When the classic Rolex Explorer may lack features or complications that make it particularly suited to one special sport or environment, the Explorer is Rolex’s original sports replica watch collection. First released in 1953 to celebrate mankind’s first successful summit of Mount Everest, the original Rolex Explorer was a greatly durable, self-winding watch that was built to the highest possible standards.
Roughly a decade after the inaugural replica Rolex Explorer first made an appearance, Rolex launched the reference 1016. While a number of different models existed before this, the ref. 1016 solidified what would ultimately become the Explorer’s timeless and signature aesthetic. Today, the Explorer 1016 is considered by many to be the quintessential example of Rolex’s original sports watch, and reference 1016 is easily the most well-known and fiercely collected Explorer model of all time.
Just like with many of Rolex’s other sports watches that existed during the 1950s and 1960s, there exists a range of variation among the original gilt dials that were fitted to reference 1016 Explorer watches. This unique example dates back to approximately 1963, and as one would expect from a very early example of this historic reference, the watch is fitted with a glossy gilt dial. However, since this Rolex Explorer 1016 was run in an early production model, its gold-plated dial also features two rings and an exclamation mark, the latter indicating that its radiation levels have adapted to the new ATOMIC Energy Commission standards.
Production of the Rolex Explorer ref. 1016 lasted until 1989, and much like other vintage fake Rolex sports watches, the reference 1016 was produced with a range of variation in terms of the types of dials and bracelets that were fitted to each watch. The very first examples were equipped with glossy gilt dials; however by around 1967, Rolex had made the switch to matte dials, and this style of dial remained in use until Rolex discontinued the reference 1016 Explorer altogether at the end of the 1980s.
Thanks to the 1016 Rolex Explorer’s production year, only the earliest examples will be found on the exclamation mark dial, making them incredibly rare and desirable to today’s antique collectors. The finished watch is a vintage Rolex replica rivet-link stretch oyster bracelet, which helps make this reference to 1016 an excellent example of a timepiece from the Golden Age of Rolex sports watches.