Rolex Explorer I why

[yosakamoto]

I’ve wondered this as well. Considering that the “Explorer” text was located at the 12 o’clock position for a majority of its history, one possibility for the change on the 39mm model could be the decision Rolex made to increase the size of the coronet and typeface (in proportion to the rest of the dial) compared to the previous 36mm models. Placing the “Explorer” logo at the 12 o’clock position would clutter the top of the dial, so it was relocated to 6 o’clock to preserve the balance. Equally plausible would be the decision to move the “Explorer” logo to 6 o’clock to hark back to very early Explorer models, and increase the size of the Rolex coronet and typeface, again, to balance out the dial.