A Spelunker

The Rolex Explorer II was first introduced in 1971, as the premier timepiece featuring a complication with the ability to account for a 24-hour time period. This attribute was created for spelunkers, or cave explorers, providing a day/night reference for long periods of time in darkness.

The stainless steel watch photographed here is an Explorer II with original reference number 1655, circa mid to late 1970’s. The oversized bright orange additional hour hand and the 24-hour fixed bezel are the two distinguishing features of this model, giving it the ability to inform its user whether the 3 on the dial is for 3am or 3pm. In this particular example, the second hand has a luminous circle accent that was only added to the models manufactured after the year 1975.

The Explorer II has been erroneously referred to as the “Steve McQueen”. The actor was a fan of the brand and frequently wore Rolexes, but there is no evidence that he ever owned this particular model.

Even with its faux celebrity fan, The Explorer II was not a particularly popular watch during its production run from 1971 to 1985. Many critics at the time complained that the dial was chaotic, even to the extent of being illegible. Today, however, an Explorer II of this vintage is one of the most popular vintage sport Rolexes. The "Orange Hand" Explorer II design is considered pure 1970s retro. 

To capitalize on this popularity, this year at BASELWORLD in Switzerland, Rolex released an updated Explorer II with an upgraded movement and a significantly larger display.

Images: Spelunkers in the cave, Courtesy: http://oilismastery.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html

Print this post