Rolex Explorer II - 16570 E Serial - advice required

[Rob777]

Hi All,

I'm after some useful advice from the collective here.
I've tentatively expressed an interest in a Rolex Explorer II that a member of watch group down here in Australia is looking to sell. It's been priced at just shy of £4k which is considerably less than I can find on Chrono24 or which I have seen advertised elsewhere.

This would be my first foray into anything Rolex and I'm keen to find out what pitfalls there may be specific to this watch, and particularly of its age.

I know that it dates to about 1990, the dial is gloss black and original, the lume plots and hands are light cream and matching. The case and bracelet appear to be unpolished or possibly have had a light polish. The bracelet is also original to the watch and there looks to be minimal stretch.

Unfortunately no box and papers, or recent service history but it has been checked over by a "watchmaker" and there are no issues with time-keeping or water ingress.

As I say, I'm new to this and trying to get up to speed. Is there anything else I should be particularly mindful of?

Thanks in advance for any input which will be greatly received and appreciated,

Rob

[Omegamanic]

Whose watchmaker has checked it over?

It’s a 30 year old watch - so the usual cautions apply. A Rolex service is expensive.

How are the bezel, Crystal, crown etc.

I love the model. It was my first Rolex, and I’ve owned a few of them over the years, but the smaller size of crown on these and the older GMT’s, compared to the divers is the reason I no longer own one.

Do you have details of the amplitude and time keeping?

[Rob777]

Thanks for the input. It’s much appreciated.

The watchmaker was in the US where the watch was brought from a fairly prominent auction house (based on their Instagram following). It was checked over before auction. The bezel numbering has faded uniformly. The crystal has a small scratch at the 6-hr mark. No issues with the crown reported.

I have asked if there was anything in the way of paperwork he could provide me with but there isn’t anything, nor was he provided with it. That’s an obvious red flag as is the lack of any pictures of the movement.

I think the only comfort is that it’s been listed on a very popular watch group and had a lot of people scrutinizing with the usual kudos in the commentary.



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[mutanthands]

Who is the seller? Are they well known, do they have a good reputation?
If anything goes wrong are you covered.etc

I'd factor in a service just to be on the safe side.

As the watch is being imported from Aus, have you factored in the import duty into the price?
A lot of times a watch that appears cheap ends up costing more than buying locally because of these factors.

[HappyJack]

Where in Australia is the watch/are you? Can you get a local watchmaker to check it for you? I can recommend Max Schweizer in Sydney.

[Rob777]

Who is the seller? Are they well known, do they have a good reputation?
If anything goes wrong are you covered.etc

I'd factor in a service just to be on the safe side.

As the watch is being imported from Aus, have you factored in the import duty into the price?
A lot of times a watch that appears cheap ends up costing more than buying locally because of these factors.

The current owner isn’t well known to me. He’s just a seller on a watch group - a bit like on here really. I’ve got the bona fides of the auction house/dealer he got it from and they seem to have a decent pedigree.

I’ve got the sellers address/copy of their ID so will be able to track him down in the future if needs be.

I’ve told him the watch will go to a Rolex independent after it arrives with me, should it go ahead.

I should have mentioned that I’m based in Oz, although one state over from the seller. Fortunately no import duties to consider.

[Rob777]

Where in Australia is the watch/are you? Can you get a local watchmaker to check it for you? I can recommend Max Schweizer in Sydney.

He’s over in Melbourne and I’m one state over in Adelaide. The seller has sent me quite a few videos and while everything looks cosmetically and mechanically sound, and I’ve hopefully covered the basics, I wasn’t sure if I’d missed anything elementary (besides the lack of paperwork).

As much as he’s only a 5-hour drive from me, he may as well be in a different country as Melbourne goes into lock-down again.

Thanks for the recommendation of a watchmaker. I may we’ll be in Sydney in the next few weeks and can give him a ring ahead of time.


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