Rolex 5500 Precision Explorer with rare UK rivet band

1963 | Stainless steel | Automatic | 34.0mm

The reference 5500 is one of those Rolex crossovers collectors love: the 34mm Oyster case of the Air-King, fitted with the 3-6-9 dial of the Explorer. Instead of the “Superlative Chronometer” wording of the bigger Explorers, the dial reads “Precision” or, as here, “Super Precision”, the version Rolex paired with the calibre 1530. Explorer dial examples are genuinely rare next to the many Air-King-signed 5500s.

Look just below the 6 and you’ll find a small luminous dot, which turns the numeral into an exclamation mark. These dials were made for a short period in the early 1960s, when Rolex was reducing the radium on its dials before switching to tritium. The watch is in superb condition. Then there is the bracelet: a UK-made riveted Oyster with expanding links, made under license at a time when Rolex bracelets were produced in several countries. An expanding UK bracelet in such condition is extremely rare. Rolex quickly dropped the expanding version, so few have survived. It comes with its box and a 1990s letter from Rolex UK confirming the watch and its Explorer dial.

A small Explorer with plenty to tell, documented by Rolex itself.