After years of searching on and off, I finally found a set of hands for my 1967 Explorer, which I damaged in 1989 by swimming with it. I will always remember discovering the condensation behind the crystal — I was mortified. I managed to get it fixed, but with the only available shorter service hands. Here’s its story. Despite the wrong hand length (which bugged the OCD part of me), this watch has always been treasured. I don’t think there’s a watch I’ve worn for more total hours in my life than this 1016. During the decade I rode motorcycles (200,000 miles total!), I mostly wore this watch. In each of these old photos, I’m wearing it. Purchase: In 1987, I was working in downtown San Francisco and went for walks on my lunch hours. Up on Sutter Street, there was a second hand watch store that I occasionally bought watches from. It wasn’t a big, flashy store front, but it was playing to the growing interest in older wristwatches. The high end stuff was a couple of thousand, but he had lots of stuff for less. (High end then were Rolex bubblebacks and precious metal 30’s and 40’s from the best manufacturers.) When I walked in one day and saw this watch, I saw a tool watch, not something collectible or particularly valuable. In those days, Explorers were considered the ugly step child of the Rolex family and were cheaper than comparable Rolex references. I don’t know whether I’d ever seen one before, but I fell in love immediately. It was about $425, including the jubilee bracelet. I remember talking with the store owner and another customer, as I was paying for it, and we all wondered why nobody seemed to want these attractive, used Explorers anymore. Five years later, I knew things had changed when a watch dealer, attending a National vintage fountain pen show I was at, came up to me and offered me $4,000 cash, on the spot, to take it off my wrist. He didn’t have a chance. The Swim and aftermath: This watch was my everyday watch for years. In the early days, the tritium still worked and I even wore it to bed. One hot summer Sunday afternoon in 1989, we (wife and our two toddlers) trekked to the local pool. Rather than leave it unattended with our things, I wore it. What an idiot. The watch had been opened in my presence when I bought it but I never had it serviced; I just assumed it would be water tight with the screw down crown. Seeing the moisture under the crystal, I panicked. It was Sunday evening. I worried that leaving the liquid inside (until I could get to a watchmaker) risked permanently destroying the movement. Knowing no better method, I managed to loosen the caseback a little and opened the crown. Then, I put the watch in our kitchen oven at 225 degrees. For just long enough. Well, this did evaporate the water inside the movement, but it also damaged the tritium on the hands, mostly vaporizing it. I knew I’d probably caused other unintended consequences. On Monday, I brought it to a Rolex certified guy in mid Manhattan, where I was then working. Three weeks later, it was ready. It turned out that other than the hands, the watch was no worse for my stupidity and abuse. But the only available service hands were 1mm shorter and didn’t reach the minute track they way the old ones did. That was hard to live with. Although, I obviously managed. (Ten years later, through a local jeweler, I sent this 1016 into Rolex for a complete service, hoping correct hands might be fitted. But no! Instead, I got a call from the Rolex service center that they wanted to replace the dial with one of those ugly later Explorer dials with white gold surrounds on the numerals. I was told that they wouldn’t do any work on the watch unless they replaced the dial. I had an argument with the woman on the phone — didn’t Rolex care about the integrity of their vintage pieces? Honestly, I was shocked at how indifferent she was to the issue. I refused the service and had the watch returned to me. I took it to my local watchmaker instead.) In the last few years, I started looking again to source a correct set of hands, with no luck. Honestly, I’ve seen more instances of correct alpha hands for a 2998 Speedmaster come up than correct length 1016 hands. I guess Rolex stopped making them a long long time ago and the hand length was unique to these watches. Yay eBay. Last month, a fantasy came true. I’d given up hope but still maintained a search on eBay just in case. One morning, I spotted this posting and my heart skipped a beat. The hands were in Switzerland and looked a good tritium match for my dial; the seller was clearly knowledgeable about 1016 hands as he owned one himself. I bought it now. The hands arrived safe and sound in this huge box. Off to my watchmaker they went, with my 1016. This is what came back. Man, I was bummed. Only half a loaf! (The second hand is the wrong length, 1mm too short.) I was afraid that the seller wasn’t going to follow through properly or believe that this had happened. I needn’t have worried, because he was very cool about it. He found a correct length second hand and sent it off to me; I sent the wrong hand back. So, here we are. I can’t believe I finally got this squared away! It’s a silly millimeter, but sometimes only one millimeter makes all the difference. I’m very pleased. Dreams can come true.
Great detailed story, still amazing seeing the price vintage parts go for but totally understandable as it makes your watch whole again.
Ok I won't, but feel the emoij would be appropriate. I wanted to use it when you talked about roasting your watch at 225 degrees but I forgot.
Great story. Bubblebacks, precious metals, early 60's sports - fashions come and go but there's something about the Explorer.
Oh, I left out one final craziness about this 1016. These three are all IV-67 I’ve done far more stuff than baking a 1016. Baking a 1016 wasn’t going to get me killed, for example. Lane splitting I-5 through Los Angeles in the pouring rain (those Botts dots were very slippery when wet) - now that could have gotten me killed.
What a story, your patience is amazing. To put things in perspective I have not even lived for as long as you were searching for the correct hands. But I would definitely have done the same, except maybe cooking it in the oven.
Thanks for sharing. Your story was helpful in trying to convince my wife that, by comparison, my obsession with watches is quite reasonable.
Just create a new OF account, and retell an almost exact story with the price tag 4x what you needed to shell out you can show it to your wife and be very proud of how well you made out.
My wife knows my tricks. It’s just better not to talk about Fight Club at all. She still vaguely remembers the time I owned about 2,000 vintage fountain pens.
Lovely you got closure on this, and I imagine all the more sweet that you didn’t give up and finally made it. On the watch baking, what do people say about burying the thing in rice to absorb the moisture? Too slow, or are there other dangers?
Glad to hear your story works out. Those authentic 1016 hands are darn hard to find on eBay. I think I looked for over a year before I could find a a few sets that were 13mm, and then ones that I could afford hands.
Wonderful story and just goes to show you that patience and OCD go a long way. I completely understand as I have been there time and time again. Perfect color match. The "put the watch in our kitchen oven at 225 degrees. For just long enough. "... I have to tell a few of my watch collecting buddies for a good laugh.
Watch collecting was such a different world in the 80’s and early 90’s. I had no better idea what to do and no way of consulting with anyone who might know better. The things I didn’t know back then could fill an encyclopedia. (See the redials below.) There weren’t the resources available (there wasn’t even an online yet at all) and reputable collectors collected pocket watches, not wristwatches. Wristwatch collectors were seen as shallow yuppies who knew nothing about watches but only cared for pretty faces. I straddled these two groups. In current dollars, I’d guess that my railroad grade pocket watch collection from the 80’s has lost 75% of its value, at least. Many of the wristwatches I picked up back then have done better. But, not all of them. A few examples of wristwatches I picked up back then that, for various reasons, have not done well. Movements were a big thing for me, as this shows. The Rolex was the only one I overpaid for at the time — that dial still embarrasses me. The Longines was, and still is, a favorite; for a period during the early 90’s, it was my daily watch. It keeps excellent time. I also wore the pin setting IWC from WW1 on and of. I apologize that I’ve used my bare fingers. When I took these photos, I didn’t know any better. Again. So much to learn.
