Attention All 1655 Gurus

[preacher62]

Was the reference 1655 issued with a 38mm case and was the 1655 always a 38mm case or did it grow...as a 1655 to 40mm?

 

Thanks!

[Rolexaddict]

I am not a 1655 guru but a good observer handling a lot of gen Rolex watches

 

If you mean a 40mm case is a case taking a 40mm bezel, so yes the 1655 Explorer II has a 40mm case but the bezel is not 40mm, it is slightly shorter, 38 - 39mm

 

The 1655 case is exactly the same as the 1675 GMT, very slim, light and with a 5,3mm crown, the only difference is that the 1675 has a rotating bezel assembly,

 

Both 1655 and 1675 ref cases have a slim flat brushed caseback

 

All 1655 sold by rep dealers have wrong cases, and wrong casebacks, I will say they are complete 1/1 off, lol

Edited September 19, 2013 by Rolexaddict

[preacher62]

Thanks RA! I am experimenting with building a "poor man's" 1655. Actually, there is no such thing, since, as you have pointed out, there is not good OTB rep. I purchased an M1 bezel from Ingod44 and it measured 37mm (36.92mm), much smaller than the rep bezel. I found a history of the Explorer II and it indicated (with ambiguity) that it was introduced with a 38mm case. Maybe I didn't do enough research.

This add states that the case is 38mm and there is another watch on eBay that says it is 38mm.

http://robertmaron.com/product.php?productid=18027

I used Josh's 1655 and radically modified the case. I put an orange Rafflestime GMT hand and a gen crown and tube. The dial has some incorrect spacing but other than that is not bad.