White Dial, Black Surrounds
Explorer II 16550 — White Dial, Black Surrounds
Late 16550 white dial on which Rolex replaced the white-gold surrounds and hands with black-trimmed ones, as later used on the 16570. Rare. One with an ivory dial, rail text and fat-font bezel is described as a transition piece between the end of the 16550 and the first 16570s.
Made in smaller numbers than the references either side. Dated case numbers run from about 8.4M (1985; one sold new in January 1985) through 9.1M–9.7M (1986–1987) to R serials (1987–1988). The bezel exists with a fat, square font and a slimmer font.
Identifying details
- Black surrounds
Applied hour markers framed in black instead of polished white gold; used on white dials.
- Independent hour hand
Local hour hand jumps in one-hour steps independently of the 24-hour hand.
- 24-hour hand
Fourth, 24-hour hand read against a 24-hour bezel for a second time zone.
Variants of 16550
Reference overview →| Variant | Production |
|---|---|
| Black Dial | Undated |
| White Dial, White-Gold Surrounds | Undated |
| White Dial, White-Gold Surrounds · White Dial, Rail | Undated |
| White Dial, Black SurroundsCurrent | Undated |
Case & movement
- Reference
- 16550
- Production
- Undated
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case diameter
- 40 mm
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Chronometer
- Yes
More specifications (2)
- Date
Movement
Rolex 3085
First Rolex GMT caliber whose local hour hand jumps in one-hour steps independently of the 24-hour hand, without stopping the watch. Used only in the ref. 16760.
Automatic · Introduced 1983 · 27 jewels