It is often said that Rolex’s approach to watch design and development can be described as an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary one. Incremental improvement in the pursuit of perfection is the Rolex way, but this often means that there are many visual similarities between Rolex models from different eras, and careful examination is often required in order to fully understand the various nuances of a particular model. The following is an analysis of the defining characteristics of the replica Rolex Explorer II 216570.


In addition, while the previous Explorer II had 20mm wide lugs, the updated 216570 has 21mm wide lugs to better match its larger case. While the larger Oyster case still offers users water resistance to 100 meters (330 feet), its increased size gives it a much greater overall presence on the wrist, immediately setting it apart from the many other Rolex models with 40 mm cases and making it the absolute largest model in the brand’s collection.
Probably the single most defining element of the Rolex Explorer II is its brushed stainless steel bezel, engraved with a black 24-hour scale. Unlike the 24-hour bezel of the GMT-Master, which rotates in both directions, the bezel on all Rolex Explorer II watches is fixed. However, with the exception of the first Explorer II, the independently adjustable hour hand on the watch can be used with the 24-hour bezel to display two different time zones at the same time.
While the first Explorer II was only available with a black dial, each subsequent model was available with either a black dial or a white “polar” dial – a trend that continues to this day. One difference between the black and white Explorer II 216570 dials, however, is that the white dial is treated to black around the applied markers, while the markers on the black dial retain their natural state of highly polished 18-carat white gold.
Aside from the larger case size, the most discussed aspect of the 216570 models is the return of the model’s large, bright orange, arrow-shaped 24-hour hand. Although fake Rolex occasionally acknowledges various design elements from its past, it has never made a vintage-inspired piece, which it is famous for. While the hour, minute, and seconds hands are essentially larger versions of those found on most Rolex replica sports watches, the 24-hour hand, number 216570, is the version found on the first Explorer II watches from the 1970s.
It is also worth noting that the hands on the white “Polar” dial are black-finished to match their black-finished hour markers, while the hands on the black dial are polished white gold and feature only a black-finished base, which gives them a “floating” appearance. Likewise, the bright orange 24-hour hands are not identical to the black and white dial versions of reference 216570. The hands mounted on the black dial model also feature a black-finished base section to match the similarly styled hour and minute hands.