製造商: Rolex 年份: Circa 1972 型號: 1655 機芯編號: D276210 錶殼號碼: 3'181'610 型號名稱: Explorer II "Freccione" 材料: Stainless steel 機芯: Automatic, cal. 1570, 26 jewels 錶帶/ 錶鏈: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet stamped "580" and "78360" to the endlinks, max length 205mm 錶扣: Stainless steel Rolex deployant clasp stamped "N4 78360" 尺寸: 39mm Diameter 簽名: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed 配件: Accompanied by original purchase invoice from Mappin & Webb (Bradford, York) detailing purchase of the present watch with bracelet on January 1, 1976 for the amount of 138GBP, 3 sales tag, Rolex UK service document dated October 20, 1995, product literature, presentation box and outer packaging.
圖錄文章
The Rolex Explorer II was first introduced in 1971 by the way of the ref. 1655. Providing a completely refreshed configuration with the absence of the traditional 3-6-9 dial configuration and furthermore featuring a 39mm diameter Oyster case, it also is equipped with a 24-hour bezel and a large orange 24-hour hand - which gave him its Italian nickname “Freccione”, meaning "big arrow". Designed for explorers (unsurprisingly) and professionals alike, it specifically winks to speleologists as the large orange luminous hand is intended to be visible also in the low light conditions of a cave, and it allows to track the day/night cycle in case of prolonged underground expeditions.
With its production spanning to the mid-1980s, the ref. 1655 was released with a total of 5 different marks as well as two service dials (one with tritium and one with luminova). The earliest examples of the reference known as the Mark I featured a distinctive straight center seconds hand, without the luminous dot found in later marks. Fully retaining this characteristic, and offered in extremely attractive condition of both case and dial, the present piece will delight the “completist collector” with an accessory hardly ever present in vintage pieces (and actually modern ones as well): the original purchase invoice dating to January 29, 1986. From such document it transpires that the watch/bracelet combo was bought at the Bradford, York Mappin & Webb boutique for the amount of 138 GBP (with a 15GBP discount on the listed price of 153 GBP).
Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.
One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.