Reference:16570: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Ref 16570 hero.webp|thumb|right|340px|alt=Black-dial 16570 hero|Black-dial 16570 hero]] | |||
The <code>16570</code> is the long-run modern Explorer II. Produced from 1989 through roughly 2011, it replaced the short-run <code>16550</code> and held the reference slot for twenty-two years before the 42mm <code>216570</code> took over. Two dial options, matte black and a crisp white called Polar. A 40mm steel case with a fixed 24-hour bezel, sapphire crystal with Cyclops, and a true GMT movement with independent local-hour setting. Four distinguishable production versions split by case, dial-printing, lume, and caliber changes. The reference is a slow-moving watch in a Rolex line that otherwise prefers sudden breaks, and that slow drift is what gives it the internal map collectors now rely on. | The <code>16570</code> is the long-run modern Explorer II. Produced from 1989 through roughly 2011, it replaced the short-run <code>16550</code> and held the reference slot for twenty-two years before the 42mm <code>216570</code> took over. Two dial options, matte black and a crisp white called Polar. A 40mm steel case with a fixed 24-hour bezel, sapphire crystal with Cyclops, and a true GMT movement with independent local-hour setting. Four distinguishable production versions split by case, dial-printing, lume, and caliber changes. The reference is a slow-moving watch in a Rolex line that otherwise prefers sudden breaks, and that slow drift is what gives it the internal map collectors now rely on. | ||
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==Production outline== | ==Production outline== | ||
[[File:Ref 16570 black-dial-2.webp|thumb|right|280px|alt=Mid-run black-dial 16570|Mid-run black-dial 16570]] | |||
The 16570 divides cleanly into four internal versions. The boundaries are approximate, since lume, dial, and case changes do not all line up with the same serial band, but the map works in practice. | The 16570 divides cleanly into four internal versions. The boundaries are approximate, since lume, dial, and case changes do not all line up with the same serial band, but the map works in practice. | ||
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===Black dial=== | ===Black dial=== | ||
[[File:Ref 16570 black-dial-tritium.webp|thumb|right|280px|alt=Early tritium black dial|Early tritium black dial with SWISS - T<25 printing]] | |||
The black dial is the default. White-gold applied indices with tritium, Luminova, or Super-LumiNova plots depending on the era, white-gold baton hands, a red 24-hour hand with a matte-ochre painted tip on early watches, a quickset date at 3. The printing layout is consistent through the run — <code>EXPLORER II</code> at 12, <code>OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED / CHRONOMETER</code> above six, depth and water resistance across the bottom — but the printing tells change across eras. Early tritium dials read <code>SWISS — T<25</code> at six, with the slightly-spaced dashes and italicised T that identify the era. Luminova Swiss-only dials print <code>SWISS</code> alone with no <code>MADE</code>. Super-LumiNova dials use the modern <code>SWISS MADE</code>. Tritium plots yellow unevenly over time; the best-known variant label for a heavily-yellowed tritium 16570 dial is <code>Chicchi di Mais</code> — corn kernels — applied to watches whose plots read closer to mustard than cream. | The black dial is the default. White-gold applied indices with tritium, Luminova, or Super-LumiNova plots depending on the era, white-gold baton hands, a red 24-hour hand with a matte-ochre painted tip on early watches, a quickset date at 3. The printing layout is consistent through the run — <code>EXPLORER II</code> at 12, <code>OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED / CHRONOMETER</code> above six, depth and water resistance across the bottom — but the printing tells change across eras. Early tritium dials read <code>SWISS — T<25</code> at six, with the slightly-spaced dashes and italicised T that identify the era. Luminova Swiss-only dials print <code>SWISS</code> alone with no <code>MADE</code>. Super-LumiNova dials use the modern <code>SWISS MADE</code>. Tritium plots yellow unevenly over time; the best-known variant label for a heavily-yellowed tritium 16570 dial is <code>Chicchi di Mais</code> — corn kernels — applied to watches whose plots read closer to mustard than cream. | ||
===Polar white dial=== | ===Polar white dial=== | ||
[[File:Ref 16570 polar-dial.webp|thumb|right|280px|alt=Polar white dial 16570|Polar white dial 16570]] | |||
The Polar dial is what most collectors mean when they talk about a 16570. Matte white background, applied indices painted with a black enamel surround that holds the lume plot in a dark frame, white-gold baton hands with matching black outlines, a red 24-hour hand, red-and-black accent text. The surround printing is dense enough that a worn Polar dial looks different from a worn black dial at the same age: lume plots age visibly against the black frame, and any dial rework shows in the printing around the applied index rather than in the dial colour itself. | The Polar dial is what most collectors mean when they talk about a 16570. Matte white background, applied indices painted with a black enamel surround that holds the lume plot in a dark frame, white-gold baton hands with matching black outlines, a red 24-hour hand, red-and-black accent text. The surround printing is dense enough that a worn Polar dial looks different from a worn black dial at the same age: lume plots age visibly against the black frame, and any dial rework shows in the printing around the applied index rather than in the dial colour itself. | ||