Reference:216570: Difference between revisions
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<small>[[Reference:explorer-ii|Explorer II]] › '''216570'''</small> | <small>[[Reference:explorer-ii|Explorer II]] › '''216570'''</small> | ||
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[[File:Ref 216570 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Explorer II 216570 Polar dial. Half-orange 24-hour hand restored from the 1655.|Rolex Explorer II 216570 Polar dial. Half-orange 24-hour hand restored from the 1655.]] | |||
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The 216570 is the 42mm Explorer II. Rolex launched it at Baselworld 2011 to mark the family's fortieth anniversary, replacing the long-run 40mm 16570, and discontinued it in 2021 alongside the 226570 announcement at the fiftieth. Caliber 3187 sits inside, an evolution of the 16570's 3186 with Paraflex shock absorbers, the blue Parachrom hairspring, and a Breguet overcoil. Two dial options carried through the run: a matte black dial and the white "Polar" dial that has anchored Explorer II identity since the 16550. The most-quoted feature on launch was a half-orange 24-hour hand returned to the watch as a callout to the original 1655 Freccione, the only Explorer II between 1971 and 2011 that wore an orange hand at all. | The 216570 is the 42mm Explorer II. Rolex launched it at Baselworld 2011 to mark the family's fortieth anniversary, replacing the long-run 40mm 16570, and discontinued it in 2021 alongside the 226570 announcement at the fiftieth. Caliber 3187 sits inside, an evolution of the 16570's 3186 with Paraflex shock absorbers, the blue Parachrom hairspring, and a Breguet overcoil. Two dial options carried through the run: a matte black dial and the white "Polar" dial that has anchored Explorer II identity since the 16550. The most-quoted feature on launch was a half-orange 24-hour hand returned to the watch as a callout to the original 1655 Freccione, the only Explorer II between 1971 and 2011 that wore an orange hand at all. | ||
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The 216570 is also the reference where the Explorer II grew into a full-size modern sport Rolex. The case width jumped 2mm from the 16570's 40mm to a full 42mm and the dial moved to Maxi proportions, with applied indices and Mercedes hands enlarged in the same idiom Rolex had brought to the Submariner and GMT-Master II a few years earlier. The 24-hour bezel stayed where it had been since 1971, fixed and machined from steel with the engraved markings filled in black paint, no ceramic anywhere. Holding out against Cerachrom is what keeps the design line continuous across five Explorer II generations, and it is the clearest separation between the 216570 and the GMT-Master II beside it in the catalog. | The 216570 is also the reference where the Explorer II grew into a full-size modern sport Rolex. The case width jumped 2mm from the 16570's 40mm to a full 42mm and the dial moved to Maxi proportions, with applied indices and Mercedes hands enlarged in the same idiom Rolex had brought to the Submariner and GMT-Master II a few years earlier. The 24-hour bezel stayed where it had been since 1971, fixed and machined from steel with the engraved markings filled in black paint, no ceramic anywhere. Holding out against Cerachrom is what keeps the design line continuous across five Explorer II generations, and it is the clearest separation between the 216570 and the GMT-Master II beside it in the catalog. | ||
==Core facts== | ==Core facts== | ||