One of the most famously recognizable brand names today is Rolex. The Swiss watch maker is almost certainly the biggest name in watch making and was recently rated as one of the most valuable brand names on the face of the Earth. Since the company was first registered in 1915, the popularity of Rolex watches has been continuously increasing to the point now where the name Rolex is almost synonymous with wealth and affluence.

Throughout the last ninety-six years, Rolex have introduced and redesigned many different watches, some lines of which have been manufactured for over fifty years. Though it could be argued that the full lineup of Rolex watches are great time-pieces, for the purpose of this article only the best are good enough.

The Explorer I And II - First made available to the public in 1953, the Oyster Perpetual Explorer is one of Rolexs finest examples of a watch. There were rumors that, as Rolex were official suppliers of 1953 Mount Everest summit climb attempt, Sir Edmund Hillary and his team wore a pre-manufacture edition of the Explorer during the last moments of the climb. The truth about this rumor is that Sherpa Tenzing Norgay did actually wear a Rolex supplied Explorer when reaching the summit but Sir Edmund Hillary was wearing a Smiths watch. The Explorer II was introduced in the 1970s and is extremely popular with enthusiasts today due to its modern yet classic design, its durability, its accuracy and its unfailing reliability.

The Daytona - The Rolex Daytona was first introduced to the market in the 1960s and over the years became one of the most iconic models that Rolex has produced. This status became apparent when, during the early 1990s, they were in very short supply. Rolex identified this opportunity and released a second series, which became an icon in its own right. The second series Rolex Daytona was initially manufactured with Zenith movements which were purchased by Rolex who then modified the vibration frequency and a few other minor aspects. The El Primero movement used in the early second series Daytonas is widely regarded as the ultimate chronograph movement for accuracy and reliability and as such has led to these models, made from 1988 to 2000 reaching cult status amongst Rolex fans.

The GMT Master I And II - In the mid 1950s, Rolex began working on a watch with Pan-Am Airways for the airline to issue to its pilots and navigators. The idea was to make traveling across international datelines and adjusting to time differences that little bit easier and so the Oyster Perpetual Date GMT Master was born. When the Master II was released in the early 1980s, the popularity of the line was already solidified, though this newer incarnation is able to display three separate time zones, compared to the two for the GMT Master I.

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