SKU: 24677
Quantity selected exceeds current stock
WHAT WE LOVE:
The Rolex Explorer II was designed in 1971 for a specific and demanding purpose: to help cavers and polar explorers distinguish day from night when working deep underground or in environments where the sun never sets. The orange 24-hour hand — completing one full rotation every 24 hours rather than every 12 — tracks against the fixed engraved bezel to tell the wearer whether they are in AM or PM at a glance, without any calculation. It is a deceptively simple solution to a genuine problem, and it remains the clearest functional differentiator between the Explorer II and every other Rolex sports reference.
The "Polar" white dial is the version of the 226570 that commands consistently higher secondary market values than the black dial, and deservedly so. Against the bright white lacquered surface, the Chromalight luminous applied hour markers glow a distinctive long-lasting blue in darkness, the orange 24-hour hand reads with immediate clarity, and the overall composition has a crispness and light-handling quality that the black dial simply cannot match. On the Oyster bracelet with its Glidelock Easylink extension and Oysterlock safety clasp, the 42mm case sits with the confidence of a watch that has been incrementally refined over five decades without losing any of what made the original compelling.
WHAT'S INSIDE:
The 226570 is powered by Rolex's Calibre 3285 — the current-generation in-house automatic GMT movement featuring the Chronergy escapement, which improves energy efficiency by 15% over a conventional Swiss lever escapement and contributes directly to the movement's 70-hour power reserve. The blue Parachrom hairspring provides resistance to magnetic fields and temperature variation, and Rolex's Paraflex shock absorbers improve shock resistance significantly over standard mechanisms.
FIVEFORTYFIVE SIX MONTHS WARRANTY
