1989 Rolex Explorer II Black Tritium Dial 40mm 16570
Ref: 16570
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Booklets
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with a Rolex box, swing tag and Rolex booklets. The watch comes paired with a 20mm Rolex 3-link stainless steel Oyster bracelet with the signed folded flip-lock clasp, all links are provided. The watch is from Circa. 1989 and is in worn vintage condition, but overall good as you can see. The dial features the original Tritium which has developed a beautiful patina, the hands are later service hands. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jrs3U3Uab37oJAc-YTpxaKiVx9R91EFc?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 2:47 - https://youtu.be/8ln8EqQ3pkI
The Watch
Here we have a 1989 Rolex Explorer II Black 16570 Tritium Dial. The Explorer II was specifically made for Spelunkers who are cave explorers, this meant it was built with a particular specification and ultra-durability. A 40mm polished and brushed stainless steel Oyster case curves over your wrist with drilled tapered lugs, a lug-to-lug length of 47.5mm and a case thickness of 12mm giving the watch an impressive wrist presence. At 3 o’clock a signed screw-down Twin-lock crown protected by crown guards. The stainless steel fixed bezel has deep knurling for extra grip and a 24-hour scale deeply engraved and filled in black holding a sapphire crystal above a matte black dial. An outer minute track surrounds the disc and baton indexes filled with Tritium marking the hours, at 3 o’clock a date window with cyclops magnification on the sapphire. Steel Mercedes hour hand and a red stem arrow pointed GMT hand complemented with a lollipop counterweighted sweeping second hand. At 12 o’clock we have the Rolex motif with “ROLEX Oyster Perpetual Date” and “Explorer II” printed underneath, and at 6 o’clock “ Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified” completes this dynamic travel and adventure companion. On the reverse, a screw-down coin-edged case back, inside an automatic Rolex Cal. 3185, 31 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, this workhorse of a movement was in production from 1988 until 2005. The watch comes paired with a 20mm Rolex 3-link stainless steel Oyster bracelet with the signed folded flip-lock clasp, all links are provided, and the watch comes with its Rolex presentation box, swing tag and Rolex booklets.
Personal Note
For me, the 40mm Explorer 2 is the perfect size and this 16570 is one of my favourite references. The tritium dial has developed a beautiful patina in the lume and is even throughout, the hands are service replacement but it doesn't change the charm of the watch to me!
The Brand
In 1905, German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up a company in London that imported Swiss movements which were installed in British cases and sold to jewellers who put their names on the dials. Recognising the potential for their brand, Wilsdorf created the brand name Rolex in 1908. In 1910, a Rolex became the first wristwatch to carry the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, awarded by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne, Switzerland. Demand for Rolex watches rose swiftly, and British taxes on the Swiss movements Rolex used prompted Wilsdorf to move the business to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1919. With production costs lowered, Wilsdorf quickly set out to solve the age-old problem of moisture and dust entering a watch case and damaging the movement. The Rolex watchmakers came up with a fully sealed watch case, which Wilsdorf named the Oyster, and released to an appreciative audience in 1926. In 1931, Rolex introduced the first automatic winding wristwatch, giving it the legendary name Oyster Perpetual. In 1945, they released Datejust. The Datejust was the first watch to have the date jump instantaneously at midnight. The 1950s saw a whole lot of releases such as the Air-King (1958), the Explorer (1953), the Submariner (1953), the GMT Master (1955), the Day-Date (1956), the electromagnetic field resistant Milgauss (1956), the Lady-Datejust (1957) and the first Deep Sea model (1960). Wilsdorf’s death in 1960, saw ownership of Rolex S.A. (a collection of sub-companies) passed to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation which was founded by Wilsdorf in 1945, the mission of which is simply to sustain Rolex S.A. indefinitely.