Rolex Explorer 1016
Twenty-six years in production, with a gilt dial first and a matt one later. An acrylic crystal and drilled holes in the lugs.
We buy Rolex Explorer
Sell your Rolex Explorer
You can sell your Rolex Explorer to Reuven Watches in Utrecht. We buy every version, from a 1016 to the current 36 and 40 millimetre, and the Explorer II as well. Send a few photos and you will hear what we offer within 24 hours.
- Within 24 hoursseven days a week
- Explorer and Explorer II36, 39, 40 and 42 mm
- Shipped insuredat our expense, from abroad as well
You are not committed to anything. Your details stay confidential.
What is my Rolex Explorer worth?
What a Rolex Explorer is worth depends mainly on the case size and on which version of the dial is fitted. A 1016 with an acrylic crystal sits in a different market from a thirty-nine millimetre 214270, and an Explorer II with a white dial in another again. Because this model has no rotating bezel and no date, the state of the case stands out all the more. We assess your watch on its own and you receive an offer without obligation within 24 hours, weekends included.
The Explorer is the plainest Rolex there is: a smooth bezel, no date, no extra hand and three numerals on the dial. That makes it pleasant to wear and surprisingly hard to assess at a glance. There is nothing on this watch for a used case to hide behind.
The two questions we ask first
How wide is the case, measured from nine to three o'clock without the crown? And are the three, six and nine filled with luminous material, or are they open numerals in white metal? Those two answers usually bring us to the right generation, and on the thirty-nine millimetre even to the right series.
Papers are handy, not a condition
A bare Explorer without box and without card is as welcome here as a complete set, and we have no minimum value. If you do not know the reference or the year, do not go looking it up: that is our job, not yours.
Versions
The Explorer versions we see most
From above these six barely differ, and yet the trade treats them separately. Below, each version is listed with how to recognise it, and the number alongside so you can look it up on your own watch.
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Rolex Explorer 14270
The switch to a sapphire crystal and to applied numerals on the dial. Still thirty-six millimetres and still drilled lugs.
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Rolex Explorer 39 mm
The first Explorer to grow beyond thirty-six millimetres. On the early series the hands are shorter and the numerals are not filled with luminous material.
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Rolex Explorer 36 mm
The size returns to thirty-six millimetres and, for the first time, a version in steel with yellow gold joins it.
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Rolex Explorer II Polar
The version with the white dial, known in the trade as the Polar. Forty millimetres, with a date and a fixed 24-hour bezel.
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Rolex Explorer II Steve McQueen
The first Explorer II, with a straight orange 24-hour hand and a bezel with engraved numerals. In Italy also called the Freccione.
Polar, Steve McQueen and Freccione appear nowhere on the watch itself; they are names the trade has given it. If you do not find your version here, it makes no difference: we buy them all.
Reference numbers
Explorer references we buy often
Look for the number between the lugs at the top, under the bracelet, because that is where Rolex puts it. On this model that is the shortest route to the answer: the number gives away the case size at once, and whether you have the Explorer or the Explorer II.
| Reference | Version | Period | Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6350 and 6610 | Explorer, early generations | circa 1953 to 1963 | acrylic crystal, gilt dial, small crown |
| 1016 | Explorer | circa 1963 to 1989 | gilt and later matt, drilled lugs |
| 14270 | Explorer | circa 1989 to 2001 | first with sapphire and applied numerals |
| 114270 | Explorer | circa 2001 to 2010 | solid links, drilled lugs on the early series |
| 214270 | Explorer 39 | circa 2010 to 2021 | 39 mm, early series with short hands |
| 124270 and 124273 | Explorer 36 | from 2021 | back to 36 mm, also in steel with yellow gold |
| 224270 | Explorer 40 | 2023 onwards | 40 mm, alongside the 36 in the range |
| 1655 | Explorer II | circa 1971 to 1985 | straight orange 24-hour hand, engraved bezel |
| 16550 and 16570 | Explorer II | circa 1985 to 2011 | 40 mm, black or white dial |
| 216570 and 226570 | Explorer II | from 2011 | 42 mm, orange 24-hour hand back |
Your reference not listed? We also buy the early versions from the fifties, such as the 6350 and the 6610, with or without papers.
Specifications
The Explorer in specifications
The figures below apply to the modern generations in steel. Where the Explorer II differs it is noted, because it has a date and a second hand that the Explorer does not.
- Unsure between 36 and 39 millimetres? Measure with a calliper or a ruler from nine to three o'clock, without including the crown. A three-millimetre difference is visible on the wrist but often not in a photo.
