Where to Find a Fake Rolex Explorer 1655
The Explorer II reference 1655 is a vintage watch, produced from 1971 to 1985, and that fact shapes the entire answer. Factories that mass produce Submariners and Datejusts rarely tool up for it because demand is narrow. Your realistic options are a trusted dealer listed in a replica watch forum, a specialist who builds vintage Rolex replicas to order, or a small workshop in Asia that assembles the 1655 in low volume. All three exist. None of them are as simple to buy from as a current-production model, and none of them carry the same buyer protections as a normal retail purchase.
Best Explorer 1655 Rolex Replica Comparison Review
Before You Start
- Learn the reference. The 1655 has a 39 mm case, a fixed steel 24-hour bezel, an orange 24-hour hand, drilled lugs, and an acrylic crystal with no cyclops over the date.
- Set a realistic budget. Low-volume vintage builds cost more than a standard replica because cases and dials are made in small batches.
- Choose a payment method you can dispute. Credit cards and buyer-protected payment services beat a direct bank transfer.
- Understand your country's import rules. Counterfeit watches can be seized by customs and destroyed.
How to Source One
- Join a large replica watch forum and read the trusted dealer section before anything else. That list is the most useful filter available.
- Search the forum for the reference number and read every review thread. Look for buyer photos, delivery timelines, and complaints about the same seller.
- Contact two or three sellers and ask directly whether they can source a 1655 or take a custom order for one.
- Request photos of a 1655 they have already delivered to another buyer. Catalog renders and stock images are not evidence of anything.
- Agree on a deposit and a pre-shipment QC photo set before you pay a balance.
- Compare the QC photos against reference images of an original 1655, dial mark by dial mark.
- Pay through a disputable method, then track the shipment and keep every message until the watch arrives and passes your own inspection.
What to Inspect in QC Photos
- Case profile: 39 mm width, drilled lugs, correct crown guards.
- Bezel: fixed, 24-hour scale, with engraving depth and font weight that match period pieces.
- 24-hour hand: orange, correct length, correct arrow tip. On an original 1655 the 24-hour hand runs off the same train as the hour hand and cannot be set on its own. Many replicas use a generic GMT movement with a separately adjustable 24-hour hand, which is an instant giveaway.
- Dial: text spacing, coronet shape, and which dial mark the seller claims to have copied.
- Crystal: domed acrylic, not flat sapphire.
- Date window: no magnifier, correct position and font.
Risks You Are Accepting
Supply is inconsistent, so a seller who has one this month may not have one next month. Shipping can take weeks and packages do get stopped. Sellers sometimes substitute a different reference or a lower grade build when the promised one falls through. Ask for the exact watch in the QC photos, not a representative example, and confirm in writing which movement and case dimensions you are paying for. If a seller refuses QC photos or pushes you toward a wire transfer, walk away and start over with someone from the trusted dealer list.
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