THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: ROLEX
MODEL: 1016
YEAR: 1960
CASE DIAMETER: 36mm
CASE MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
BRACELET MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
MOVEMENT: AUTOMATIC

The Rolex Explorer 1016 we have here is the second of the gilt-dial variations: the Type 1 chapter-ring dial, with short, flat early tritium hands. (Yes, there is a Mk0—no, it doesn’t make sense.) This is the first dial to feature the SCOC print, marking the introduction of the new 1560 movement. The watch retains its original radium dial, confirmed on our Geiger counter. The hands were likely replaced in the mid-1960s and feature the earlier “glowy tritium,” a detail supported by a 1964 service engraving on the caseback.