Jump to content

Reference:6610: Difference between revisions

From Rolexopedia
[checked revision][checked revision]
← Older edit
VisualWikitext
site-wide: layout classes (core-facts card, breadcrumb, entry-point cards)
Deep audit: correct chronology, qualify variants and fitment, remove unsupported claims
 
(6 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 6610 Explorer}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Explorer 6610}}
{{#seo:
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Explorer 6610 — Cal 1030, Gilt Dial | Rolexopedia
|title=Rolex Explorer 6610 — Cal. 1030, Red-Depth and Off-White Dials | Rolexopedia
|description=The 6610 is the second-generation Explorer, 1955–59 active production into 1963 leftover stock. Caliber 1030 chronometer, gilt chapter-ring dials with red-depth and no-depth variants, the "Albino" white-dial sub-branch.
|description=The Explorer 6610 uses Cal. 1030 in a 36mm steel case. Auction records document red-depth, black gilt and off-white dials, with conflicting published end dates.
|keywords=Rolex, 6610, Explorer, caliber 1030, red depth, Albino, tropical, Officially Certified Chronometer
|keywords=Rolex, Explorer, 6610, Cal. 1030, red depth, Albino dial
|image=Ref 6610 hero 2.webp
|image=Ref 6610 hero.webp
|image_alt=Explorer 6610 — black Officially Certified Chronometer dial
|image_alt=Rolex Explorer 6610 with red 50m depth text on its dial
|type=Article
|type=article
|og_type=article
|published_time=2026-04-16T04:29:53Z
|modified_time=2026-08-04T00:14:41Z
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}
}}


<small>[[Reference:explorer|Explorer]] › '''6610'''</small>
<small>[[Reference:explorer|Explorer]] → '''6610'''</small>


The 6610 is the second-generation Explorer. Active production runs 1955 to 1959 across major-house lots, with leftover stock cased and dispatched to dealers as late as 1963 (specialist documentation; Monochrome 2024). The 6610 carries caliber 1030 — Rolex's first bidirectional self-winding caliber, with the butterfly rotor that replaces the thicker uni-directional autowind module of the A296 used on the 6150 / 6350 / 6098 — and settles the Explorer dial into the layout that runs forward into the 1016. Among Explorer dials in any reference the 6610 holds the rarest of all sub-branches, the white-dial "Albino." Colin A. White's ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' calls the 6150 and 6610 "the first real Oyster Perpetual Explorers."
<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 6610 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Explorer reference 6610 with a black gilt dial and red 50m depth rating|Explorer 6610 with red depth rating]]
</div>


<span id="core-facts"></span>
The Explorer 6610 replaced earlier A296-powered models with Cal. 1030 and a flatter caseback. Published histories agree on a 1955 introduction but differ on the end date: Hodinkee gives 1959, while Monochrome says production stopped in 1963. Auction catalogues document watches dated from 1956 to 1958, including several with red depth text and one off-white dial later called “Albino” by collectors.


[[File:Ref 6610 hero 2.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Explorer 6610 — black Officially Certified Chronometer dial|Explorer 6610 — black Officially Certified Chronometer dial]]
==Core facts==
 
== Core facts ==


{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
|-
! detail
! detail
! value
! documented information
|-
|-
| reference
| reference
Line 34: Line 30:
| Explorer
| Explorer
|-
|-
| production
| production dates
| 1955–1959 active manufacture (Hodinkee Reference Points; Phillips, Sotheby's, Bonhams catalogues); leftover stock cased into 1963. VRFM gives 1959 as start year — minority view
| Hodinkee: 1955–1959. Monochrome: introduced in 1955, production ended in 1963. Catalogue dates for individual watches range from 1956 through circa 1958.
|-
| serial bands
| 113,092 → 360,272+ across documented lots; red-depth concentrated in 113,xxx (first-year batch)
|-
|-
| case
| case
| 36mm stainless steel, smooth fixed bezel with knurled outer edge, polished top
| Stainless steel; auction catalogues measure 35mm (Phillips, 2018) or 36mm (Christie’s and other Phillips lots).
|-
| caseback
| flatter than the 6150's bubble-back profile — the cleanest visual differentiator
|-
| crystal
| acrylic
|-
|-
| movement
| movement
| caliber 1030, 25 jewels, COSC chronometer-rated, adjusted to 5 positions and temperature
| Cal. 1030 automatic; auction descriptions identify 25 jewels.
|-
| dial
| lacquered black gilt with chapter ring; Mercedes hour, baton minute, lollipop seconds; radium lume throughout (no tritium variants)
|-
|-
| dial text
| dial forms
| "Explorer" + "Officially Certified Chronometer" (OCC); some early examples carry red "50m" depth print, dropped mid-run
| Black gilt with “Officially Certified Chronometer” text; red 50m depth print on documented examples; an off-white example known as an “Albino.”
|-
|-
| bracelet
| certification evidence
| 6636 expandable rivet or 7206 fixed-link rivet with 57/58 end-links — period-correct delivery; 9315 folded-link is post-1968 service replacement
| Some auction lots include the Officially Certified Chronometer dial wording and Bureau certificate; these are lot-specific records.
|}
|}


