but that ‘proof’ consists simply of being told that story by a member of the museum staff, nothing to substantiate it.
Always remember it could have been Rolex first on top of Mount Everest if British climbers Charles Evans and Thomas Bourdillon, wearing cream dial Rolex 6084/6098, made it on May 26, 1953 but had to return after being very close to the summit... Three days later Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay made it to the top!
True, and Rolex are perfectly entitled to advertise the fact that their watches were used on the '53 expedition.
Check the July 3rd, 1953 TV footage & photos as the expedition members returned to London Airport: Tenzing Norgay often seen in London wearing 2 wristwatches !
@@phmwu7368 indeed, in fact “Norgay and his two wristwatches” is an entire discipline of academic study in its own right. The UK press insinuated that his wearing two watches was evidence that he was a simple peasant out of his depth in western society.
@@wohltemper Tenzing's Two Wrist-Watches: The Conquest of Everest and Late Imperial Culture in Britain 1921-1953
@@phmwu7368 … and a rebuttal by P Hansen
Much more compelling is the OP worn by Francis Chichester on his round the world yacht expedition. That watch got splashed, bashed and lashed but kept on going.
Or Knox-Johnston's that he wore on the first ever solo non-stop circumnavigation, which was a Rolex.
@@jsytac lest we all forget the Eterna kontiki which survived that amazing voyage on a hand build raft by Thor Heyerdahl! Of course they all fall short of the watch worn on the moon.
sdamico555 I wonder if we can get a Smiths on Mars!
John Smith or a Vostok on Venus
For most of the climb Tenzing Norgay was wearing a big thick cased watch which bears a striking resemblance to a Rolex ref #6098 Ovettone Big Egg BubbleBack. Numerous photos of him wearing this big chunky watch on a steel ladder bracelet. Watch was most likely given to him by Raymond Lambert a Swiss climber on the 1952 Everest expedition. Tenzing went to visit him in Switzerland to discuss whether to go on the 53 British expedition. Raymond convinced Tenzing to accept the opportunity to go on one condition, that he wear a Swiss Rolex to the summit. This was confirmed in an interview by watch historian Phillip Stahl during an interview with Lambert’s widow and son. The controversy concerning the Gold Datejust stems from interviews with Tenzing’s sons in which they state he switched watches just before summiting so he could be wearing his personal Gold Datejust. They have both put this in writing and you can find there statements on the internet.
Less clear is which exact watch Hillary was wearing when he summited. For much of the climb he was wearing the Ref #6098 Rolex OP Ovettone. You can plainly tell the difference between the two watches because of the size difference between the Rolex and the Smiths Deluxe. The Rolex #6098 was a 36mm x 14mm thick Big Bubbleback case needed for the A296 movement which was a rather thick perpetual wind movement. The manual wind Smiths was only 34mm x 10mm thick. The watches wear completely differently so it’s easy to tell one from another in photos. There are numerous photographs of team members wearing both the Rolex and Smiths and the size difference is very obvious. Hillary was photographed wearing the #6098 at camp #4 on his way to establish the final camp #7 the very day before the summiting. My guess, (and it’s only a guess) was that Hillary was actually wearing the Rolex and “carried” the Smiths in his pocket for backup. That watch at the Beyer Museum in Zurich Swiss was Hillary’s #6098 complete with a Postal mail tag in Hillary’s own handwriting. It was dutifully mailed back to Rolex for examination by Hillary a few months after he returned to New Zealand in 1953. I’ve been to Beyers museum twice and had a look at that watch. I’m guessing that the #6098 Rolex has is a copy of Hillary’s to use for promotional purposes. I’ve seen it in advertising and also on their Website. I believe the actual Hillary watch to be the one in the Beyer Museum. Talking with the curator/s there they are adamant that their Rolex Ovettone is indeed Hillary’s and that he was wearing it when he summited Everest. BTW The British Royal Geographical society that helped organize the climb has receipts from both Smiths and Rolex providing 13 watches each. You can visit the Geographical societies facility in London and request to see those documents and a ton of other artifacts/photos from the 1953 British Expedition in person. They’ve kept extensive and complete records on every Everest Expedition they sponsored.
Thanks Rolex 👍
I'm still confused. Oh my poor head.
