Join us today as we examine the Rolex Steve McQueen Explorer II ref. 1655 for this installment of Vintage of the Week. Shop Vintage Rolex: www.bobswatches.com/vintage-r...
NAVIGATE THIS VIDEO
00:00 INTRO
00:32 Wrist Check
01:17 Rolex Explorer II
02:20 24 Hour Indicator
04:59 Caseback Engraving
07:19 The Value
07:37 “Steve McQueen” Nickname
08:36 The Uniqueness
09:32 Rolex 1655 Price
09:59 The Availability
10:23 Outro
Shop more pre-owned Rolex watches, including the Explorer II, here: www.bobswatches.com/rolex/
Rolex 1655 History
Rolex introduced the Explorer II in 1971, building upon the design of the original Explorer and adding an extra hand to the dial and a fixed 24-hour bezel. To compare, the Explorer features a time-only dial and a smooth bezel.
While the Explorer was developed for mountaineering, the Explorer II was created for dark environment adventures, such as spelunking or traveling to the Arctic.
Its core design focuses on optimal visibility while spending long periods in darkness. It features a 24-hour bezel and an arrow hand to help the wearer distinguish between day and night hours. If you spend days on end exploring dark caves, this feature might be of particular interest to you.
The Explorer II also employs large, luminous hour markers that are easy to read at a glance, day or night.
While it’s true that newer editions of the Explorer II have an independent arrow hand that doubles as a second time zone, the earliest models do not. The arrow hand on vintage models, such as the topic of our review, serves only as AM/PM indicators.
Reference 1655 was the inaugural Explorer II watch. While many references followed, none looked quite like the very first ref. 1655.
For example, the 24-hour graduations are separated by hashes instead of inverted triangles. Also, the hour markers are square and rectangular-shaped instead of the common dots seen on newer references.
Its design is arguably more reminiscent of the 1970s than many of its successors, and that’s a large reason why ref. 1655 has since become the grail watch of many vintage watch enthusiasts.
ROLEX FRECCIONE
Early examples of ref. 1655 featured an orange arrow hand, also known as the Freccione, which is a take on the Italian word “Freccia,” meaning arrow. Rolex eventually replaced the orange hand with red. However, most of the red hands have since faded to orange anyway, making most examples of the 1655 look pretty much the same.
Rolex completely redesigned the arrow hand, replacing it with a slimmer profile and silver arrow. However, in 2011, the orange arrow hand was revived in time to celebrate the Explorer II’s 40th anniversary. Ref. 216570 displays the bright orange hand gloriously on the dial.
CALIBRE 1570
The Explorer II ref. 1655 is powered by the cal. 1570 Perpetual movement, complete with a date mechanism and a 48-hour power reserve.
DIAL VARIATIONS
Rolex made several upgrades to the Explorer II ref. 1655 during its production run, most notably to the dial. Collectors have since categorized them as Mark I - V to distinguish differences between details such as font, placement of the text, and logo.
NICKNAMES
Reference 1655 picked up a few nicknames during its production run, including Freccione after the previously mentioned orange arrow hand and the Steve McQueen. The McQueen reference is quite interesting because he was known to wear the Submariner, not the Explorer II. Still, the Steve McQueen nickname remains a part of Explorer II folklore.
OUR ROLEX 1655
Now that you have a general understanding of the vintage Rolex Explorer II let’s look at the example we have here.
This ref. 1655 features a Mark I dial with a straight seconds hand and a frog foot Rolex coronet. The accompanying orange arrow hand is a later service replacement hand that is still vibrant in hue. The Tritium lume has since aged to a very attractive off-white patina. The dial also features the correct silver open 6 and 9 date display.
This example is special because the case back features the following engraving, “K. SIEPERMAN A+" which, of course, only adds to its charm and character. The case does appear to have been polished in the past and is outfitted with an acrylic crystal with light signs of wear.
It wears on an older-style Oyster bracelet with fold-over links. Some signs of wear are present. However, that is typical of a watch of this age.
Overall, this is a charming example of the coveted Freccione Rolex 1655.