<span id="where-it-sits-in-the-line"></span>
==Where it sits in the line==
== Where it sits in the line ==
 
The 6610 followed the early Explorer references 6150 and 6350, using Cal. 1030 where those earlier models used the thicker A296. The 1016 followed it with Cal. 1560. Published chronologies disagree on the handoff date; the [[Reference:explorer|Explorer family index]] gives the Hodinkee 1955–1959 range and notes Monochrome’s 1963 end date.
 
The 6610 shares its movement with contemporary Rolex models, including the Submariner. That shared caliber does not make their case, dial or certification details interchangeable. See the [[Reference:Movements|Movement guide]] for the Cal. 1030 family.


The 6610 replaces the pre-Explorer 6150 and the chronometer-rated 6350. Both predecessors ran the A296 — a full-rotor uni-directional Perpetual, thicker than what came after. The 6610's caliber 1030 is the first bidirectional self-winding Rolex, the butterfly-rotor architecture that runs forward through the 1530 series and into the 1560 that powers the early 1016. The Field Manual describes the 6150 and 6610 as "indistinguishable from one another" except for the movement (A296 versus 1030) and the flatter caseback on the 6610. Side by side the caseback profile is immediate.
==Production outline==


The 6610 sits as the bridge between the early Explorer cluster (6098, 6150, 6350) and the long-running 1016 that succeeds it. Hodinkee's Reference Points piece on the Explorer (Bues, 2018) puts the 6610 between the 6350 (1953–55) and the 1016 (1959 onwards). The 1016 then runs for thirty years on caliber 1560 and eventually 1570, but the 6610 is where the modern Explorer dial settles.
Jon Bues’s Hodinkee reference guide dates 6610 production to 1955–1959. Frank Geelen’s Monochrome history also places its introduction in 1955 but says production ended in 1963. Colin White’s ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' says the 6610 replaced the 6150 in 1959; its line does not give a complete production span. These are different published chronologies, not evidence for a documented leftover-stock program.


<span id="production-outline"></span>
Auction records provide dated examples rather than a complete run. Phillips catalogued red-depth watches with case numbers 113092 and 113174 and inner-back dates in 1956. Other records identify case numbers 113185, 113189 and 114307. Christie’s and Sotheby’s catalogued watches with cases 359502 and 359657 as 1958 examples. A Bonhams 2025 listing dates case 360272 to circa 1958 while recording an inside date code of III.66; both details are retained as the lot’s description.
== Production outline ==


Active production runs 1955 to 1959 across the Phillips, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and Antiquorum lot corpus surveyed. Hodinkee's Reference Points Explorer guide (Bues, 2018) gives the same window. Monochrome's Explorer family history (Geelen, 2024) extends the dispatch window to 1963, reading the late market presence as leftover stock dispatched after Rolex had moved to the 1016 in 1959. The Field Manual gives 1959 as the start year and does not specify an end — a minority view that the rest of the corpus does not corroborate. That leaves two date bands in play: 1955–59 active per the auction record, Hodinkee, and Monochrome; 1959–63 per VRFM in start-only form.
Sotheby’s 2022 tropical-dial listing calls its watch a circa-1955 6610 but gives case number 6197309, far outside the other case numbers cited here. The catalogue does not explain the discrepancy, so that number is not used to date the reference.


