Reference:explorer-ii

From BezelBase


Rolex Explorer II

The Explorer II launched in 1971 as the sister reference to the Explorer I. Where the Explorer I was a simple three-hand time-only watch built for mountain expeditions, the Explorer II added a fixed 24-hour bezel and an orange 24-hour hand for speleologists, polar expeditioners, and anyone operating in conditions where ambient light could not be trusted to tell day from night. The 24-hour complication is what separates the line from its Explorer I sibling, and every Explorer II from 1971 to the present has retained it.

The line runs across five references in total. The 1655 Freccione is the original, with a linked-hand caliber 1575 that reads the 24-hour function as a day-night indicator. The 16550 introduced a true independent-hour GMT function on caliber 3085 in 1985. The 16570 took that architecture through a twenty-one-year run from 1989 to 2010. The 42mm 216570 arrived in 2011 and reintroduced the orange 24-hour hand of the 1655 on a modern ceramic-free case. The current 226570 replaced it in 2021.

The first Explorer II (1971–1984)

Reference Production Movement Case Key distinction
1655 1971–1984 Cal. 1575 GMT 40mm SS, acrylic Freccione orange straight/lollipop hand; 5 Mark dials + 2 service dials; linked-hand 24-hour; fixed engraved steel bezel

The transitional reference (1985–1989)

Reference Production Movement Case Key distinction
16550 1985–1989 Cal. 3085 40mm SS, sapphire First sapphire; first independent-hour GMT; black or Polar white dial; cream/rail dial paint-defect variant

The long-run modern reference (1989–2010)

Reference Production Movement Case Key distinction
16570 1989–2010 Cal. 3185, then 3186 late 40mm SS, sapphire Four internal versions: V1 tritium, V2 Swiss-only, V3 Super-LumiNova, V4 no-holes case plus cal 3186; black or Polar white; SRR military limited edition 2007

Current-production successors

The 42mm ceramic-era successors continue the line beyond the vintage and neo-vintage generations.

  • 216570 (2011–2021) — 42mm case, cal. 3187, reintroduced orange 24-hour hand
  • 226570 (2021–present) — cal. 3285, current production

Movement progression

Caliber Frequency Power reserve 24-hour function Used in Notes
1575 GMT 19,800 vph ~48 hr linked to hour hand 1655 Shared with GMT-Master 1675; 24-hour hand advances with hour hand, functions as day-night indicator
3085 28,800 vph 48 hr (disputed: some sources say 42 hr) independent-hour 16550 First Explorer II with true GMT; shared with GMT-Master II 16760 "Fat Lady"; 6.3mm thick
3185 28,800 vph ~50 hr independent-hour 16570 Successor to 3085 with minor revisions; ran through most of the 16570
3186 28,800 vph ~50 hr independent-hour 16570 (late 2006+) Added blue Parachrom hairspring; fixed the 3185 GMT-hand wobble

Dial variant highlights

The Explorer II has a dense per-reference variant taxonomy that is worth scanning in aggregate:

  • 1655 Mark dials — Mk1 (large crown), Mk2 (Frog Foot), Mk3 (Rail Dial), Mk4 (taller crown, T SWISS <25 T serif), Mk5 (sans-serif). Two Beyeler service dials also exist.
  • 16550 cream / rail dial — a subset of Polar white dials aged to cream through a factory paint defect Rolex later corrected. Rail-dial sub-variant has the C of CHRONOMETER aligned vertically over the C of CERTIFIED.
  • 16570 Swiss-only — approximately 5 percent of production, covering the 1998–1999 window when the dial carried Luminova lume but kept the older SWISS (not SWISS MADE) printing.

Cross-references

The Explorer II is the sibling of the Explorer I line and shares caliber and architectural DNA with the GMT-Master line. The caliber 1575 on the 1655 is identical to the caliber 1575 on the GMT-Master 1675, configured differently (linked-hand vs independent-hour). The caliber 3085 on the 16550 is identical to the caliber 3085 on the GMT-Master II 16760.

Sources

Retrieved from "https://bezelbase.org/index.php?title=Reference:explorer-ii&oldid=2612"