The Rolex Explorer II Reference 1655 nicknamed by collectors as the Steve McQueen or 'Freccione' by some Italian collectors because of the bright orange arrow-shaped 24-hour hand on the watch —the word 'Freccione' comes from the Italian word 'Freccia' which means "arrow"— was only produced by Rolex from 1971 through 1984.

At the time of its launch, the watch was intended to be a 'tool' watch for cave explorers that after spending days in a cavern, couldn't tell if it was day or night outside. A problem that was easily solved by the 24-hour orange arrow-shaped hand that along with the 24-hour military time bezel, would help them identify day or night times with ease. Interestingly enough, the 24-hour hand was originally crimson red between 1971 and 1974 as seen on Rolex catalogs and advertisements from the era, but today, discolored by time, they appear orange to yellow and sometimes almost white as in the so called 'Albino' Explorers like the one we offer.