Documented serial numbers run from 113,092 to 360,272+. Red-depth-printed dials concentrate in the first-year 113,xxx batch (Phillips Geneva 8 lot 95; Phillips Watch Auction One lot 167). Standard no-depth gilt examples populate the late-1950s bands. The serial-band evidence supports the 1955-active-production reading.
==Movement notes==


<span id="movement-notes"></span>
Auction records identify Cal. 1030 in the 6610. Phillips and Christie’s list 25 jewels. The caliber replaced the A296 used in the earlier 6150 and 6350; the [[Reference:Movements|Movement guide]] describes its bidirectional winding and butterfly rotor. The slimmer movement also allowed a flatter caseback than the earlier Bubbleback-style case.
== Movement notes ==


The 6610 runs caliber 1030 — a 25-jewel automatic with self-compensating Breguet balance spring, monometallic balance with shock absorber, and 5-position chronometer adjustment with temperature compensation. The 1030 is Rolex's first bidirectional self-winding caliber and dropped the bubble-back caseback profile that the thicker A296 autowind module required for clearance. The Field Manual treats the movement as the primary distinguishing feature between the 6610 and the 6150; the two references are otherwise described as "indistinguishable."
The dial and certification records should be read together. Christie’s off-white 6610 and Phillips red-depth examples carry “Officially Certified Chronometer” wording; the Phillips lots also include Bureau certificates. These examples document the wording and paperwork for specific watches, not the condition of every surviving dial or movement.


The 1030 also runs concurrently on the 6536 / 6536-1 small-crown Submariner and on the 6538 big-crown Submariner — the same architecture serves Explorer and Submariner production through the late 1950s. COSC chronometer rating is universal on the 6610 (the dial reads "Officially Certified Chronometer"), distinguishing it from the non-chronometer 6150 that ran "Precision."
==Dial map==


<span id="dial-map"></span>
Several dial forms are documented. The red-depth examples have the strongest auction record; other forms are tied to a smaller number of published watches.
== Dial map ==


[[File:Ref 6610 hero.webp|thumb|right|260px|alt=6610 red depth rating dial|6610 red depth rating dial]]
===Red 50m depth rating===


Three named dial generations on the 6610. The auction corpus does not document an underline 6610 — the underline convention belongs to 1963-onwards 1016 production, by which point active 6610 production had ended.
Phillips catalogued red “50m=165ft” dials on 6610s with case numbers 113092 and 113174; Sotheby’s lists another at 113185, and Antiquorum records 113189. Those four lots place the examples in the 113xxx range and date them around 1956. Antiquorum says its research found red-depth examples between 113xxx and 114xxx. These records show where the cited examples fall, not a complete serial census.


<span id="red-depth-50m-gilt"></span>
Phillips resold the case 113174 watch in two auctions: Watch Auction One in 2015 and Geneva Watch Auction Eight in 2018. Its movement number, case number and 1956 caseback code identify the same watch in both catalogues.
=== Red depth 50m gilt (early) ===


The earliest 6610 dials carry a red-printed "50m=165ft" depth rating beneath the OCC line. Phillips Geneva 8 lot 95 (case 113,xxx) and Phillips Watch Auction One lot 167 anchor the variant; Antiquorum lot 368-493 documents another red-depth example. Red-depth dials concentrate in the 113,xxx serial cluster — first-year 1955 production. The red-depth signature is the cleanest dating anchor for an unrestored 6610. Documented red-depth examples populate the upper tier of the 6610 collector market.
===Black gilt without depth text===


<span id="gilt-no-depth-mid-late"></span>
Phillips’s 2018 Geneva lot 146 and Bonhams’s 2024 lot 24 show black gilt dials without the red depth line. The Phillips example has a 3-6-9 layout and an “Officially Certified Chronometer” signature. Bonhams records case 114307, an inside date code of I.56 and a 6636 riveted bracelet.
=== Gilt, no depth (mid to late) ===


The mid- and late-run dial drops the depth-rating print, keeping the OCC line and the standard "Explorer" / 3-6-9 layout. Gilt printing on a glossy black lacquer ground; chapter ring on the perimeter; radium lume on the markers and Mercedes hands. Bonhams 29152 lot 24 and Bonhams 30669 lot 26 anchor the standard-gilt configuration; Sotheby's GE1904 lot 315 documents an unrestored gilt example with full-set provenance.
===Off-white “Albino” dial===


<span id="tropical-conversion"></span>
Christie’s catalogued an off-white 6610, case 359502, as made in 1958. The lot description lists Cal. 1030, 25 jewels, luminous markers and hands, and “Officially Certified Chronometer” text. Christie’s specialist essay suggested the unusual dial may have been made to special order; that is the auction house’s view of this example.
=== Tropical conversion ===


Black gilt that has shifted to brown under sustained UV. Documented but lower-frequency than the tropical 5512 / 6538 dials of the same period. Earlier examples (1955–1957) skew toward conversion. Sotheby's 2022 Fine Watches documented a tropical 6610 at the upper end of the conversion-dial market for Explorer references.
Hodinkee’s 2023 Albino-dial review reports that the Christie’s watch sold for CHF 171,750 and describes a second 6610 sold by Menta Watches in 2022 with a red depth rating. “Albino” is collector shorthand for the off-white dial; the available records do not establish a total count or a single origin for these dials.


