Rolex Explorer 6610
Explorer → 6610
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.
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Red 50m depth-rating dial -
Close view of the red 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.
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
- Explorer 6150 and Explorer 6350, earlier Explorer models
- Explorer 1016, the following long-running reference
- Explorer family index
- Movement reference
- Bracelet & clasp guide
- Serial numbers by year
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6610 with red 50m depth rating
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Red-depth dial detail
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Black gilt dial
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Riveted Oyster bracelet
Sources
- Jon Bues, “A Comprehensive Collector’s Guide to the Rolex Explorer I,” Hodinkee — 1955–1959 chronology, dial and hand variants.
- Frank Geelen, “The History of the Rolex Explorer,” Monochrome Watches — 1955 introduction, 1963 end date, movement and case overview.
- Colin A. White, The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — places the 6610/6150 handoff in 1959.
- Phillips Watch Auction One, lot 167 (2015) — red-depth case 113174 and result.
- Phillips Geneva Watch Auction Eight, lot 95 (2018) — red-depth case 113174, date code, dimensions, bracelet and result.
- Phillips Geneva Watch Auction Eight, lot 146 (2018) — black gilt dial without depth text.
- Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction XV, lot 1055 (2022) — red-depth case 113092, date code, movement and result.
- Antiquorum Geneva, lot 493 (2024) — red-depth case 113189 and result.
- Bonhams London, lot 24 (2024) — black gilt dial, case 114307, date code and fitted bracelet.
- Bonhams London, lot 26 (2025) — case 360272, circa date, inside date code and later bracelet.
- Christie’s, off-white 6610, case 359502 (2013) — dial, case, movement and Christie's specialist’s special-order opinion.
- “Everything You Need to Know About Rolex Albino Dials,” Hodinkee — Christie’s result and a later red-depth off-white example.
- Sotheby’s Geneva, lot 315 (2019) — case 359657 and later-added 78360 bracelet.
- Sotheby’s, Important Watches Part II, lot 290 (2023) — red-depth case 113185.
- Sotheby’s, tropical-dial 6610 (2022) — catalogue’s circa-1955 date and case number 6197309.