UNPACKING THE EXPLORER II

WORDS: TIMOTHY BARBER

AS THE ‘CONTRARIAN'S SPORTS ROLEX’ TURNS 50, WHAT DOES THE LATEST 2021 UPDATE MEAN FOR THE SPELUNKING TOOL WATCH?

Of late, you’d have to have to been living in a cave not to notice that things have got, well, a little ‘tasty’ in the market for steel Rolex sports watches. That includes the watch Rolex made for actual cave-dwellers: the sturdy, offbeat, never-quite-fashionable, now upgraded Explorer II. The biggest steel Rolex that isn’t a Sea-Dweller; the only Rolex to offer you two time zones (the GMT Master II, with its rotating 24-hour bezel, gives you three); the only sports Rolex with a white dial variant besides the Daytona; and (still) the only remaining sports Rolex with an embossed steel bezel.

Should you want one, one dealer I called up told me the waiting list for the new model is around three years. But in the world of Rolex sports watches, that actually counts as availability, he said: “We’ve closed applications for the others, because we don’t know if we’ll ever fulfil them.”

Another dealer I called simply laughed, and then sighed. Last year, he said, you might have had a chance; but not now.

That’s because back in April Rolex announced a new version of the Explorer II, Ref 226570 – an event long predicted, since this year marks the watch’s 50th anniversary, and we’re a decade on from its last upgrade.

Anecdotally, supply of the previous model, Ref 216570 introduced in 2011, had dried up significantly in the months preceding the announcement, meaning pent up demand was already surging without the now-inevitable launch hysteria. In the weeks before the release, as Rolex trailed the announcement via shadowy images on Instagram, the watch community’s online hype lords whipped themselves into a frenzy of speculation, prophesying that the Explorer II’s famous fixed steel bezel was, like that of the Daytona before it, about to be replaced with ceramic. Inevitably, Del Boy dealers around the globe hoovered up every pre-owned 216570 they could get their hands on, sending prices rocketing, convinced that the soon-to-be-extinct steel bezel style was about to become collectible gold dust.

One can imagine an almighty, Nelson Muntz-style guffaw emanating from Rolex’s Plan-les-Ouates HQ on 7 April, the day of the launch: the prophecy did

Bearing a striking resemblance to the old Explorer II, the new Ref 226570 model includes a brighter, longer-lasting blue Chromalight lume, slenderer lugs, and the latest bracelet with the secure Oysterlock clasp and EasyLink micro-adjustment system

It is, in other words, the same watch – just a bit better. And all but unobtainable. If you want to jump the wating lists, expect to pay over £10,000 for a watch listed by its maker at £6,800

not come to pass. The new Explorer II is the spit of the old Explorer II, steel bezel and all, with minimal exterior upgrades that include brighter, longer-lasting Chromalight lume (in blue); more slender lugs; the latest Oyster bracelet with the secure Oysterlock clasp and EasyLink micro-adjustment system.

Inside, it has a new-generation movement: it shares the Calibre 3285 found in the current GMT Master II, introduced in 2018. That means 70 hours of power reserve (up from 50 hours); improved reliability and magnetic resistance via Rolex’s innovative Chronergy escapement; and -2/+2 seconds a day accuracy, in line with the brand’s ‘Superlative Chronometer’ standards.

It is, in other words, the same watch – just a bit better. And all but unobtainable. If you want to jump the wating lists, expect to pay over £10,000 for a watch listed by its maker at £6,800.

So where exactly in the panoply of Rolex greatness does the Explorer II fall? Launched in 1971, it came 18 years after the original Explorer, with a different and distinctly niche kind of exploration in mind: for cavers, potholers and anyone else spending long hours where night and day become indistinguishable (arctic scientists, perhaps, or those exploring the outer limits of their bank

balances in Vegas casinos…), the glowing orange 24 hour hand was designed to give you some grounding in time and space. But really, it’s a travel watch: a rugged, dual-time ticker, blessed with Rolex perfectionism.

“If you were going to travel the world and you need a robust companion, or if you’re in low light conditions on a mountainside, it really is the watch for that,” says Adrian Hailwood, of the pre-owned platform WatchCollecting. com. “It’s not advertising itself to be robbed from you like a Pepsi, and the downward slope of the bezel is nice too – it means it slides under your jacket and doesn’t catch.”

Whereas Rolex’s other professional tool watches emerged in the 1950s, the original Explorer II, Ref 1655, was notably a child of the 1970s: its black dial was ringed with a bold patchwork of luminescent markings that give it a wonderfully offbeat charm today, but were presumably less than user friendly – it didn’t sell well. It’s known as the ‘Freccione’ (big arrow) to Italian collectors and the ‘Steve McQueen’ elsewhere, even though the actor didn’t wear one – its rugged, period grooviness just has the feel of something he should have worn (though I’d argue it’s as much Les McQueen as it is Steve – if you know, you know). Good 1655 editions can fetch over £30,000 today – if you’re a true vintage nut, you can go potholing through the microdisparities that distinguish (barely) the different versions.

In the 1980s, groovy gave way to sensible: along with periodic technical upgrades, the subsequent two Explorer II models, in 1985 and 1989, saw the hour markings replaced with crisp Submariner-style lume pots, while the sporty 1970s-style hour/minute hands changed to traditional Rolex Mercedes hands. The bold orange 24-hour hand, meanwhile, was toned down to a slim red pointer tipped with a white arrow. The period also saw the debut of the white ‘polar’ dial version – something that has become a bit of an Explorer II calling card.

The modern Explorer II finally arrived in 2011, as Rolex reacted to the trend for bigger watches. Everything was bulked

Explorer II isn't the most romanticised watch name and instead is known as the ‘Freccione’ to Italian collectors, meaning big arrow, and the ‘Steve McQueen’ elsewhere, even though the actor didn’t wear one, perhaps harking back to the watch’s groovy seventies origin up: the diameter rose from 40 to 42mm, while the dial features all put on weight, with thicker hands, bigger lume pots, and the return of the full-fat orange 24-hour hand. Burly and somewhat quirky, it may lack the romantic backstory – and hence the street cred – of its professional Rolex brethren, but for some that’s part of its allure.

“It’s the contrarian’s sports Rolex,” says Hailwood. “It’s got more functionality than a Submariner, but it’s nowhere near as iconic. It was a bit of a misstep at the start, but that means it really flew under the radar, and gives it a certain charm.”