Rolex Explorer II Ref. 16570 - Cream 'Rail' Dial R-Serial
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.
The watch that we have here, however, is something slightly different to your typical 'Polar.'
Following the release of the first 'Polar,' the Ref. 16550, was the Ref. 16570. The earliest examples look virtually identical to their predecessor, while slightly later variants have a few small differences that present themselves, most notably in the form of the dial. Because of the way white dials in this era were produced, a small run of these early pieces have aged over the years to a variety of cream-tones and were ultimately 'fixed' and phased out.
The example that we have here, is one of those early watches, dating to circa 1988. It is amongst the earliest of the Ref. 16570, featuring the revised steel 24-hr bezel and updated movement. The Oyster case retains prominent and correct finishing throughout and shows normal wear, with light wear present on the bezel and minimal loss of black paint. The Oyster bracelet also shows matching wear and remains unpolished with only faint 'stretch.'
The real highlight here, however, is that dial. It has aged to a desirable cream tone and rather than the black-painted white gold indices, it carries over both the 'white gold surrounds' and handset, devoid of the black paint, and the 'rail' text on the lower half of the dial.
This is a highly elusive variant of the Explorer II by any standards, likely only in production for 6-12 months before this dial was phased out in favor of the black painted white gold indices and handset.
All things considered, this is an excellent and compelling example of a neo-vintage model with a cult following, and frankly, are surfacing less and less on the open market.
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