Rolex Explorer Ref. 1016
- Maker
- Rolex
- Year
- 1963-1989
- Rank
- 18 of 100
Rolex Explorer Ref. 1016
Rolex Explorer Ref. 1016 by Rolex (1963-1989) is ranked 18 in the FLOAT 100 for Watches. It carried a market asking price of $14,000 in June 2026, which is not a sale. The archetypal Explorer — a clean, robust 36mm three-six-nine dial that is one of the most beloved vintage Rolex tool watches.
What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?
The archetypal Explorer — a clean, robust 36mm three-six-nine dial that is one of the most beloved vintage Rolex tool watches.
Ref. 1016, steel, 3-6-9 dial, the long-run vintage Explorer
What is the best-sourced number for it?
- Figure
- $14,000
- Kind
- Market asking price, not a sale
- Date
- June 2026
Matte-dial 1016 trades ~$13.5K; early gilt/glossy 'exclamation' & 'underline' dials command premiums ($30K+). Representative matte figure used.
This is not a sale. It is what the market was asking, and no transaction is recorded behind it. Source.
How this is made
- The figure
- One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- Why no grade ladder
- Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
- Archive
- 2026-08-08