<span id="albino-white-dial"></span>
===Tropical dial listing===
=== Albino (white dial) ===


The Albino is a white-dial 6610 — among the rarest of all Explorer dials in any reference. White ground with dark printing, in place of the black lacquered standard. Auction appearances are uncommon and surviving counts are not formally documented. How the Albino came to exist is not on public record. Whether it was a special order or a limited factory run has not been established, and Rolex has not published anything on it. The Albino sits at the apex of the 6610 collector market when examples surface.
Sotheby’s listed a tropical-brown 6610 in 2022. Its case number, 6197309, conflicts with the serials on other documented 6610s, so the listing is not used as a case-number or production-date anchor. The source does not establish how the dial changed color.


<span id="lollipop-seconds-evolution"></span>
Hodinkee and Monochrome also note 6610 examples with different lollipop seconds-hand aperture sizes. The cited auction descriptions do not tie those hand variations to a serial range.
=== Lollipop seconds hand evolution ===


The lollipop seconds hand — a circular aperture at the tip of the seconds hand — changes across the run. Early examples have a large circle aperture; later examples carry a noticeably smaller one. The transition has not been pinned to a specific serial range, but the small-vs-large lollipop is a useful corroborating dating cue alongside the case-back interior date stamp.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 6610 hero.webp|Red 50m depth-rating dial
File:Ref 6610 dial-detail.webp|Close view of the red depth text
File:Ref 6610 hero 2.webp|Black gilt dial without depth text
</gallery>


<span id="case-bezel-crystal-and-crown"></span>
==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==
== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown ==


The 6610 case is 36mm stainless steel with a smooth fixed bezel — knurled outer edge, polished top, no insert. The bezel architecture is consistent across the entire run. The acrylic crystal sits in the standard Oyster mount. The caseback is the diagnostic — visibly flatter than the 6150's bubble-back profile, reflecting the slimmer caliber 1030 underneath. Side by side, the 6610's flatter caseback is immediate.
The cited catalogues describe a stainless-steel Oyster case. Christie’s and several Phillips lots give a 36mm diameter; Phillips’s Geneva 8 lot gives 35mm. Monochrome describes an acrylic crystal and a flatter caseback than the A296-powered models. Auction descriptions also record a screw-down caseback and crown on individual watches.


Crown markings follow the small-crown Brevet convention. The case carries radial brushing across the top with a polished bevel running along the lugs. Examples that have been over-polished show eroded lug chamfers — the cleanest single-point originality test on a vintage Explorer case.
==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==


<span id="bracelets-end-links-clasps-and-packaging"></span>
Bracelet records vary by lot. Phillips’s 2018 Geneva example has a riveted Oyster bracelet with end links stamped 64; two other Phillips examples are catalogued with 7206 bracelets and end links stamped 80. Bonhams records a 6636 on its 2024 6610. These are documented fittings, not proof of one reference-wide original-delivery configuration.
== Bracelets, end links, and clasps ==


Period-correct delivery is the 6636 expandable rivet or the 7206 fixed-link rivet, both with 57 or 58 end-links. Both bracelets share the late-1950s Explorer / Submariner end-link cluster. The 9315 folded-link Oyster turns up frequently on cataloged 6610 examples but the clasp date codes prove these are post-1968 service replacements — not period-correct for any 6610. The 78360 folded-link Oyster (introduced in the 1970s) is a known service swap on later survivors.
Sotheby’s 2019 condition report calls the 78360 bracelet on its case 359657 a later addition from 1976. The report is a direct example of a later bracelet fitted to an earlier watch. Clasp and bracelet codes date the bracelet components, not the watch head.


