Saturday 17 August 2013

ROLEX EXPLORER II NOIRE Ref: 216570

Recently helped a friend to pick up a Rolex Explorer II Ref:216570 black dial.
He was kind enough to let me keep the watch for 2 days just to photograph the watch and also get a general feel of the watch for a simple review.



The watch, Rolex Explorer II Ref:216570



Case size have been upped from the previous 40mm to 42mm now.
Guess there's no turning back from the "watches getting bigger" trend.




The dial is expertly done. Usual Rolex standards.
Glossy dial, Maxi... or should I say "Super Maxi" markers and hands since it's even bigger then the Maxi Submariner and GMTIIc.
It does look proportionate to the 32mm dial size I must say.
The splash of orange on the Freccione 24 hour hand pays homage to the Rolex Ref:1665
Likewise to the Explorer II font, also done in orange.
Very much welcomed and it looks good.
Movement powering this watch is the caliber 3187.
Blue parachrom spring.
Unlike other manufacturers that like to stuff small movements into huge cases, Rolex actually upsized the existing 3186 movement and called it caliber 3187 just for this watch.
With the 3186 being as robust as it is, I can imagine the 3187 being more so since tolerance levels is less rigid if the movement is bigger. (That's just my opinion)



The bezel is sunburst brushed with 24 hour markings.
Bezel is fixed, non rotatable.
Black filled fonts on the bezel cavity looks fat and clear. Highly legible.



The crown is the Rolex Twin lock crown.
Similar to the one found on the Milgauss.
Water resistance rated to 10atm or 100m / 330ft
My friend was really lucky to have a watch that the crown lined up when screwed in. Cool!!
In my ownership experience of my Rolexes, none of them lines up.
They should be standard IMHO.



Bracelet is the usual oyster bracelet with solid links.
Measures 21mm form the lug side to 16mm to the buckle side.
By upsizing the bracelet on the lug side, and also not using the chunky lugs found on the Submariner Ceramic and GMTIIc, the case now looks more in flow with the bracelet.
It also features the easylink extension for those hot and humid days.




The watch does have a bigger wrist presence due to the case upsize.
When worn, it hugs snugly... the flatter caseback helps.
Some side by side shot with my Submariner Ceramic.



Here's a customary wristshot.
Overall, the watch is really beautiful, perfect for daily wear.
With the design moving away from the previous iteration ref: 16570 which is akin to a GMTII minus the rotatable bezel.
Now with a bigger case, differrent 24 hour hand, movement that is exclusive to this model, it can finally stand on it's own.

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