The 1993 Rolex Explorer II reference 16570 “Chicchi Noches” takes an already great early five-digit Explorer II and adds the kind of aging you simply cannot manufacture. The 16570 arrived in 1989 with a 40mm stainless steel Oyster case, fixed 24-hour bezel, sapphire crystal, and Rolex’s caliber 3185. A 1993 example belongs to the early generation with drilled lug holes, hollow end links, and a tritium dial marked “SWISS – T < 25” at six o’clock. The black dial is normally the more understated 16570, especially next to the instantly recognizable white “Polar,” but once the tritium starts turning a rich yellow or ochre, understated goes out the window pretty quickly.

“Chicchi” comes from the Italian collector nickname “Chicchi di Mais,” meaning “corn kernels,” used to describe early 16570s whose tritium hour plots have aged to a particularly strong yellow tone. On a black dial, sometimes informally called “Chicchi Noches” that warm tritium has an entirely different effect. The creamy yellow markers and hands jump off the black background and give what was originally a very straightforward Rolex tool watch a ton of personality. Underneath is the automatic caliber 3185, running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with roughly 48 hours of power reserve and an independently adjustable local hour hand. That last part makes the 16570 a legitimate GMT, allowing the red 24-hour hand to track a second time zone while the conventional hour hand can be jumped forward or backward when traveling.

What makes a 1993 Chicchi example interesting is that the appeal really comes from what happened to the watch after it left Rolex. Rolex did not sell a “Chicchi” dial. The tritium simply aged that way, and because the degree and consistency of patina vary from watch to watch, condition and originality matter tremendously. A good example gives you everything people like about early 16570s: 40mm proportions, drilled lugs, an old-school Oyster bracelet, a useful GMT movement, and none of the bulk of the later 42mm Explorer II. Then you add that yellow tritium against the black dial and suddenly one of Rolex’s quieter sports watches becomes one of the coolest. It is still an Explorer II, it just spent the last three decades getting better looking.