Examining a 1016 dial

Hi all, I've begun doing homework on 1016 explorers with just maybe the possibility of going for one one in the hopefully not too distant future. I'm a novice on these so having fun learning as I go along.

Wanted to seek out the OF community's wisdom/assessment of the following Rolex 1016 Mk 1 dial, it has a 2.2 million serial.

Looks like a Mark 1 dial as seen with fat lumed 3, 6, 9 numerals with what seems to me like short service/sub hands with a crack in the minute hand.


My own assessment is that the dial seems original except for the fact that some letters appear to be slightly chunky/chonky-er. I'm not quite sure whether this slight variation in font thickness is seen within normal acceptable limits of an original dial or indicates that the text has indeed been touched up.

Areas that have been of a bit of a yellow flag:
1. The letters in PERPETUAL in Fig 1a appear to be a lot fatter especially the A and L at the end.
2. As for SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED
a) U in Superlative seems to have thicker ink at the right hand bend (am I overreading things??)
b) A in OFFICIALLY looks slightly irregular
c) Some loss of paint in the letters:
- S in Superlative
- H, N in Chronometer
- F in Certified

The reference photos of 1016 dial has been taken from explorer1016.com which I can't thank @t_swiss_t enough for such an awesome guide.

Fig 1a - 1016 for sale


Fig 1b - from explorer1016.com


Fig 2 - 1016 for sale

Fig 2b - from explorer1016.com


Looking forward to hearing fellow OFer's assessment on the above. Thanks!

As you say, the hands are wrong. To me, the watch’s Mark I dial looks fine.

I’d be a better judge if it were in hand (and higher resolution photos would help), but from what I can see, it checks out. I’d use a magnifying loupe to examine the dial if I had any questions about a possible dial touch up.

Final judgement of the dial would be based on the whole watch: does the case look like it’s been messed with or are there any other signs of attempts to “dress up” the watch.

Love mine.



Correct hands, if you can find them, are rather expensive.

Thanks much! Yours is sweet as

Beautiful! Mine from 65.

Dial looks original but in really poor shape. Lume looks chipped off and is the dial breaking apart at the edge between 3 and 6 o'clock?

And agree, hands have been replaced.

I would look for another example.

Thanks @airansun and @t_swiss_t for your inputs!

Agree with you and the other posts that the dial looks original and the hands not original. I looked at 1016s for a long time and would recommend a good look at the case as many of these have been polished over the years and the lug holes make over polishing very apparent.

I ended up getting a 1016 with Rolex service hands and.. honestly it annoyed me over time and took away from the vintage charm I wanted from 1016, if I did it all over again I would prioritize original dial, original hands, and case sharpness equally.

Good luck on your hunt!

Thanks all for your inputs! I managed finally managed to land a nice 1016. will share some pics soon!

Totally forgot about posting to update. Managed to pick up a 1016 from the US as the last acquisition of 2021 and am still head over heels!

Thanks all for the help along the way.

From 1972!

hodinkee did recently release a new video detailing explorer 1s with Eric Wind, check that out!

Congrats, terrific example!

Congratulations. That is a beautiful example. I’m looking for a 1016 myself right now. Very much looking forward to joining the club.