VIDEO: Rolex Explorer II
One Minute Watch with John Carter
Pre-Owned Rolex Explorer II
Originally designed for arctic and cave explorers in the 1970s, the Rolex Explorer II included a fixed 24-hour bezel and GMT hand that helped distinguish between night and day in extreme environments. The addition of a jumping hour function in the 1980’s expanded the versatility of the model by giving its wearer the option to track two separate time zones.
Dating to 1999, this Rolex Explorer II Ref. 16570 is part of our pre-owned watch collection. It was just fully serviced by Rolex in January of 2021 and includes its original boxes, manuals, tags and Service Certificate.
Originally designed for polar and cave explorers in the 1970s, the Rolex Explorer II included a fixed 24-hour bezel and GMT hand that helped distinguish between night and day in extreme environments. The addition of a jumping hour function in the 1980’s expanded the versatility by tracking two separate time zones.
The Ref. 16570 was created from 1989 to 2011, and during production, Rolex switched from Tritium to LumiNova and eventually SuperLuminova. This 1999 Explorer II utilizes LumiNova so it will retain its crisp white hands and indices, rather than developing patina over time. The glossy black dial remains clean and legible at a glance, with the red GMT hand offering a nice pop of color to the monochromatic aesthetic.
With a more classically-sized 40mm stainless steel case, these models are some of the last Rolex sport watches that are comfortably sized for nearly any wrist. All in, the 16570 is a comfortable and functional, yet under-the-radar Rolex sports watch.
See more details on this pre-owned 1999 Rolex Explorer II (16570)
