Rolex Explorer 1016

The storyWhy this reference matters

The Explorer was born on Everest: Rolex launched it in 1953, the year of the first ascent, and the reference 1016 is its third generation. It entered the catalogue in 1963 in place of the 6610, with the same 36 mm Oyster case without crown guards but twice the water resistance, 100 metres against 50, and was not replaced until 1989, when the 14270 brought a sapphire crystal and applied markers.

In those twenty-six years only two things really changed. The dial, which until 1967 was lacquered, glossy and printed in gold — the gilt dials — and from then on matte with white print. And the calibre: the chronometer-certified 1560 at 18,000 vibrations gave way around 1967 to the 1570 at 19,800, which gained hacking seconds in the early seventies.

There was a variant for Japan, the "Space-Dweller", identical except for those two words in place of "Explorer" on the dial, made in the mid-sixties after the Mercury astronauts toured the country. It is exceedingly rare and, as with everything exceedingly rare at Rolex, there are more Space-Dweller dials on the market than Rolex ever made.

SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table

IdentificationHow to tell it apart

The dial dates the watch: glossy and gold before 1967, matte and white after. On the matte dials the luminous material is marked "T SWISS T" or "SWISS T<25" at 6, depending on the period; the early gilt dials read only "SWISS". The 3, 6 and 9 and the triangle at 12 are filled with tritium, which should by now be dead and cream to pumpkin in colour.

The serial number is engraved between the lugs at 6 and the reference 1016 between the lugs at 12; you have to remove the bracelet to read them. That number and the calibre must tell the same story: a 1560 in a watch with a 1980s serial, or a hacking 1570 in a 1965 watch, is a replaced movement.

The original crystal is a tall domed acrylic; many examples wear the flatter service crystal. The Oyster bracelet evolved with the watch: riveted links in the sixties, folded in the seventies and solid at the end. One with its period bracelet and correct end links is worth more, but a bracelet swap does not disqualify the watch.

CollectingWhat collectors check

You buy a 1016 for its dial. A gilt dial free of spotting and moisture damage, with the gold intact, is the example everyone wants and the one that attracts the most fakes and restorations; a good matte dial from the seventies is the most sensible way into a vintage Explorer.

Watch out for glowing markers. The tritium on a 1970s watch no longer responds to ultraviolet light; if it does, the dial has been relumed, and however well that was done it takes the dial out of the original category and out of the original price.

And polishing, as with every vintage Rolex: the lugs of a 1016 are slim and heavily polished cases have lost them. If in doubt, compare the lug profile with a documented example; the difference shows without a loupe.

Common questionsWhat people ask us about this reference

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Close relativesThe ones it gets confused with