Quick answer
Reference 1655 is the original Rolex Explorer II, sold from 1971 into the mid 1980s. The Steve McQueen nickname came along later, from dealers and collectors, and it never fit well. Most photos of McQueen wearing a Rolex show a Submariner. A fake 1655 is a modern watch built to look like that vintage reference. Replicas tend to copy the silhouette well and the function badly.
What the real 1655 is
Rolex built this one for people who spend days underground. A 24-hour hand and a fixed 24-hour bezel let a cave explorer tell day from night when there is no daylight to read.
- 39 mm steel Oyster case, acrylic crystal, drilled lugs
- Fixed steel bezel with a 24-hour scale, no rotation
- Orange 24-hour hand on most examples, though the hand shape changed across the run
- 1570-family movement
- Mark I through Mark VII dials, with small differences in the coronet and the text
One detail matters more than the rest. On the 1655, the 24-hour hand is geared to the main hour hand. It cannot move on its own. Independent setting arrived later, with the 16550 in 1985.
Where the McQueen name came from
McQueen was photographed with a Submariner in the years people remember. The Explorer II nickname surfaced in the collector market much later, and it stuck because a famous name sells a watch. If you are shopping for a 1655, treat the nickname as marketing rather than provenance.
Why the 1655 is hard to clone well
Replica factories chase volume. That means Submariners, Datejusts, Daytonas and GMT-Masters. The 1655 is a niche vintage reference with a short production run, so fewer factories tooled up for it, and the ones that did often worked from photos.
That shows up in predictable places:
- Hand function. A genuine 1655 has a 24-hour hand locked to the hour hand. Most replicas use a generic GMT movement, so the arrow hand sets independently and the crown has a quickset date. That is the clearest tell, and it is easy to check in ten seconds.
- Dial printing. Tritium dials carry a T marking near six o'clock. Replica printing sits too sharp and too even, and the lume glows after decades of sitting in a drawer.
- Case shape. Vintage lugs have a profile that is hard to copy from a rendering. The crystal often sits too tall, and the bezel engraving is too crisp.
- Stamps. Reference and serial numbers between the lugs should look worn and shallow, not laser cut.
What I check first on any listing
- Pull the crown and see whether the date jumps. On a real 1575 movement it does not. You advance the hands past midnight to change the date.
- Watch the 24-hour hand while you move the hour hand. It should travel with it, not stay put.
- Ask for a movement photo with the caseback off, plus a serial photo between the lugs.
- Compare the dial text against known Mark variants. Font and spacing shift between them, and fakes usually blend two Marks together.
Weight and feel tell you almost nothing. A heavy watch is not proof of anything.
The legal and practical side
Counterfeit watches are illegal to import into the United States, and customs seizes them. Rolex will not service or authenticate a fake, and no watchmaker with a reputation will stamp one as genuine. Passing a copy off as the real thing is fraud, plain and simple. If the look is what pulls you in, a current Explorer II 226570 gives you the same idea with a warranty and a service network behind it.
Bottom line
The 1655 is a specific vintage watch with a specific movement behavior. Know that behavior before you spend money on anything claiming to be one. The independent 24-hour hand and the quickset date are the two things a buyer can confirm without opening the case, and they catch most fakes on their own.