Mk1 'Straight Hand' 1655 Rolex Explorer II

Meet the very, very start of the Explorer II. It’s not just a 1655, it’s the Mark 1. The seconds hand is straight with zero lollipop going on. The bezel has its numerals engraved just a little closer to the crystal than centered. The 1655 was produced from 1971 until 1984, the Mark 1 though? Most think about 2 years. These are small, small, meaningless distinctions. But the first of the breed will always matter. And this one has a ton of character, like Reinhold Messner.

If you are to seek out a practical use case, the 1655 is probably the sole watch on Earth best at distinguishing between AM and PM, thanks to its huge orange hour hand that gives it the accurate ‘Freccione’ nickname. The idea in 1971 was to create an Explorer for spelunkers and Arctic explorers, for use in places so far removed from life that it becomes difficult to distinguish between AM and PM. This was done through a fixed bezel that couldn’t accidentally be bumped and a huge hand. Much the same as the 6541 Milgauss for CERN scientists, Rolex didn’t seem to care very much that cave exploring was quite a niche market. The 1655 sold poorly in period, but is today appreciated for simply looking fantastic with its tritium and 24-hour bezel. And that’s enough. So much so that Rolex, Tudor, and even Longines, strangely, have decided to try their hand at reissuing it. It is a timeless design, even if not the most functional. Collectively, we adore it.

The next generation of 1655 made two small alterations. The seconds hand grew a lollipop. The bezel numerals centered again. And aside from small variations most easily seen in the length of the perpetual text, we had a frog foot until around the 5.5 mil serial range where we also see the introduction of < 25 T. Throughout all of these dials, we got ads like, ‘When Haroun Tazieff wears a fireproof suit, he wears his Rolex on the outside.’ And taglines like, ‘Rolex; You can tell by the men who wear them.’ Last one is a bit tricky today. Otherwise, what a strangely motivational proposition in 2025 all these years later now, desirable still only for different reasons.

This example (pictured first, remained of photography from an example at ACM many years ago) features a great Mk1 dial, with the long Perpetual text and beautifully even tan patina. The case has probably seen one very light polish, but all looks as it should be. It comes from a well-regarded Dutch retailer.