Tag Archives: Black Dials Rolex Explorer II Fake Watches

In Which I Dream Up Vintage UK Best Quality Replica Rolex Watches That Never Existed

It’s no secret that I am a fan of the Rolex GMT-Master II with the blue and black bezel – a watch known as “Batman” to some. There’s something strangely magnetic about that watch. And one reason that I am drawn to it is that it strikes me as a pure piece of modern perfect Rolex replica watches design and manufacturing. The bezel colors paired with the overall contemporary styling of the numerals and case proportions make it a quintessential modern offering from the Crown. This isn’t a re-issue or a new interpretation of something old. There is no vintage predicate for it. But what if there was?

This year, when the new updated 1:1 UK fake Rolex Air-King watches was announced at Watches & Wonders, it struck me in the same way my Batman does. It bears the vintage Air-King moniker, in the equally vintage typeface, but there’s no Air-King of yore to which it directly calls back. It’s a reinvention of the form with no forebear.

It was actually this new Swiss made replica Rolex Air-King watches which led me to a twisted thought exercise: imagine what presently non-existent vintage Rolex models might look like if they did exist. My adventure began with the Air-King because, to my mind, it is the most outlandish model to come out of Rolex in some time. And its outlandishness is not paired with some highfalutin complication like, say, the Yacht-Master II (A watch that you won’t find here today because – well – I couldn’t do it justice with my rudimentary graphic design skills). No, the Air-King is a time-only watch. So I began to think how it might look, say, 40 years ago.

My first thought is it would have to be larger than standard 34mm Air-Kings due to the colorful design. I figured it would be a model that would sit side-by-side with the Rolex Explorer 1016 in display cases. So 36mm was my number. And since cheap Rolex copy watches is nothing if not economical, I figured the dial design would borrow heavily from the 1016 much the way the modern Air-King shares the three, six, and nine with the modern Explorer. I then worked to create a vintage-evocative numeral set for the pilot-style Arabic numerals adorning the dial which I took from vintage Oyster Perpetuals of the past.

The result is a watch that I think works in the vintage context. In fact, it almost changed my perspective of the modern execution. I decided to give my vintage piece crown guards and imagined that the 2022 refresh was actually a return to tradition in my invented universe. Would I see this luxury Rolex replica watches differently today if this watch really existed? Who’s to say, but being able to manifest this 36mm yellow and green Air-King on a computer screen was satisfying, nonetheless.

As I was doing this, I looked down at the Batman on my wrist. “Why the hell not?” And so that adventure began, which was a bit trickier than you might think, considering that there is no blue-and-black vintage GMT-Master bezel. In any event, I powered through, determined to invent a ref. 1675BLNR.

Overall, I like the way it looks with the slightly faded bezel, matte dial, and painted markers. I could see this Swiss movements Rolex fake watches being a stealthy hit back in the day, say around 1978. But I couldn’t stop there. 2022 was the year of left-of-the-dial releases, and one watch epitomized that about as literally as any can: the “Lefty” GMT-Master II. So you know I had to play around with that one. To be honest, this works too! If anyone has access to a time machine, let me know as soon as you’re done reading this. But of course, there’s more.

I was determined to challenge my Photoshop acumen with the Crown’s most complicated watch: the Sky-Dweller. I went a little bit crazy with this one because I could. The basis for my design was a vintage, fluted bezel Datejust because the coolest thing about the Sky-Dweller for me is the functional fluted bezel. I then thought about how, historically, watch brands were making insanely complicated watches in cases sizes as small as 34mm (ahem, Blancpain in the ’90s). Considering this was an exercise in “imaginary vintage,” I made the decision to render my top Rolex Sky-Dweller replica watches in a 36mm case fitted – obviously – to a jubilee bracelet.

The result is a watch design that looks confusing and almost impossible. I’d venture to say that it might be impossible to manufacture a 36mm Sky-Dweller. But in my fictional universe, anything is possible. Here I once again looked to the wholesale Rolex GMT-Master fake watches for numerical inspiration. You’ll notice the 24-hour dial features the same numeral style as the bezels of vintage GMTs. The thought here was similar to that on the Air-King: Rolex would likely try to keep its typographical choices somewhat uniform.

I wrapped things up with something of a volley – or at least a model that technically did have a vintage predecessor but not in the way I re-thought it. That would be the Explorer II. Vintage models – known as the “Steve McQueen” – were notorious oddballs in the Rolex lineup. I based my new design on the modern AAA super clone Rolex Explorer II collection watches, mixing the marker styles of the current generation with the bezel of the McQueen. The result is a watch that I’m a bit on the fence about: A matte dial number with a Sea-Dweller-esque layout (with a bit of patina, for added effect).

