A 40 year old, aesthetically satisfying toolwatch; that proudly displays the adventures it was intended for.

This ref. 1655 dates back to 1982 and features a spotless MK V dial. Both the matte-black dial and the handset are still supplied with the original tritium. The orange hand faded to a very subtle color, fitting to the overall looks. The condition of the case is the absolute star of the show on this particular watch. The watch seems to be preserved very well, with razor sharp lines and shiny thick chamfered edges, yet still beautifully displaying it has been carefully enjoyed in the past.

If you plan on visiting Svalbard this winter you really should get this watch. You might wonder what the hell Svalbard and the Rolex Explorer II have to do with one another. Allow us to shed 'light' on the matter. Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago located at 78˚ North, the northernmost inhabited place in the world. Due to its location, the sun doesn’t rise in Svalbard for 84 consecutive days each year. The Rolex Explorer II was made to address this very problem. The Explorer II features an extra 24-hour hand and an engraved 24-hour scale bezel so that the wearer can easily distinguish between day and night. This comes in handy when you spend your days in caves or during the dark days of winter in Svalbard. Enough with the geography class for now.

To assist with the watch’s 24-hour display, the dial features 12-hour as well as 24-hour markings. Small rectangles outside the minute track correspond with the 24-hour hand. To further legibility, the 1655 features a funky triangle-shaped orange 24-hour hand, earning it the Italian nickname ‘Freccione’.

One of the most enamoring aspects of the reference 1655 is that it sports a mid-sized case, measuring in at a diameter of 39 mm. As a result, the watch wears very well, even on the smaller-wristed among us.