- If your watch has a date and an extra hand, it is an Explorer II and not an Explorer. Those are two separate lines with their own markets.
- Case size
- 36, 39 or 40 mm The Explorer II is 40 mm, and 42 mm since 2011
- Bezel
- Smooth and fixed The Explorer II has a fixed bezel with a 24-hour scale
- Dial
- Three, six and nine as numerals Printed until 1989, applied in white gold after that
- Date
- None The Explorer II does have a date, at three o'clock
- Extra hand
- None The Explorer II has a 24-hour hand for day and night
- Water resistance
- 100 metres Lower on the early references
- Bracelet
- Oyster with folding clasp From the 39 mm with an Oysterlock and an extension
- Lug width
- 20 mm, at 39 and 40 mm 21 mm Which is why a bracelet from an older Explorer does not simply fit
This table is here to work out which Explorer you have at home. An offer does not follow from it: we make that on the watch itself and not on the factory figures.
Check it yourself
Four places you can check yourself
You do not have to be a valuer to see what condition your Explorer is in. Go through these four points with the watch in hand and in daylight, and you will know roughly where you stand.
The three, the six and the nine
Check whether those numerals are filled with luminous material or are open numerals in white metal. On the early series of the thirty-nine millimetre they are not filled, and in the trade that is a variant of its own with its own audience. On the older references the numerals are printed rather than applied, and then they lie flat in the dial.
The length of the hands
Put your thumb against the edge of the dial and see where the minute hand ends. On the early series of the 214270 it clearly falls short of the minute track, which Rolex later corrected. That difference is small on the wrist and large in the market, so it is worth a look.
The flanks of the case
Hold the watch at an angle under a lamp and look along the side of the case from the crown to the lug. Because there is no rotating bezel, nothing draws the eye away: a case that has been worked on too often shows at once in the rounded flank and the softened transition to the lug. That does not come back.
The holes in the lugs
Look on the outside between the lugs for small holes going right through. Rolex had those until around 2003, so the bracelet could be pushed out with a pin. If they are there, your watch predates that, and it is worth checking that there are no screwdriver scratches beside them.
If you cannot assess all of this, leave it. We would rather have a request with two photos than no request, and we simply ask for the rest.
Have your Explorer assessedValuation
What sets the value of an Explorer?
Two Explorers with the same number on the case can turn out very differently. Below is what that comes down to, from the point that counts most to the one that counts least.
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The case size
Thirty-six, thirty-nine, forty or forty-two millimetres. On this model the size is no side issue but the first question, because demand for the 36 and demand for the 39 do not move together.
Impact on the value: Large
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Which printing of the dial
Gilt or matt on the 1016, printed or applied from 1989, and filled or open numerals on the thirty-nine millimetre. Within a single reference this is the weightiest distinction.
Impact on the value: Large
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The state of the case
The flanks and the transition to the lugs should be crisp. A plain steel case without a bezel shows polishing more than a dive watch does, and that is irreversible.
Impact on the value: Large
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Original dial and hands
If the ageing of the luminous material has kept pace between dial and hands, they belong together. On the Explorer II with a white dial we also look at whether the white has aged evenly.
Impact on the value: Average
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Box, papers and the right bracelet
The warranty card makes the year and the version traceable. If the bracelet that belongs with it is still fitted, that counts, and loose links sit in a drawer more often than people think.
Impact on the value: Average
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Service history
A recent service at Rolex or at a good workshop is a plus. If the case was polished along with it, that is something for us to know, so send the receipt if you have it.
Impact on the value: Average
Figures and guide prices are deliberately absent here. On a watch without a bezel and without a date, the difference lies in the case, and that cannot be put in a table.
Request a valuation
The Explorer has no bezel and no date. There is nothing for a worn case to hide behind.
Side by side
Explorer 36, Explorer 39 or Explorer II?
These three regularly appear in adverts under the wrong name. Below they stand side by side, so you can check which one you are offering before somebody else remarks on it.
| Explorer 36 | Explorer 39 | Explorer II | |
|---|---|---|---|
| References | 1016, 14270, 114270, 124270 | 214270 | 1655, 16570, 216570, 226570 |
| Case size | 36 mm | 39 mm | 40 to 42 mm |
| Date | None | None | At three o'clock |
| The bezel | Smooth | Smooth | 24 hours, with engraved numerals |
| Extra hand | None | None | A 24-hour hand, often orange |
| How often we see it | The most common of the three | Regularly | Regularly, and the white dial most of all |
Not sure which you have? Look for a date window at three o'clock. If it is there, you have an Explorer II. If not, measure the case from nine to three o'clock without the crown.
