What is the best Explorer II homage?

By our fidelity rubric the Watchdives WD16570 V2 (fidelity 81, about $229) is the closest — an enamel polar-white dial with the orange GMT hand and a fixed 24-hour steel bezel, though it wears a compact 37mm against the original's 42mm. The value pick is the Pagani Design PD-1693 at about $148, which echoes the vintage orange-hand 1655 look on a genuine NH34 GMT movement with a 200m rating.

Is there a good polar Explorer II homage?

Yes — the polar look is the strongest part of the current field. The Watchdives WD16570 V2 carries an enamel white dial with black-outlined markers and the orange 24-hour hand, and the San Martin SN0054-G-C2 offers a matte white dial, though with Tudor-style snowflake hands rather than Mercedes hands. Seiko's own SSK059 polar Field GMT is a limited release that comes and goes.

What about the Steve McQueen Explorer II look?

The vintage reference 1655, nicknamed the Steve McQueen, is the orange-freccione-hand look most budget homages actually chase. The Pagani Design PD-1693 is the closest affordable take on it — big orange arrow 24-hour hand, fixed engraved bezel, about $148 on a genuine NH34 GMT.

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The best Rolex Explorer II homage

The Explorer II is the odd one out among Rolex sports watches: a GMT whose 24-hour bezel does not turn. That fixed steel bezel, the orange extra hand and — on the version everyone wants — the polar white dial are what a homage has to get right. Six watches in our database chase the look, and they split neatly into a modern-polar camp and a vintage-freccione camp. Ranked on our fidelity rubric.

One design, two targets

Homage makers aim at two different Explorer IIs. The modern reference — 42mm, polar or black dial, Mercedes hands, orange GMT hand — is the one in most heads. But the vintage 1655, the so-called Steve McQueen, is the one budget brands actually copy most: a big orange freccione arrow, a busy engraved 24-hour bezel and no cyclops. Decide which of the two looks you mean before you buy, because no affordable watch does both.

Stock reality, checked today: this is a thin field to actually buy from. The top two picks below — the Watchdives and the Pagani — were both sold out new on their own brand stores at our last check, and the San Martin is routinely out too. The Timex is the one entry here reliably in stock. We flag this rather than quietly rank an unbuyable watch first, because the ranking is about the watches, not about what happens to be on the shelf this week.

1. Watchdives WD16570 V2 Pioneer — the closest dial in the field Amazon ↗

About $229, fidelity 81. Named straight after the 16570 reference, and it shows where it matters most: an enamel polar-white dial with black-outlined markers, the orange GMT hand, a fixed 24-hour steel bezel and sapphire glass, on a genuine Seiko NH34 GMT. The honest gap is size — it wears a compact 37mm against the original's 42mm, which suits smaller wrists and vintage tastes but will read dainty if the modern watch is your reference point. Black and red-hand variants exist. Sold out new on Watchdives' own store at our last check — the 38mm WD16570B is the live sibling, at a smaller size again.

2. Pagani Design PD-1693 — the freccione for $148 Amazon ↗

About $148, fidelity 77. The vintage-1655 camp's benchmark: the big orange 24-hour arrow and fixed engraved bezel for the least money here, with sapphire, a real 200m rating and the same NH34 GMT the mid-tier runs. It was $90 when we first listed it and is now $148, so the value case is thinner than it was — and it was out of stock on Pagani's own store at our last check. At 42mm it is the only one here that matches the modern case size — ironic, given it echoes the vintage watch. The obvious first Explorer II homage. See Pagani Design, model by model.

3. Timex Expedition Pioneer Titanium GMT — the mainstream-brand buy

About $629, fidelity 76. The most money on this list buys the only titanium case — 41mm, 200m rated — around the same Seiko NH34 GMT the budget tier runs, with 24-hour-bezel styling that leans clearly on the McQueen watch. What the premium actually pays for is Timex itself: availability when everything else is sold out, a real warranty network, and a watch that is a genuinely good tool GMT in its own right rather than just a lookalike.

4. San Martin SN0054-G-C2 — the hybrid with the best finishing Amazon ↗

From $309, fidelity 75. Call it what it is: the community's "San Martin Explorer II" is really an Explorer II/Black Bay Pro hybrid — fixed steel bezel, matte white or black dial and a true NH34 GMT, but Tudor-style snowflake hands and a 39mm case. What you are paying for is San Martin's case and bracelet work, the best of this field by a distance. If the orange hand matters more than the handset shape, it works; if you want the Rolex handset, look up the list. Usually cheaper direct from San Martin.

5. Baltany S6073AB — the vintage-tool take Amazon ↗

About $283, fidelity 73. Baltany's only fixed-bezel GMT: the orange-hand tool-GMT look filtered through the brand's usual vintage lens — 39mm, domed styling, a genuine 200m rating and the NH34 inside. It periodically sells out on Baltany's own store, so check both there and Amazon. More character, less strict fidelity. See the Baltany brand review.

The honest alternative: Seiko SSK023

About $450, fidelity 64 — deliberately below our homage line. The Seiko 5 Sports Field GMT is not an Explorer II copy: its own dial furniture, a red five-sided GMT hand, and Seiko's in-house 4R34 caliber. It earns its place here because it answers the same brief — a fixed-24-hour-bezel tool GMT — from a real watchmaking house with a warranty network, and that is worth something no homage offers. The polar-dial SSK059 sibling is a limited release that comes and goes.

If it is the rotating-bezel GMT you actually want

People reach for the Explorer II when the watch in their head is actually the GMT-Master II — the one with the rotating two-colour Pepsi bezel. Different watch, deeper homage field, better value at the budget end. See the GMT-Master II homages page and our ranked GMT homage guide.

The honest summary: buy the Watchdives WD16570 V2 if the polar dial is the point and 37mm suits you; buy the Pagani PD-1693 if you want the orange-hand look for $148 and a case that actually measures like the modern watch. The San Martin buys finishing at the cost of the handset; the Baltany buys vintage charm. Compare the full field on the Explorer II homages page.

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