Pick first: the 16570
If you are buying one replica Explorer II and you want the least drama, get the 16570. It is the reference Rolex built from 1989 to 2011, so the pool of genuine photos, measurements, and parts to copy is huge. Replica makers have had more than thirty years to study it. The 16559 is the rarer, weirder transitional piece, and rare is not always a favor when you are shopping a replica.
What each reference is
The 16570 is the Explorer II most people picture when they hear the name. Forty millimeter steel case, fixed steel 24 hour bezel, sapphire crystal, black or white dial, orange arrow hand. Early watches used the cal. 3185, and around 2007 Rolex moved to the cal. 3186. Over that long run the dial text changed, the lugs thickened a little, and the bracelet went from a stamped clasp Oyster to solid end links. None of those changes are big, and that is the point. A good 16570 replica has a very clear target to hit.
The 16559 is a short transitional reference from the late 1980s, sitting between the 16550 and the first 16570s. It keeps the sapphire crystal and the 24 hour bezel, but it carries the older dial layout, including the rail style text on many examples, and it was made in small numbers. Most of them went to a handful of markets. That makes a clean genuine example expensive, and it makes the replica supply thin. Fewer factories build it, and the ones that do often copy a single watch from auction photos.
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Case and crystal
Both are 40mm and both wear about the same on a 7 inch wrist. Across a table you will not spot the difference in the case. The tells are in the small stuff: lug profile, crown guard shape, and how the bezel is finished. On either replica, look for brushed lug tops with polished flanks and a bezel that is brushed, not sandblasted. A flat, gray bezel is the fastest way to spot a cheap build.
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Dial
This is where the two references split, and where replica quality lives or dies.
- 16570: simpler printed text, cleaner date window, and a font that most factories have nailed down. White dial versions are the harder ones to fake well because the color is easy to get wrong. If the white looks chalky or blue, walk away.
- 16559: rail dial text, older font, and thinner printing. The spacing between the lines is the giveaway. On a bad replica the text sits too low or the orange hand is the wrong shade. Genuine orange on these is a muted, slightly burnt tone, not a bright safety orange.
Movement
Most replica 16570s run an ETA 2836-2 based GMT or an Asian 3186 clone. Both will keep time and both will move the 24 hour hand independently in the same way the real one does. The 16559 replica usually gets the same movement, which is fine. Once the caseback is on, nobody can tell the difference, and the 3186 clone is the one I would ask for if the seller offers a choice.
Bracelet and clasp
The 16570 went through several bracelet updates, so a replica with a slightly different clasp code is not a disaster. What matters is the feel. Solid end links should sit flush against the lugs with no gap. The clasp should snap shut with a firm click, not a rattle. On the 16559 replica, the bracelet is often the weak point because factories reuse a generic Oyster, and the end link fit is looser.
Which one to buy
- Buy the 16570 if this is your first replica Explorer II, if you want a daily wearer, or if you plan to compare it against real photos. It is the safer buy and the better value.
- Buy the 16559 if you already own a 16570 style watch and you want the odd one. Go in knowing you have fewer sellers, fewer photos to check against, and a higher chance of a sloppy dial.
- Skip both if you want a modern 42mm Explorer II. That is the 216570, and it is a different animal.
What to check on either one
- Bezel finish: brushed steel, no sandblast grain.
- Orange hand: burnt tone, not neon.
- Crystal: sapphire should show almost no distortion at the edge.
- Date magnification: should sit close to 2.5x, not a fish-eye bubble.
- Lume: should glow evenly, not in patches, and should match on the hands and markers.
If you only remember one thing, make it this: the 16570 is the reference with the most room for error on the maker's side, and the 16559 is the one that punishes a lazy build. Buy the 16570 first, then add the 16559 once you know what good looks like.