The market
How does the market for the Explorer behave?
Four things that on this model more often go wrong or get misjudged. No predictions about the market, only what we see come across our counter.
Thirty-six millimetres is an argument again
For years a thirty-six millimetre case was dismissed as small and people preferred the thirty-nine. Since Rolex returned to thirty-six in 2021 that picture has turned, and it carries the older 14270 and 114270 along with it. If you are selling a 36, simply name that size rather than leaving it out.
The early 39 millimetre is a variant of its own
On the first series of the 214270 the hands are shorter and the three, six and nine are not filled with luminous material. Rolex changed that later. The trade draws a clear distinction between the two, so show us what your dial and hands look like before you assume anything.
The white dial of the Explorer II has an audience of its own
The version with the white dial is known in the trade as the Polar and draws a different kind of buyer from the black. On the older references that white can drift towards cream. Evenly aged white is no flaw, but patchy white is, so photograph that dial straight from above in daylight.
This is a watch that has been worn
The Explorer was sold as the watch you need not spare, and that is exactly what people have done. So we see a polished case more often than on the dive models. Leave it as it is and do not give it another going-over at the jeweller before you sell; that takes value off.
If you are unsure where your Explorer fits in here, put it to us. An offer costs you nothing and commits you to nothing; you can simply set it beside an advert.
All about selling a RolexClient experiences
Clients who sold us their Rolex
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Louis Kuntzmann 5 out of 5 starsVan de week mijn rolex horloge hier verkocht. Van alle juweliers in de omgeving heb ik hier de beste prijs gekregen. Zeer aardige jongeman
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Arnoud Stigter 5 out of 5 starsAls je vertrouwd een horloge wilt kopen of verkopen is dit echt een aanrader. Ontspannen, eerlijk en enthousiast
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P Prins 5 out of 5 starshey nog bedankt voor de goeie info en als ik weer iets nodig heb kom ik wel langs topie
A selection of three of the 50 Google reviews, quoted word for word.
All versions
Which Explorer do you want to sell?
We buy every Rolex Explorer, from a 1016 with an acrylic crystal to a 124270 from last year, and every Explorer II too. For each version we look at the case size, the dial, the state of the case and what comes with it. Photograph the dial straight from above and we see at once which series you are in.
Sell your Rolex Explorer 36 mm
Thirty-six millimetres is the size the Explorer held for fifty-seven years, from 1953 to 2010, and the one it returned to in 2021. If you want to sell a thirty-six millimetre Rolex Explorer, the first question is which reference it is: a 1016, a 14270, a 114270 or a 124270. Those four sit clearly apart in the market, even though they wear the same.
Sell your Rolex Explorer 214270
The 214270 was the first thirty-nine millimetre Explorer and ran from 2010 to 2021. When selling a 214270 we look at whether it is an early or a later series: on the early one the hands are shorter and the numerals are not filled with luminous material. Say so in your request or send a photo of the dial straight from above.
Sell your Rolex Explorer 1016
The 1016 was made for twenty-six years and in that time had a gilt dial and a matt one, with different kinds of luminous material. If you want to sell a Rolex Explorer 1016, we assess the individual watch, because this single reference holds more variants than any other Explorer. Do not polish the case before you have it looked at.
Sell your Rolex Explorer 14270 or 114270
Together these two make up the modern thirty-six millimetre from before 2010: a sapphire crystal, applied numerals and, on the early series, still drilled holes in the lugs. To sell a Rolex Explorer 14270 or 114270 we look at the flanks of the case and at whether the bracelet fitted to it is the original.
Sell your Rolex Explorer II
The Explorer II has a date, a fixed bezel with a 24-hour scale and an extra hand showing whether it is day or night. If you want to sell a Rolex Explorer II, the reference and the colour of the dial are the first two things we need, because the black and the white each have their own market.
Sell your Rolex Explorer II 16570 or Polar
The 16570 ran for over twenty years and is the Explorer II we see most, in black and in white. The white one is known in the trade as the Polar. When selling a Rolex Explorer II Polar we look at whether the white has aged evenly, because patchy white shows and counts in the assessment.