Big Logo Swiss rivet bracelets surface on a small group of late 6610s; whether they were original-delivery or later fitments is not always clear from the surviving record. Specialist documentation records a 1958 6610 with service papers on a Big Logo bracelet, which suggests a service-era refit rather than original delivery.
[[File:Ref 6610 bracelet.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex Explorer 6610 on a riveted Oyster bracelet|A 6610 catalogued with a riveted Oyster bracelet by Bonhams in 2024]]


<span id="historical-market-and-auction-record"></span>
==Auction record==
== Historical market and auction record ==


{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|-
! Sale !! Lot !! Year !! Serial !! Variant !! Hammer
! sale
! watch and catalogue details
! result
|-
|-
| Phillips Geneva 8 || 95 || 2018 || 113,xxx || red-depth gilt || CHF 30,000+
| Phillips Watch Auction One, lot 167 (2015)
| Red-depth 6610, case 113174, caseback dated I.56; same watch later sold as Geneva Watch Auction Eight lot 95
| CHF 70,000
|-
|-
| Phillips Watch Auction One || 167 || 2015 || — || red-depth gilt || —
| Phillips Geneva Watch Auction Eight, lot 95 (2018)
| Red-depth 6610, case 113174; 25 jewels, 36mm, end links 64
| CHF 65,000
|-
|-
| Phillips Hong Kong XV || 1055 || 2022 || — || red-depth gilt || HK$ 302,000
| Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction XV, lot 1055 (2022)
| Red-depth 6610, case 113092, caseback dated I.56; 25 jewels, 36mm
| HK$302,400
|-
|-
| Antiquorum || 368-493 || — || — || red-depth || —
| Antiquorum Geneva, lot 493 (2024)
| Red-depth 6610, case 113189; circa 1956
| CHF 31,250
|-
|-
| Bonhams || 29152/24 || — || — || standard gilt OCC || —
| Bonhams London, lot 24 (2024)
| Black gilt, no-depth 6610, case 114307, caseback dated I.56; 6636 bracelet
| £7,680 including premium
|-
|-
| Bonhams || 30669/26 || — || — || standard gilt OCC || —
| Christie’s, 6610 off-white dial (2013)
| Case 359502, Cal. 1030, 25 jewels; sale result reported by Hodinkee
| CHF 171,750
|-
|-
| Sotheby's GE1904 || 315 || 2019 || — || unrestored gilt, full set || —
| Sotheby’s 2023, Important Watches Part II, lot 290
| Red-depth 6610, case 113185; 25 jewels, circa 1956
| Result not shown
|-
|-
| Sotheby's Fine Watches || — || 2022 || — || tropical 6610 || —
| Bonhams London, lot 26 (2025)
| Catalogued circa 1958, case 360272; inside date code III.66; later 78360 bracelet
| £6,400 including premium
|}
|}


The 6610 trades in three tiers. Red-depth dials with original 113,xxx-cluster serials sit at the top of the standard market — Phillips Hong Kong's HK$ 302,000 result is the headline figure. Tropical and no-depth gilt examples populate the upper-middle. Service-dial and refit examples settle at the lower end. The Albino, when it surfaces, sits in its own tier above all of the above. The reference's narrow collector audience values the technical handoff from the uni-directional A296 6150 to the bidirectional 1030, and the dial-side handoff from the 6350 OCC layout to the 1016 standard that follows.
==Related references==
 
== Related references ==


* [[Reference:1016|Explorer 1016]] — Gilt to Matte (1963–1989)
* [[Reference:6150|Explorer 6150]] and [[Reference:6350|Explorer 6350]], earlier Explorer models
* [[Reference:6098|Explorer 6098]] — 1952–1953
* [[Reference:1016|Explorer 1016]], the following long-running reference
* [[Reference:6150|Explorer 6150]] — Early Explorer-Dial Oyster
* [[Reference:explorer|Explorer family index]]
* [[Reference:6350|Explorer 6350]] — First 'Explorer' Dial (1953–1955)
* [[Reference:Movements|Movement reference]]
* [[Reference:14270|Explorer 14270]] — First Sapphire (1989–2001)
* [[Reference:Bracelets|Bracelet & clasp guide]]
* [[Reference:114270|Explorer 114270]] — 2001–2010
* [[Reference:Serial-numbers|Serial numbers by year]]


See also the [[Reference:explorer|Explorer family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 6610 hero.webp|6610 with red 50m depth rating
File:Ref 6610 dial-detail.webp|Red-depth dial detail
File:Ref 6610 hero 2.webp|Black gilt dial
File:Ref 6610 bracelet.webp|Riveted Oyster bracelet
</gallery>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==


* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/rolex-explorer-reference-points A Comprehensive Collector's Guide To The Rolex Explorer I] — Jon Bues (Hodinkee, 2018)
* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/rolex-explorer-reference-points Jon Bues, “A Comprehensive Collector’s Guide to the Rolex Explorer I,” Hodinkee] — 1955–1959 chronology, dial and hand variants.
* [https://monochrome-watches.com/history-rolex-explorer-from-1953-36mm-1016-14270-114270-214270-124270-in-depth-review/ The History of the Rolex Explorer] — Frank Geelen (Monochrome Watches, 2024)
* [https://monochrome-watches.com/history-rolex-explorer-from-1953-36mm-1016-14270-114270-214270-124270-in-depth-review/ Frank Geelen, “The History of the Rolex Explorer,” Monochrome Watches] — 1955 introduction, 1963 end date, movement and case overview.
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/rolex-info/rolex-explorer.html Rolex Explorer Guide] (editorial)
* [https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/0b5fdf83/files/uploaded/1.0%20RolexBook-23Mar.pdf Colin A. White, ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual''] — places the 6610/6150 handoff in 1959.
* [https://www.woundforlife.com/2015/08/12/under-the-loupe-rolex-explorer-reference-6610/ Under the Loupe — Rolex Explorer Reference 6610] (Wound For Life, 2015)
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080215/167 Phillips Watch Auction One, lot 167 (2015)] — red-depth case 113174 and result.
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080218/95 Rolex Explorer 6610 — Phillips Geneva 8, lot 95] (Phillips, 2018)
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080218/95 Phillips Geneva Watch Auction Eight, lot 95 (2018)] — red-depth case 113174, date code, dimensions, bracelet and result.
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080215/167 Rolex Explorer 6610 — Phillips Watch Auction One, lot 167] (Phillips, 2015)
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080218/146 Phillips Geneva Watch Auction Eight, lot 146 (2018)] — black gilt dial without depth text.
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/HK080222/1055 Rolex Explorer 6610 — Phillips Hong Kong XV, lot 1055] (Phillips, 2022)
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/HK080222/1055 Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction XV, lot 1055 (2022)] — red-depth case 113092, date code, movement and result.
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29152/lot/24/ Rolex Explorer 6610 — Bonhams lot 29152/24] (Bonhams)
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-6610-explorer-lot-368-493 Antiquorum Geneva, lot 493 (2024)] — red-depth case 113189 and result.
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/30669/lot/26/ Rolex Explorer 6610 — Bonhams lot 30669/26] (Bonhams)
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29152/lot/24/ Bonhams London, lot 24 (2024)] — black gilt dial, case 114307, date code and fitted bracelet.
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-6610-explorer-lot-368-493 Rolex Ref. 6610 Explorer — Antiquorum lot 368-493] (Antiquorum)
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/30669/lot/26/ Bonhams London, lot 26 (2025)] — case 360272, circa date, inside date code and later bracelet.
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2019/important-watches-ge1904/lot.315.html Sotheby's GE1904 lot 315] (Sotheby's, 2019)
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5674570 Christie’s, off-white 6610, case 359502 (2013)] — dial, case, movement and Christie's specialist’s special-order opinion.
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/fine-watches-2/reference-6610-explorer-a-stainless-steel Reference 6610 Explorer tropical — Sotheby's Fine Watches] (Sotheby's, 2022)
* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/whats-the-deal-with-albino-rolex-dials “Everything You Need to Know About Rolex Albino Dials,” Hodinkee] — Christie’s result and a later red-depth off-white example.
* [https://www.41watch.com/en/journal/buyers-guides/the-origins-of-the-rived-rolex-oyster-bracelets The Origins of Riveted Rolex Oyster Bracelets] (41Watch)
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2019/important-watches-ge1904/lot.315.html Sotheby’s Geneva, lot 315 (2019)] — case 359657 and later-added 78360 bracelet.
* [https://www.craftandtailored.com/products/1958-rolex-explorer-i-ref-6610-gilt-chapter-ring-dial 1958 Rolex Explorer I Ref. 6610 — gilt chapter-ring] (Craft and Tailored)
* [https://www.sothebys.com/buy/61253a88-2fd2-4e46-9101-c27f35b3f682/lots/a5485039-0337-4a40-984e-a6e9d0e4ca6a Sotheby’s, Important Watches Part II, lot 290 (2023)] — red-depth case 113185.
* [https://tropicalwatch.com/watches/1958-rolex-explorer-6610-gilt-dial-with-service-papers/bwnd 1958 Rolex Explorer 6610 — gilt dial with service papers] (Tropical Watch)
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/fine-watches-2/reference-6610-explorer-a-stainless-steel Sotheby’s, tropical-dial 6610 (2022)] — catalogue’s circa-1955 date and case number 6197309.
* [https://bulangandsons.com/products/rolex-explorer-gilt-dial-6610 Rolex Explorer 6610 gilt dial]
* [https://rolexpassionmarket.com/watches/rolex-explorer-ref-6610/ Rolex Explorer Ref. 6610] (Rolex Passion Market)
* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra


