Oh yes Rolex, the world’s most known and most popular watch brand. You can probably go into the Brazilian jungle to one of those isolated indigenous people and ask them what watch they know, they will tell you Rolex. However, when you start seriously looking at Rolex, you more and more understand what makes them special and stand-out. No, there are no beautifully decorated movements or complicated functions, a Rolex is just a well-made, well-designed tool watch. Even if you go full gold Day-Date, those attributes are not lost.
A Rolex ages well in many ways. Have you looked at some watches from the 80s? Out of fashion today? Not a Rolex. They kept a solid design thread never following fashion. And that makes them age well. As they are well-made, the vast majority, even after many years of use or sometimes abuse, still hold very well together. They age very well.
While the Submariner and GMTs are the most popular anyone can recognise 300 feet from afar, the Rolex Explorer is a choice for the true adventurer, the Explorer if you like. I’m not going to repeat all that marketing spill with the Mt. Everest or whatever, I rather take a closer look at 2 iconic models from the Explorer line, the vintage Explorer I, Ref. 1016 and the neo-vintage Explorer II, Ref. 16570.
The 1016 was not the very first Explorer and it is neither very rare. It comes in a standard 36mm Oyster Case and just tells the time, that’s it. But the black dial with it’s characteristic “Explorer” dial sets it apart from a standard Oyster Perpetual or Datejust. My 1016 is from around 1976, has developed a beautiful creamy patina (as I said, a Rolex ages well) and is a super versatile watch. If you want a recognisable and collectable vintage Rolex that is not the common Sub or GMT, the 1016 is a very wise choice. The supply is still good, but finding one in good condition, not tempered with, can take some time.
Jumping forward a good 20 years, we land with the Explorer II, Ref. 16570. Compared with the 1016, you almost have a “grande complication” here. Date display with quick set and an independent GMT hand used for a 2nd time-zone or simply as 24 hour display. Maybe you want to explore caves, then it may be useful knowing if it is 10 AM or PM. What counts more for me, the Explorer II is built like a tank, can take a real beating with any kind of activities.
The quick date-set is a bit quirky as the crown position 1, so pulled out one click, doubles up to set the GMT hand and the date. In fact, it is not setting the GMT hand but rather the hour hand. So for one you need to set the desired difference between GMT Hand and hour hand to get the second time zone correct and secondly, for quick date change you need to rotate the hour hand 24 times. A bit quirky to set but just a matter of getting used to it. One more thing that Rolex anoraks will love: The dial on my 16570 is signed SWISS, which makes it a Swiss-Only Explorer II. Only made for a bit over a year when the transition from Tritium lume (signed SWISS-T<25) to Super-Luminova (signed SWISS MADE) was made with dials having standard Luminova (not so super, but frankly I cannot tell a difference) and signed “SWISS”.
Which one I like more? I cannot decide. The 1016 has the wonderful vintage look while the 16570 scores points with its sturdiness and universal look. And with the 16570, I also have no problem going into the water, something I would never do with the 1016. So each Explorer has its space and gets its wrist time. And a Rolex ages well like the distinguished wearer of an Explorer.