ROLEX EXPLORER II 1655 MK2

Rolex introduced the Explorer II with reference 1655 in 1971 – This watch was in production till 1984, when this reference was replaced by the Explorer 16550. The 1655 Rolex Explorer II, often nicknamed ‘Orange Hand’ wasn’t really a popular watch at the time, it’s one of the reasons not many are found for sale today – It’s also one of the more rare vintage Rolex’s from the sports line and one you won’t encounter that often in the wild.

Our MK2 1655 Explorer is in a good condition with a fat case and strong crown-guards. The 78360 Oyster bracelet with 558 end-links doesn’t shows much stretch and fits perfectly. The funky 1970’s indexes on the dial show a wonderful vanilla patina, while the Tritium inside the hands show a slightly lighter colour. There are a few spots on the matte black dial, just left of the ‘Frogfoot’ coronet, but I like to think these are silent witnesses to the Explorers past adventures. The thing that pops out the most is of course the 24 hour Arrow Hand, which has turned to a beautiful orange/yellow-ish tone. This larger arrow-hand is calibrated with the stainless steel 24 hour bezel, to tell the wearer of the watch the time in AM or PM. The stainless steel 24 hour bezel is an early Rolex Service Center replacement bezel, but still looks the part on this 1655.

The Explorer’s 1575 movement has been fully serviced according the Rolex specs. but we did not polish the case and/or bracelet. This 1655 will be sold with a 12 month warranty.

reference: 1655 MK2
case number: 535XXXX
year of production: 1978
case diameter: 39mm
movement: automatic, caliber 1575
box and papers: no

SOLD