Rolex Explorer II Ref. 16570 - 'Chicchi Di Mais' W/ Box & 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 blackened outer white gold indices.
So What is Chicchi di Mais?
In Italian, this means ‘Corn Kernel’ which describes the extremely attractive way a small run of these early 'Polar' Explorer II watches have aged since the early 1990s. Essentially, the brownish-yellow tone from the patinated Tritium pops out against the crisp white dial. As is often the case with watches, someone nicknamed it, and it stuck.
The example that we have here dates to circa 1991 and is offered in strong overall condition. The case has been professionally refurbished to factory specification and shows light wear. The steel 24-hr bezel shows normal wear with some light loss of black paint, and the Oyster bracelet shows matching wear. Inside, that glossy white 'polar' dial is outstanding. The Tritium plots exhibit an attractive and uniform patina, with the correct handset having aged slightly lighter — which is typical of pieces of this vintage.
Additionally, this pice is accompanied by its inner and outer boxes, booklets, COSC hangtag, and papers dating to 1992.
The Ref. 16570 may just be the last truly great value in sport-Rolex, offering both an iconic sports model with proper pedigree, a 'full-size' case, and a GMT-function for right around what a new model costs. And we all know which looks better...
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