Rolex - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: FOUR Hong Kong Monday, May 29, 2017 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1991
    Reference No: 16570
    Movement No: 6'643'060
    Case No: N290144
    Model Name: Explorer II
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, 3185, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, 175 mm. maximum length
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex folding deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 39 mm. diameter
    Signed: Case, dial and movement signed
    Accessories: With Rolex service receipt dated 11 September 2014.
    Literature: For another example of a reference 16570, please see Rolex 3,621 Wristwatches by Kesaharu Imai, pages 184 and 185.

  • Catalogue Essay

    This sapphire crystal Explorer II 16570 was introduced in the late 1980's and the dial was upgraded with very attractive black lume plots. These earlier examples are sometimes known for their numerals and or dial to aged in a very specific way, leading us to believe that the components used at the time by Rolex are defective and if the watch is exposed to humidity change colour.

    Today, these rare examples are highly sought after as they add a nice and unusual flare to standard production pieces.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    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.

    View More Works

1096

Ref. 16570
A stainless steel dual time wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, date and bracelet

Circa 1991
39 mm. diameter
Case, dial and movement signed

Estimate
HK$30,000 - 50,000 
€3,600-6,000
$3,800-6,400

Sold for HK$56,250

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2001
thomasperazzi@phillips.com

Ziyong Ho
Specialist
+852 9386 2032
ziyongho@phillips.com

Jill Chen
Specialist
+852 2318 2033
jillchen@phillips.com

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: FOUR

Hong Kong Auction 30 May 2017