Passions Watch Exchange

About This Watch

Vintage. No boxes or papers but a Passions Pouch/box will be given to you. Watch has just been polished & movement overhauled by our master technician some years ago. This is a beautiful Explorer 1 Ref.1016 that we acquired back in 2012. The watch was polished to factory specs and the lugs remain thick while the tritium on the dial has aged gracefully to a faint Khaki colour. The WG Mercedes hands have some blemishes but only an eyesore if u use a 10x loupe to inspect otherwise it's not a bother to naked eyes. The tritium is non-matching with the dial so could be a change later in it's life during service which is common.

Upon opening the back cover, you'll be greeted with an in-house manufacture Cal.1570 tuned to chronometer specs and rightly awarded by Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres but please don't expect that now as this is almost 50yrs old. There's little signs of corrosion on the screw thread between the mid-case and screw back which is good news. All numbers between the lugs remain crisp and legible. The watch has a newer Oyster bracelet fitted from the late 1990s in excellent condition and 95% tight! We will include a nice leather Nato strap for this watch as seen in the pictures.

1968 saw the height of Vietnam War and Martin Luther King was assassinated. On happier notes, Mexico was the first Latin country to host the Olympics known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad and NASA launched the first manned Space mission, Apollo 7 which culminated with the Lunar landings.

It keeps time exceedingly well now, giving an average +/-6 secs a day in 6 positions & though still water resistant, we would recommend you to keep it away from sunlight & water ;)

The Rolex Explorer 1 is one of the first "Sports" watch introduced by Rolex in the 1950s & made famous by the British Himalayas Expedition team where one member wore it to the peak of Mt Everest in 1953, the conquest was the first success for mankind & the Rolex Explorer was there to witness it. Very reasonably priced for a clean example of the vintage Explorer One 1016 and certainly under-valued for what it is.

*6% GST is included in the advertised price for sales in Malaysia only & discount will be given for cash payment.