Rolex Explorer II Ref. 16550 - Cream 'Rail' Dial With Box & Service Papers

The Rolex Explorer’s core has always been in rugged expedition. While it was originally born out of the Everest celebratory Explorer I - the Explorer II was designed for cave diving. Officially known as spelunking!

While the initial run of Explorer II, the Reference 1655, or 'McQueen' (spoiler: there is no evidence of a connection or that he ever wore one, but the nickname stuck!) had black dials with orange accents, while later iterations like the Ref. 16570 added a white dial to the mix. These are commonly referred to as ‘Polar’ dials and they are among the most striking Rolex dials of the last 40 years or so, due to their monochromatic scheme with gloss white dials and black outer lume rings.

The watch that we have here, however, is something slightly different to your typical 'Polar.'

Prior to the release of the long-running Ref. 16570, there was the Reference 16550 — the first 'Polar.' On the surface these look nearly identical to their successor, but when you look a little closer, there are a few differences, with the most notable being the dial.

Ultimately because of the way that these dials were produced, a small run of these early pieces have aged over the years to a variety of cream-tones.

The piece that we have here, is one of those early watches — exhibiting an attractive 'cream' tone with a hint of yellow, contrasting Tritium-filled indices, and a handset to match. Dial aside, this example dates to circa 1986 and features a strong case showing normal signs of wear from use after a very light previous polishing, a well-preserved bezel with matching wear and only the faintest of loss of black paint within the engraved numbers, and an Oyster bracelet which matches the case condition. 

Rounding out the package, this piece comes with its booklets, serialized service papers, inner box and outer box that retains a "16550" sticker.

Not bad!