Rolex Explorer II watch, round stainless steel (42mm diameter, 12mm thickness) with shoulders to protect the screw-down Triplock winding crown, adjustable stainless steel Oysterlock bracelet, white dial with luminous hour markers, fixed 24hr stainless steel bezel and independantly adjustable 12-hour hand allows for simultaneous operation of a second time zone (GMT function), date calendar at 3 o'clock, 31 jewel Caliber 3185 self-winding Oyster Perpetual chronometer movement, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, water-resistant to 100 meters.
The Explorer II was created for speleologists (commonly known as "spelunkers" or "cave explorers"), who when working under the surface over long periods of time, can lose their sense of day-and-night orientation. Therefore, Rolex created a watch which always displays the 24-hour notation of time as an extra feature. They introduced the white dial later on in the 16550 model, so they can see the watch better in difficult and dim light conditions. The Explorer II used the in-house 1575 caliber when the watch initially was introduced in the early 1970's. The Explorer II also came with the caliber 3075 and the caliber 3175. Around 1988, the Explorer II got the improved 3185 caliber and from then on, it was possible to alter the 24-hour hand independantly from the 12-hour hand to set another time zone. This increased the useability even more, and the watch became very popular with travellers. You can keep track of your local time by reading off the 24-hour hand, and set your present time zone by setting the 12-hour hand. Made from a solid piece of steel, the bezel is fixed and engraved with the 24-hour track.
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