In the end, this was just a fun exercise. We all play these games in our head, making design observations on every single new release. I just took that idea and put it in reverse. Let me know which of these is your favorite, or if there’s something from the modern best online Rolex replica watches collection you think I missed – other than the Yacht-Master II, of course.

A Brief History Of The Best UK Replica Rolex Explorer II Watches: How The Adventurer’s Watch Has Evolved

Rolex’s dedicated adventure watch, the top UK Rolex Explorer replica watches, traces its origins back to mountain climbing in 1953. In 1971, however, another watch joined the collection with the name Explorer II and a quite different set of features, looks, size and purpose. Rather than for scaling peaks, the original Explorer II was intended for plumbing the depths of caves.

A 24-hour hand and bezel were meant to keep the likes of spelunkers or arctic explorers oriented when it might be easy to lose track of whether it’s day or night. Although it looked like a GMT watch with its prominent, arrow-shaped fourth hand and the steel bezel, it functioned differently: Unlike, say, on the AAA Swiss fake Rolex GMT Master watches, the bezel was fixed (non-rotating) and the 24-hour hand couldn’t be set separately from the main time (though this changed in later versions).

There have been five Explorer II iterations to date. The very first reference looked and functioned a bit differently than the modern variation, but the high quality replica Rolex Explorer II watches that’s well known today was more or less established in 1985. The differences between the models have sometimes been subtle and other times significant, so here’s a breakdown of how this iconic watch has evolved over the decades.

1971: Reference 1655

The first Explorer II established several of the key features that have shown continuity through the variations, but it’s also the most distinct compared to later versions. The steel 24-hour bezel and brightly colored 24-hour hand have characterized the line, but the reference 1655 had a blocky hands and indices with a kind of military look that would later be replaced by more familiar cheap Rolex copy watches design elements.

Bonus trivia: Though this model is sometimes called “the Steve McQueen,” there’s no known connection between this watch and the actor better known for wearing certain other perfect Rolex replica watches.

Diameter: 39mm

Movement: Cal. 1575 automatic

Lume: Tritium

1985: Reference 16550

Suddenly, in 1985, something much closer to the fake Rolex Explorer II watches for sale we know today was born: Its size increased from 39mm to 40mm, it was outfitted with the unmistakably Rolex Mercedes hand set and dial, it received a sapphire crystal — and it got a new movement and a white-dial version. With changes big and small, this was a totally new watch in multiple ways.

The new movement made the 24-hour hand separately adjustable from the main time — meaning it could be set to display a second time zone (or used for the current time zone as originally intended, of course). That made it a true GMT watch, though the bezel remained fixed (as it still does). This helped differentiate it functionally from the GMT Master II within Swiss movements Rolex super clone watches’ lineup, and the white dial version did the same. The black and white (“Polar”) dials have remained the available options to this day.

It’s also notable that the bright orange 24-hour hand was toned down: now it only featured a red stem — but don’t worry, the fully orange hand would come back in a later generation. A wider bezel further added to the watch’s bolder size and presence.

Diameter: 40mm

Movement: Cal. 3085 automatic GMT

Lume: Tritium

1989: Reference 16570

1989 saw the luxury Rolex Explorer II replica watches get a new reference number and only very slight updates. It received a new movement, the cal. 3185, though later models of the same reference used the very similar cal. 3186. On the white dial “Polar Explorer,” the hour markers were now outlined in starkly contrasting black rather than white gold as was the case previously — and the result is visually pretty striking.

The lume used on this reference was also updated over time — first it used tritium, followed by LumiNova and finally, Super-LumiNova.

Diameter: 40mm

Movement: Cal. 3185 automatic GMT; cal. 3186 automatic GMT

Lume: Tritium; LumiNova; Super-LumiNova

2011: Reference 216570

This is essentially the Rolex Explorer II fake watches paypal we have today. Its case size now measured 42mm, and the all-orange 24-hour hand of the original 1971 model was back. It looks refined all around, but the increase in size was always going to be controversial. The dial was now illuminated with Rolex’s own Chromalight material, providing a minty blue glow, and the watch’s rehaut engraved with a repeating “ROLEX.”

Diameter: 42mm

Movement: Cal. 3187 automatic GMT

Lume: Chromalight

2021: Reference 226570

For the watch’s 50th birthday in 2021, the brand stuck to its winning formula and gave the current-generation Explorer II a new reference number and some general upgrades. The size, the functionality and the look are all more or less unchanged. What’s new are the latest Rolex movement, the latest Rolex lume (an “optimized Chromalight display”) and bracelet, and a marginally thinner case. Rolex replica watches shop site changed only what it felt could be improved upon, because that’s how the company rolls.

Diameter: 42mm

Movement: Cal. 3285 automatic GMT

Lume: Chromalight