16570 Explorer II - A touch of DLC for a modern look

[ebis]

In 2021, I RSC'd my 20 something year old 16570. They did a great job. I contemplated switching to polar, but decided not to and kept the original lume-less dial and hands. I had some regret as having lume is half the fun, but the old 16570 never got too much wrist time anyways.

After adding a 116500 to my collection late last year, I was really impressed with the pop of the white dial and the ceramic bezel. This only made me further regret not going polar.

I was a man on a mission. I went to my AD to swap the dial to polar and ordered a new and overpriced bezel off C24. I then sent the bezel off to a local watch shop that specializes in customization to be DLC'd and painted.

At the time, my expectations were a bit torn. The Explorer II has a bezel with clean radial brushing where the Daytona had a nice glossy ceramic finish. In my head, I really wanted a ceramic bezel on the Explorer II. I was a bit uncertain what to expect from the DLC only to be pleasantly surprised. The radial brushing is still clearly visible keeping that Explorer II's rugged character with the black accents on the polar kit.