Sell your Rolex Explorer 1655 or Steve McQueen
The 1655 is the first Explorer II, with a straight orange 24-hour hand and a bezel with engraved numerals. It is known as the Steve McQueen and, in Italy, as the Freccione. To sell a Rolex Explorer 1655 we assess the individual watch, because the dials and hands differ from series to series and not many were made.
Sell your vintage Rolex Explorer
We also buy the references from the fifties and sixties, with or without papers. On vintage we look especially at the dial, at the acrylic crystal and at whether all the parts belong together. If you do not know the reference, send photos of the dial, the caseback and the side of the case.
Also searched for
- Sell your Rolex Explorer
- Sell your Rolex Explorer II
- Sell your Rolex Explorer 36 mm
- Sell your Rolex Explorer 1016
- Sell your Rolex Explorer 14270
- Sell your Rolex Explorer 114270
- Sell your Rolex Explorer 214270
- Sell your Rolex Explorer 124270
- Sell your Rolex Explorer II 16570
- Sell your Rolex Explorer Polar
- Sell your Rolex Explorer 1655
- Sell your Rolex Explorer Steve McQueen
- Sell your vintage Rolex Explorer
- Rolex Explorer valuation
- What is my Rolex Explorer worth
- Sell your Rolex Explorer without papers
Frequently asked questions
Questions about selling an Explorer
What is my Rolex Explorer worth?
That depends mainly on the case size, on which version of the dial is fitted and on how crisp the case still is. A 1016 sits in a different market from a 214270 or a 124270.
We give no guide prices on this page, because on this model they would almost always miss reality. Send the reference and a few photos and you will hear what we offer within 24 hours.
Do I have an Explorer or an Explorer II?
Look for a date window at three o'clock and for a fourth hand running along. If they are there, you have an Explorer II. Its bezel also carries numerals, from 1 to 24, engraved in the steel.
The Explorer has no date, no extra hand and a plain bezel with no markings at all. Those are two separate lines with their own markets.
Is 36 or 39 millimetres more sought after?
That varies, and the two do not move together. Thirty-six millimetres was long seen as small, but since Rolex returned to it in 2021 that size stands differently.
What helps in any case: simply name the size in your request. In a photo a three-millimetre difference is all but invisible, so otherwise we have to ask.
What is the difference between an early and a later 214270?
On the first series the minute and hour hands are shorter and the three, six and nine are open numerals without luminous material. Rolex changed that later: longer hands and filled numerals.
The trade draws a distinction between them. A photo of the dial straight from above is enough to see which you have.
Where is the reference on my Explorer?
Between the lugs on the twelve o'clock side, under the bracelet. You only see it once the bracelet is off.
If that is not possible, send photos of the dial and of the case from the side. From the combination of crystal, numerals and case size we usually work out the generation.
My Explorer has been polished. Will you still buy it?
Certainly, we rule nothing out on that account. We do say what we see, because that belongs to an offer you can explain to somebody else.
On the Explorer, work on the case shows more than on the dive models: there is no bezel to draw the eye away. So do not have it worked on again just before the sale.
I no longer have the box and papers. Can I still sell it?
Certainly. Any brand, any condition, and we set no lower limit.
On this model the card is useful, because the year on it shows which series your watch falls into. If it is lying about somewhere, a quick search is worth the trouble.
How soon do I get an offer on my Explorer?
Usually the same day and in any case within 24 hours, Saturdays and Sundays included.
After that the ball is in your court. You can set the offer alongside others and do nothing with it; the watch simply stays yours.
Assessed by
Beni Reuben
Owner and valuer at Reuven Watches
Beni Reuben has been valuing watches for ten years and knows that a plain watch is the hardest to assess. On an Explorer he therefore starts with the case size and with whether the numerals on the dial are filled, because on this model that is what separates two series carrying the same number.
Ten years in the watch trade
More about Reuven WatchesPublished
Last updated
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Other Rolex models we buy
Is there more in the drawer? For these models we have made a page of their own, with the references and the points that matter on each.
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Sell your GMT-Master II
Further reading
More than one watch to part with?
- All Rolex
Sell your Rolex
Every model of the brand, with the process from request to payment. - All brands
Sell a watch
Any brand and any condition, faulty included, with no minimum. - Questions
Frequently asked questions
What happens after your request, and how shipping works. - About us
Who Reuven Watches are
Utrecht, since 2019, rated 4.8 out of 5 across 50 Google reviews.
No obligation
Curious what we would offer for your Explorer?
Send the reference and photos of the dial and of the case from the side, and you will hear what we offer within 24 hours. Weekends included.
You are not committed to anything. Your details stay confidential.