Mark III Rail Dial
Explorer II Rail Dial 1655 — Mark III Rail Dial
Wider, more symmetrical coronet, and the certification text reset so that the “C”s of CHRONOMETER and CERTIFIED line up — the “rail”. The most sought-after 1655 dial. Mostly paired with the centred thick-numeral bezel, a few with the thin-numeral bezel. Dated example: case 5'372'300, guarantee 29 December 1980.
Five production dial Marks plus two service dials ( and ), four types and two seconds hands. Sold slowly; a 1983 example sat at its retailer for six years. Dated case numbers run from about 2.7M (1971) to about 8.27M (c. 1984).
Identifying details
- Rail dial
The “C” of CHRONOMETER sits directly over the “C” of CERTIFIED, leaving a straight vertical gap (a “rail”) through the certification text.
- Explorer II bezel: thick numerals, centred
Second ref. 1655 bezel: thick numerals centred on the .
Variants of 1655
Reference overview →| Variant | Production |
|---|---|
| Mark I Dial | 1971–1973 |
| Mark II Frog Foot Dial | c. 1972–c. 1977 |
| Mark II Frog Foot Dial · Mark II Dial, Straight Seconds Hand | c. 1973 |
| Mark III Rail DialCurrent | c. 1974–c. 1977 |
Case & movement
- Reference
- 1655
- Production
- c. 1974–c. 1977
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case diameter
- 39 mm
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Crystal
- Acrylic
- Movement
- Automatic
- Chronometer
- Yes
More specifications (2)
- Date
Movement
Rolex 1575
Date caliber with an instantly jumping calendar and no quickset, shared with the GMT-Master, Datejust and early Sea-Dweller. Hacking seconds added in 1971 (HODINKEE’s Submariner guide and Bob’s 1680 guide give 1972). The rotor bridge is marked 1570.
Automatic · Introduced 1965 · 19,800 vph · 48 h reserve