Smiths were the only watches worn on the summit of Everest in '53. The proof.

[Rev-O]

The Inconvenient Truth... fails to recognise other water-proof / water-tight watches that were also being made at the time, as there is no "evidence" of their testing. This means that he doesn't deem the Submarine (or others) to be "waterproof watches", which is a shame, as they seemed (to me, at least) to be a good example of a water-tight watch from c1915.

Yes, I think Stan's methodology is sound though: as I understand it, he ignores advertising and other PR claims (which is a very good idea as far as Rolex is concerned!). He wants independent proofs and, for assessing "firsts", the all-important patents.

As for Rolex's experiments with cold temperatures, they (like Smiths) were looking at oils that could withstand freezing temperatures. They provided the 1953 expedition with vials of "arctic oil" and used the same oil on the watches they provided (see letters from Rolex in the RGS Collection). Their suggestion was that this same oil could be used to lubricate camera shutters, etc, for use at high altitudes.

That's interesting. I wonder who Rolex were working with to develop the oils? Smiths, of course, made their own in-house. :-)

Also interesting to note that the first use of a fish bowl / fish tank to display a water-tight watch was not Rolex, or even Depollier.

"A silver watch, which performed while suspended in a glass globe filled with water containing goldfish, was exhibited by Messrs. Pettit. The object of this invention being to secure the protection of timekeeping and other instruments from water and sea-damp." (Curiosities of Clocks and Watches from the Earliest Times by Edward J Wood, 1866).

Yes, that was a pocket watch though, which is inherently easier to waterproof. Still, the goldfish are nice touch -- strong visual impact. I wonder if Depollier knew about the fish or arrived at the same idea independently.

Edit: is anyone any good at wikipedia editing? I've corrected the claim the Oyster was the first waterproof wrist watch case but am having trouble referencing that. I tried to add the link to Stan's website / book (i.e. https://www.lrfantiquewatches.com/ ) but not really sure how. I