The short answer: a fake Rolex Explorer II ref. 1655 is a poor buy at any price, because the reference is a 1970s vintage watch whose identity lives in case geometry, bezel construction, and decades of patina, none of which replica factories reproduce with fidelity. If you want the look, buy a modern vintage-inspired watch from a brand that publishes its own design. If you want the real thing, put the replica money into a savings fund and learn the reference first. Judge any 1655 style watch on six criteria: case profile and crown guards, the 24-hour bezel and hand, dial and lume, movement, condition story, and legal exposure.

What the reference 1655 actually is

Rolex introduced the Explorer II in 1971 as a tool watch for cave explorers and for people working through polar night, where a 24-hour indicator tells you whether it is day or night. Reference 1655 carried a fixed steel bezel with a 24-hour scale, a large orange arrow hand, a plexiglass crystal, drilled lugs, and no crown guards. Production ran into the mid 1980s, and the line later moved to references with crown guards and sapphire crystals. Collectors nicknamed it the "Steve McQueen" and, in Italy, the "Freccione," meaning big arrow. Those nicknames matter when you shop, because sellers use them to add romance to watches that do not match the reference at all.

Criterion 1: case profile and crown guards

The 1655 case is the single hardest detail to fake, because it is defined by what is missing rather than what is added.

Pros

  • A correct case is about 40mm across, with smooth flanks and no crown guards at all.
  • Drilled lugs, a crown that sits close to the mid-case, and a slim profile that sits flat on the wrist.
  • Lug holes line up with the spring bar ends instead of sitting off center.

Cons

  • Most fake 1655 builds use aftermarket cases copied from later 16570 geometry, which means crown guards appear where none should exist.
  • Generic GMT cases show a thicker mid-case, wrong lug width, and a crown that stands proud of the case.
  • Laser-cut or misplaced lug holes are a fast tell on a case that was never meant to be a 1655.

Use case: check the case before anything else. If a listing shows crown guards, the watch is not a 1655 in any meaningful sense, no matter what the dial says.

Criterion 2: the 24-hour bezel and hand

The bezel is fixed on a 1655. It does not rotate, and that single fact removes a large share of replicas from consideration.

Pros

  • A fixed steel bezel with an engraved and filled 24-hour scale, with numerals in the right size and spacing.
  • A large orange arrow hand that reaches the chapter ring without crowding it.
  • A Mercedes style hour hand paired with the arrow, since the 24-hour hand is the second time zone indicator.

Cons

  • Rotating bezels borrowed from GMT-Master tooling, which changes how the watch works and how it looks.
  • Printed, stickered, or painted bezel inserts that wear through within months.
  • Flat, uniform orange paint and an arrow hand that is too small or the wrong shape for the reference.

Use case: if the bezel turns, stop there. A rotating bezel is a functional error, not a cosmetic one.

Criterion 3: dial, lume, and patina

Vintage lume is the detail buyers fall for and the detail fakes get worst, because tritium ages in ways that cannot be manufactured on demand.

Pros

  • A matte black dial with a printed minute track and text placed where the reference places it.
  • Tritium plots that aged unevenly, with hands that aged in step with the dial.
  • Honest service history, disclosed in writing, which is worth more than a perfect dial.

Cons

  • Glossy dials that never existed on this reference.
  • Lume that still glows after forty years, which tritium does not do.
  • Perfectly uniform cream plots across the dial, a sign of factory-fresh paint rather than age.
  • Service dials presented as original, or text printed in the wrong position.

Use case: for a modern vintage-inspired watch, fresh lume is honest and fine. For anything sold as vintage, ask which dial type it is and whether the lume still charges.

Criterion 4: movement

The 1655 used a 24-hour variant of the period automatic caliber, with a smooth sweep and correct caseback stamping. Replicas rarely get close.

Pros

  • Correct caseback engraving, reference numbers, and a movement that a watchmaker can identify.
  • Parts availability for service, which is what keeps a vintage tool watch wearable.

Cons

  • Asian clone movements with the wrong beat rate and a rotor that fills the caseback.
  • Mismatched date font and cheap gaskets that fail within a season.
  • Fantasy reference numbers stamped on the caseback of a watch that never existed.

Use case: if you cannot see the movement, you cannot verify it, and that alone removes most fakes from serious consideration.

Criterion 5: legal exposure and resale

Pros

  • None for buyers. There is no upside that offsets the risk of seizure or loss.

Cons

  • Counterfeit watches infringe registered trademarks and carry civil and criminal penalties in the United States.
  • Customs can seize counterfeit goods at the border, and you have no recourse for the money spent.
  • No authorized watchmaker will service the watch, and no serious dealer will take it in trade.

Use case: the only sensible use case is avoidance. If you want the 1655 look, buy from a brand that owns its design and stands behind the watch.

Better places to put the money

A vintage-inspired watch from a brand that publishes its own reference history gives you the fixed 24-hour bezel and the arrow hand without the legal and service problems. A later genuine Explorer II, such as the 16570, delivers the real 24-hour function, crown guards, and a sapphire crystal at a fraction of what a clean 1655 commands. If the 1655 itself is the goal, spend six months learning dial variants, bezel fonts, and case geometry before you spend a dollar.