So the British 1953 expedition took both Smiths and Rolexes 5:57 as official gear of the expedition?
Yes. I believe that the first linked thread in my comment has some information on this. They are all worth a read, but here's the main one.
forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.php?461361-Smiths-were-the-only-watches-worn-on-the-summit-of-Everest-in-53-The-proof
Yes but of the two only Smiths reached the summit. That's according to Rolex btw. Mr. R. A. Winter, Director of the Rolex Watch Co., Ltd wrote that Hillary was only wearing one watch at the summit, "and that a Smiths watch." He goes on to congratulate Smiths "on the fact that their Smiths de Luxe ordinary wind wrist watch reached the summit with Sir Edmund Hillary." (BHI's Horological Journal, Letters, October 1953, 651)
Basically, yes!
I bet more Gshocks and Garmin have been there than anything
G shocks die at -20C and lower. I live in the north of Sweden and it gets as cold as -35C and below here.
Rolex withdrew their claim to the summit. Only Smiths De luxes were worn on the summit. Rolex just had better marketing
Same is true today. Rolex is a great marketing company that builds a decent watch. They are far from the best watches out there.
sdamico555 Smiths, provided the everest team watches, also equipment like breathing apparatus and oxygen, Rolex supplied..... watches. And assumed that their watch was on the summit when they had no confirmation of it.. love rolex design.. but i hate rolex.
Sir, one of your very best vids. I commend you.
That rolex in the thumbnail is lovely 🧐
Great video. This day and age cant beat a GShock.
Today it’s just all casios and suuntos
Because they are great watches.
Beautifully narrated !!!
I thought Hillary wore Smiths watches on his Everest and Antarctica expeditions.
At least a couple corpses on the mountain have to have a nice watch on them
Note - you pronounced his name wrong its not Everest like the mountain - its Eve-er-est, not many people know that
140805j
Chomolungma !
Hillary maybe E.S. Norgay, Smiths I dont know
How can thay climb everest when thay cant even remember what watçh thay wear wearing whose got the rope what rope it was beside the tent what tent what mountain who are you what time is it i forgot my watch ha ha
The smiths, all this prototype nonsense Rolex just tried to jump on the success Smiths watches were worn by all of the party
Wether some had other watches is irrelevant, Rolex gate crashed the party and made false claims, to up their marketing, and as they have done many times over the years regarding movements, achievements and such like
Watch Enthusiats are pretty strange. A watch isn't the most important equipment on a mountain climb. Anyways, that's a pretty pathetic link to a more adventurous life that's lived by somebody else. Meaning, wearing the same watch doesn't give you any mountaining expertise nor experiences.
Watches are pretty important in the alpine. It’s hard to tell time up there
Stupid comment
if the company that distributes "smiths" watches claims that his watches went to the Everest along with Rolexes, and Smiths watches are nothing more than a chinese rolex knock-off with a different printed dial....
Does this mean that chinese fake rolex watches went to the Everest? and which arrived first... the chinese knock-off or the original rolex?
what on earth are you on about? Smiths Engineering still exists today, originally being a pocket watch manufacturer based in London. Back in the 50s they were making high quality watches in England (including the movements).
@@wohltemper
I want to smoke the same as you.
A "company" of 1 single employee, having for business reselling batches of rebranded chinese watches is difficult to defend - but you are going a few steps beyond... you even call this "engineering" and "manufacturing". A bit ridiculous, that is all I can say.
Life is colours and variation... that is why braindead morons exist to buy Smiths crap and enriching the owner.
@@educarmar lol.. the smoker is you. How do I explain this to a dopehead? Smiths Group plc is a London stock market listed company with revenue of £2.5 billion. They haven’t made watches since the 1970s, but they did supply the 1953 Everest team with mechanical watches made by their factories in England. They had been making watches in London since 1851 as Samuel Smith & co. Why are you rabbiting on about China, for feck’s sake??
@@wohltemper
Haha - take another blow of your joint man
@@educarmar so you’re telling me the Everest Smiths were made in China with fake dials?
Just google Smiths Group plc and read the Wikipedia article. Please. Just do it for me….
Weird... out of ALL the Everest docs and movies iv seen... i learn Everest's name sake in a watch video...