Rolex enlarged their Explorer line of watches in 1971. Instead of simply being a new version of the existing Explorer watch, this watch was a totally different timepiece and was consequently given the “Explorer II” designation. Designed particularly for speleologists exploring deep caverns below the earth’s surface, the fake Explorer II characterized a large 24-hour hand, and a fixed, stainless steel bezel with 24-hour markings to serve as a great prominent AM/PM indicator. 
The Rolex Explorer II replica watches were met with a rather mixed reaction from the public upon its initial release. Relatively few people liked a watch specifically designed for professional cave exploring, and many criticized the design of the model as cluttered and difficult to read. Despite having a rather narrow and unusually specific target demographic, the Rolex Explorer II has remained in production and has become one of the cornerstone offerings in Rolex’s current sports watch lineup.
Subsequent generations of the Rolex Explorer II far more closely resembled each other in design, but this unique model used a different dial and handset than Rolex fitted to all other Explorer II references.
Inside the Rolex replica, Explorer II resides Rolex’s caliber 3187 movement, which features Paraflex shock absorbers for greater shock/impact resistance, and an hour hand that can be independently set from the 24-hour hand to simultaneously display a second-time zone. What’s more, different from the original one, which was only ever fitted with a black dial, this fake watch is available with either a black or white (polar) dial, with the “Explorer II” name now appearing in orange text to match its signature, bright-orange, 24-hour hand.
One of the very special features of the replica Rolex as a company is that they are constantly working to refine and upgrade their watches; however, they are always moving forward with their designs and never make heritage or re-issue pieces. Although that model is a very distinguished watch from the original one, the oversized, bright-orange 24-hour hand connects the two timepieces and allows the spirit of the original Explorer II to be encapsulated in a thoroughly modern sports watch that still possesses its own special and unique appearance.