The Reference 1655 Rolex Explorer II was nicknamed the “Steve McQueen” Rolex due to a Rolex advertising campaign from the 1970s. Steve McQueen never wore the reference 1655 Rolex Explorer II in real life. He primarily wore a Submariner. Rolex used McQueen’s image to try to boost sales of the slightly obscure watch designed for speleologists. Ever since the timepiece has been referred to as the Steve McQueen Rolex by collectors of Rolex timepieces.
1655 Rolex Explorer II or the Steve McQueen Rolex
The Reference 1655 Rolex Explorer II was built with a 40 mm stainless steel case and an Oyster bracelet with 3 links. It was produced between 1971 and 1984. Current prices of this timepiece typically start at $28,000 for a used model in good condition but could be much much higher in today’s wild Rolex market. This is a significant appreciation of a timepiece that originally sold for only a few hundred dollars back in the 1970’s.
Originally manufactured to assist cave explorers in differentiating between day and night as they would spend many hours at a time in the dark, the Rolex Explorer II has since been known as the watch for volcanologists, speleologists, polar explorers, and the like. Gaining its claim to fame and nickname from Steve McQueen, the Rolex Explorer II reference #1655, or Steve McQueen Rolex, is one of the most craved vintage watches in the world.
Released in 1971, the 1655 Rolex Explorer II owes its specialty to Steve McQueen although it is questionable whether the king of cool actually wore a 1655 Explorer II himself. Mechanically there aren’t any differences between the 1655 Rolex Explorer II and other Explorer II models, it’s the orange hour hand and straight seconds hand that makes this model such a valuable piece. In fact, during its time in production, the 1655 Explorer II was not very popular as its dial was too cluttered and difficult to read.
The very first Rolex Explorer II was this reference 1655. It was quite different from the original Explorer 1 timepiece which was released in 1953. It has a fixed stainless steel bezel that was marked with a 24-hour scale, and an additional bright orange, arrow-shaped 24-hour hand giving it a new GMT function. The Rolex Explorer II 1655 was intended to serve as an AM and PM reference for cave explorers operating for extended periods of total darkness. The dial could be used to read both 12-hour and 24-hour times. Nicknamed the ‘Steve McQueen’ (even though the famous Hollywood actor never actually wore one in real life), the reference 1655 represents the oldest and most desirable model among all Rolex Explorer II references.
Production of the Rolex Explorer II 1655 lasted until the mid-1980s, meaning that all examples of this reference will be fitted with matte dials. With that in mind, some variation exists among ref. 1655 dials and this particular example from the 1970s is fitted the rare ‘rail dial’ style, which can only be found on Explorer II and Sea-Dweller models from the late 1970s, and that features different spacing for its chronometer-certification text, than both older and later-era reference 1655 Explorer II dials.
By 1985, Rolex had discontinued the ref. 1655 Explorer II and replaced it with a model that more closely resembled its
GMT-Master collection, making the reference 1655 entirely unique. The ref. 1655 is the only Rolex Explorer II to feature an acrylic crystal, the only model to feature a matte dial, the only one with a case diameter under 40mm, and the only Explorer II without an independently adjustable 24-hour hand. Truly unique and unlike any other Rolex watch, the reference 1655 represents Rolex’s original vision for its Explorer II collection.
The Rolex Explorer II 1655 is COSC certified, has plexiglass, date display with cyclops lens, GMT, orange extra hour hand, straight seconds hand, second timezone, acrylic crystal screw-down crown, and Rolex Oyster bracelet. Although the 1655 Rolex Explorer II watch strap may be an oyster bracelet, the 1655 Explorer II has over the years been featured on an array of different types of watch bands like leather watch bands or nato watch straps.
Although it may take a trained eye to set an authentic 1655 Explorer II apart from other Explorer II models, the exclusive recognition from fellow watch enthusiasts is rewarding in itself. Today’s Explorer II has great similarities to the original 1655 reference.
However, Rolex has made extreme enhancements to this timepiece, some of which are subtle and some that are more obvious. The hour markers have been replaced with luminescent circles at the 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11 o’clock positions. the halfway point between the hour markers (example: at 3 seconds and 7 seconds) has been removed and replaced with standard minute/second notations around the dial. The case is now a 42 mm case.
Luminescence has been added to the second’s hands and more real estate has been added to the hour and minute hands which give greater visibility to the timepiece. The bright orange GMT 24-hour hand also has more lume inside its triangular tip but is still similar to the original timepiece. Inside Rolex has improved the 3285 caliber tremendously with incredible achievements in power reserve (now 70 hours), greater accuracy, resistance to magnetic fields, and shock.
Rubber B has developed 4 exclusive watch bands for the Rolex Explorer 1 and Explorer II timepieces. Each Rubber B band is produced in Switzerland with the finest vulcanized rubber. For more information on our extensive selection of brands, styles, colors, and clasp options, please visit our Rolex Explorer Page Here.
