This time I am sharing the second generation Explorer II Ref.16550. Compared with the next generation Ref.16570, its case is slightly thicker, and compared with other Explorer IIs, its bezel font is extremely thick, which looks more visually impactful. The production time of Ref.16550 was 4 years from 1984 to 1988. The dial colors are black, white and cream. Although it was only produced for 4 years, there are currently 4 types of dials. By the way, there is only 1 type of bezel, which becomes the same bezel as Ref.16570 after being replaced. The dial types of the second generation Explorer II can be divided into Mark I ~ Mark IV.
Mark I is the well-known Center Split/Rail Dial, which existed between 1984 and 1986. The serial number prefix R does not exist in the later models after 1987. The characteristic of Mark I is that the two lines of English words [SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER] and [OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED] are centered at 6 o’clock, which is also the origin of its name. In the past, it was only divided into center split and non-center split dials, but now it is subdivided into 4 types. In addition, the crown on the dial is slightly smaller, the font of [EXPLORERⅡ] has no serifs and the text spacing is the largest, and the three horizontal strokes of the two letters [E] are the same length. The colors of Mark I are black and cream (the ratio is 3 to 7), but most of the black dials are cracked (this is probably the reason why there are fewer black dials), and the cream dial has not seen this phenomenon. The reason for the cracking of the black dial is the same as that of Ref.5513, which should be a paint problem unique to this era. However, there are some friends who like watches in this state now.
MarkⅡ and MarkⅠ existed at the same time, but the color is only cream color on the non-channeled side. The crown looks slightly smaller than MarkⅠ, but it is actually slightly larger. In addition, the stroke of the letter [R] of [ ROLEX ] is smoother. The biggest difference is the SWISS mark at 6 o’clock. The letters [T] at both ends are only on MarkⅡ, and the total number is also very small. Generally, the first impression is that the cream color on the channeled side is better, but this rare non-channeled MarkⅡ cream side is also very interesting.
Mark III was produced from 1984 to 1988, and was more common from 1987 to 1988. There were two colors, black and white. Black was more common in the early stage, and white was more common in the later stage after the R prefix. I guess everyone has noticed that white appeared just after cream color. Cream color was not produced until 1986, and it was changed to white after the R prefix in 1987, so the original white production time was very short. The characteristics are that the middle stroke of the letter [E] of [ROLEX] is short, and the two vertical lines of the letter [Ⅱ] of [EXPLORERⅡ] are thicker. These characteristics are the same as Mark IV to be discussed next. In addition, the unique feature of Mark III is that its crown looks refined and sharp. The vertical line of the lower letter [L] is close to the center of the crown, and the end of the letter [X] of [ROLEX] exceeds the vertical line of the lower letter [L] by a lot.
Mark Ⅳ was also produced from 1984 to 1988, but most of them were after the letter R. There were two types of black and white, with black being slightly more common. In addition, the early days of the next generation Ref.16570 also had the same dial font, and the total number of Ref.16550 was very small. The characteristics are shown in the picture. Compared with the Mark Ⅲ next to it, the font looks very eye-catching, the crown is thick and the round mouth is thin, and the text of [ROLEX] is also relatively large. Pay special attention to [R] and [O] to know. The above is the classification of the four dials of the second generation Explorer II.
Finally, let me briefly talk about the color of the dial. The cream-colored dials up to Mark II had silver luminous scale edges and hands, but after changing to white, their color became black, which greatly improved visibility. This may also be the reason why the cream color dial will be discontinued in the short term.
To summarize briefly, Mark I has a smaller crown and is only available in black and cream colors, the dial is a channeled surface, and the black dial often cracks; Mark II is not a channeled surface, the number is rare, and it is only in cream color; Mark III no longer has cream color, only black and white, the vertical line [Ⅱ] of [EXPLORERⅡ] is thicker, and the unique feature of Mark III is that the center of the crown under the letter [L] of [ROLEX] is very close; Mark IV has a very thick crown at 12 o’clock and the font [ROLEX]. The most important charm of Ref.16550 is its bezel. Compared with other Explorer II, its overall look is very impactful, so the first thing to see about Ref.16550 is whether it is an original bezel. The above is the summary of the second-generation Explorer II this time.
