1995 Rolex Explorer II Ref. 16570 'Unpolished' Full Set

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.

This tritium Ref. 16570 from 1995 is preserved in all original and unmolested condition.

 

It features a flawless black glossy dial, that shows a very light patina on the hour lume plots and matching hands.

 

The 40mm stainless steel case remains unpolished, showing sharp bevels and some signs of normal wear. The case back remains in the same condition too.

 

It comes fitted on the original 20mm Rolex Oyster 78360 stainless steel bracelet with 501B end links and date code V2 that shows very little stretch.

 

The watch is running well and keeping time, as it has been fully serviced by our watchmaker.

 

It is presented as a full set which includes outer box with reference and dial color stickers, inner box, manuals, translation booklet, calendar, wallet, and stamped guarantee papers showing it was sold by a Spanish Rolex retailer.