[[Category:Explorer]]
[[Category:Explorer]]

Latest revision as of 07:59, 25 September 2026


Explorer → 6610

Rolex Explorer reference 6610 with a black gilt dial and red 50m depth rating
Explorer 6610 with red depth rating

The Explorer 6610 replaced earlier A296-powered models with Cal. 1030 and a flatter caseback. Published histories agree on a 1955 introduction but differ on the end date: Hodinkee gives 1959, while Monochrome says production stopped in 1963. Auction catalogues document watches dated from 1956 to 1958, including several with red depth text and one off-white dial later called “Albino” by collectors.

Core facts

detail documented information
reference 6610
family Explorer
production dates Hodinkee: 1955–1959. Monochrome: introduced in 1955, production ended in 1963. Catalogue dates for individual watches range from 1956 through circa 1958.
case Stainless steel; auction catalogues measure 35mm (Phillips, 2018) or 36mm (Christie’s and other Phillips lots).
movement Cal. 1030 automatic; auction descriptions identify 25 jewels.
dial forms Black gilt with “Officially Certified Chronometer” text; red 50m depth print on documented examples; an off-white example known as an “Albino.”
certification evidence Some auction lots include the Officially Certified Chronometer dial wording and Bureau certificate; these are lot-specific records.

Where it sits in the line

The 6610 followed the early Explorer references 6150 and 6350, using Cal. 1030 where those earlier models used the thicker A296. The 1016 followed it with Cal. 1560. Published chronologies disagree on the handoff date; the Explorer family index gives the Hodinkee 1955–1959 range and notes Monochrome’s 1963 end date.

The 6610 shares its movement with contemporary Rolex models, including the Submariner. That shared caliber does not make their case, dial or certification details interchangeable. See the Movement guide for the Cal. 1030 family.

Production outline

Jon Bues’s Hodinkee reference guide dates 6610 production to 1955–1959. Frank Geelen’s Monochrome history also places its introduction in 1955 but says production ended in 1963. Colin White’s The Vintage Rolex Field Manual says the 6610 replaced the 6150 in 1959; its line does not give a complete production span. These are different published chronologies, not evidence for a documented leftover-stock program.

Auction records provide dated examples rather than a complete run. Phillips catalogued red-depth watches with case numbers 113092 and 113174 and inner-back dates in 1956. Other records identify case numbers 113185, 113189 and 114307. Christie’s and Sotheby’s catalogued watches with cases 359502 and 359657 as 1958 examples. A Bonhams 2025 listing dates case 360272 to circa 1958 while recording an inside date code of III.66; both details are retained as the lot’s description.

Sotheby’s 2022 tropical-dial listing calls its watch a circa-1955 6610 but gives case number 6197309, far outside the other case numbers cited here. The catalogue does not explain the discrepancy, so that number is not used to date the reference.

Movement notes

Auction records identify Cal. 1030 in the 6610. Phillips and Christie’s list 25 jewels. The caliber replaced the A296 used in the earlier 6150 and 6350; the Movement guide describes its bidirectional winding and butterfly rotor. The slimmer movement also allowed a flatter caseback than the earlier Bubbleback-style case.

The dial and certification records should be read together. Christie’s off-white 6610 and Phillips red-depth examples carry “Officially Certified Chronometer” wording; the Phillips lots also include Bureau certificates. These examples document the wording and paperwork for specific watches, not the condition of every surviving dial or movement.

Dial map

Several dial forms are documented. The red-depth examples have the strongest auction record; other forms are tied to a smaller number of published watches.

Red 50m depth rating

Phillips catalogued red “50m=165ft” dials on 6610s with case numbers 113092 and 113174; Sotheby’s lists another at 113185, and Antiquorum records 113189. Those four lots place the examples in the 113xxx range and date them around 1956. Antiquorum says its research found red-depth examples between 113xxx and 114xxx. These records show where the cited examples fall, not a complete serial census.

