1991 Rolex Explorer II Ref. 16570 'Unpolished' with Papers

The first GMT-Master in production ever was the ref. 6542 and was introduced in 1954. But, perhaps one of the most popular vintage Rolex GMT-Master watches is this ref. 1675. Introduced in 1959 and produced till 1980.

 

Although the Explorer II debuted in the 1970s with the Reference 1655 (1971-1984), it wasn't until the 1980s release of the Reference 16550 that Rolex offered a white-dialed 'Polar' version. The Reference 16550 replaced the Caliber 1575 from the previous model with the newer Caliber 3085 and featured a redesigned handset to match the other Professional Series models. The Caliber 3085 allowed the 24-hour hand to be adjusted independently from the hour hand for the first time, making the Explorer II capable of displaying a second time zone rather than just a day/night indication.

 

The Reference 16570 was the natural continuation of the 16550 designs, with the same general features: it maintained the 39mm case, elongated GMT hand, 100m water resistance rating, and fixed 24-hour bezel of the previous generation — however, white gold surrounds gave way to black surrounds on 'Polar' variants. Certain later examples of the 16570 did away with lug holes for the bracelet attachment for the first time (a 'no-holes' case), while most of the earlier versions featured the punched case design ('holey' lugs). Punched lugs began to disappear completely from the Rolex catalog around the turn of the 21st century.

 

The earliest 16570s had tritium lume, but by 1998, Rolex had shifted to non-radioactive Luminova.

The watch offered for sale here is a Rolex Explorer II Ref. 16570 with black dial which dates to 1991.

 

The black glossy dial is flawless, featuring a stunning creamy patina hue on the hour markers. The original tritium hands have aged a few shades lighter, very common on these and a sign that it’s completely original and untouched, not relumed to match.

 

The case is preserved thick and with sharp, original factory bevels, remaining most probably unpolished. It shows only light signs of wear. The case back remains in the same condition too, showing some more wear.

 

It comes fitted on its Rolex Oyster 78360 solid-links stainless steel bracelet with 501B end links and clasp code R2 that shows very little stretch and normal signs of use.

 

The watch is running well and keeping time, although service history is unknown.

 

The original sapphire crystal is clean.

 

It is presented with wallet, booklet, calendar and punched guarantee papers showing it was sold by famous Italian Rolex retailer GOBBI 1842 in 1992.

 

Macros of dial and case are available under request.