Phillips resold the case 113174 watch in two auctions: Watch Auction One in 2015 and Geneva Watch Auction Eight in 2018. Its movement number, case number and 1956 caseback code identify the same watch in both catalogues.

Black gilt without depth text

Phillips’s 2018 Geneva lot 146 and Bonhams’s 2024 lot 24 show black gilt dials without the red depth line. The Phillips example has a 3-6-9 layout and an “Officially Certified Chronometer” signature. Bonhams records case 114307, an inside date code of I.56 and a 6636 riveted bracelet.

Off-white “Albino” dial

Christie’s catalogued an off-white 6610, case 359502, as made in 1958. The lot description lists Cal. 1030, 25 jewels, luminous markers and hands, and “Officially Certified Chronometer” text. Christie’s specialist essay suggested the unusual dial may have been made to special order; that is the auction house’s view of this example.

Hodinkee’s 2023 Albino-dial review reports that the Christie’s watch sold for CHF 171,750 and describes a second 6610 sold by Menta Watches in 2022 with a red depth rating. “Albino” is collector shorthand for the off-white dial; the available records do not establish a total count or a single origin for these dials.

Tropical dial listing

Sotheby’s listed a tropical-brown 6610 in 2022. Its case number, 6197309, conflicts with the serials on other documented 6610s, so the listing is not used as a case-number or production-date anchor. The source does not establish how the dial changed color.

Hodinkee and Monochrome also note 6610 examples with different lollipop seconds-hand aperture sizes. The cited auction descriptions do not tie those hand variations to a serial range.

  • Red 50m depth-rating dial
    Red 50m depth-rating dial
  • Close view of the red depth text
    Close view of the red depth text
  • Black gilt dial without depth text
    Black gilt dial without depth text

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The cited catalogues describe a stainless-steel Oyster case. Christie’s and several Phillips lots give a 36mm diameter; Phillips’s Geneva 8 lot gives 35mm. Monochrome describes an acrylic crystal and a flatter caseback than the A296-powered models. Auction descriptions also record a screw-down caseback and crown on individual watches.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

Bracelet records vary by lot. Phillips’s 2018 Geneva example has a riveted Oyster bracelet with end links stamped 64; two other Phillips examples are catalogued with 7206 bracelets and end links stamped 80. Bonhams records a 6636 on its 2024 6610. These are documented fittings, not proof of one reference-wide original-delivery configuration.

Sotheby’s 2019 condition report calls the 78360 bracelet on its case 359657 a later addition from 1976. The report is a direct example of a later bracelet fitted to an earlier watch. Clasp and bracelet codes date the bracelet components, not the watch head.

Rolex Explorer 6610 on a riveted Oyster bracelet
A 6610 catalogued with a riveted Oyster bracelet by Bonhams in 2024

Auction record

sale watch and catalogue details result
Phillips Watch Auction One, lot 167 (2015) Red-depth 6610, case 113174, caseback dated I.56; same watch later sold as Geneva Watch Auction Eight lot 95 CHF 70,000
Phillips Geneva Watch Auction Eight, lot 95 (2018) Red-depth 6610, case 113174; 25 jewels, 36mm, end links 64 CHF 65,000
Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction XV, lot 1055 (2022) Red-depth 6610, case 113092, caseback dated I.56; 25 jewels, 36mm HK$302,400
Antiquorum Geneva, lot 493 (2024) Red-depth 6610, case 113189; circa 1956 CHF 31,250
Bonhams London, lot 24 (2024) Black gilt, no-depth 6610, case 114307, caseback dated I.56; 6636 bracelet £7,680 including premium
Christie’s, 6610 off-white dial (2013) Case 359502, Cal. 1030, 25 jewels; sale result reported by Hodinkee CHF 171,750
Sotheby’s 2023, Important Watches Part II, lot 290 Red-depth 6610, case 113185; 25 jewels, circa 1956 Result not shown
Bonhams London, lot 26 (2025) Catalogued circa 1958, case 360272; inside date code III.66; later 78360 bracelet £6,400 including premium

Related references

  • 6610 with red 50m depth rating
    6610 with red 50m depth rating
  • Red-depth dial detail
    Red-depth dial detail
  • Black gilt dial
    Black gilt dial
  • Riveted Oyster bracelet
    Riveted Oyster bracelet

Sources

Retrieved from "https://rolexopedia.net/index.php?title=Reference:6610&oldid=10758"