Space Dweller ref. 1016

[Notepad12]

One of the most mysterious models of all the Rolex line ups, unknown quantity made, but apparently very tiny numbers purely for the Japanese market

If anyone has any history or facts on this piece please share...

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

[brandrea]

Calling Adam

[Driver8]

The only info I know about it is that it was basically a rebadged 36mm Explorer 1016, that was created in 1963 to cash in on the public fascination with the NASA Mercury missions.

The astronauts were seen as particular celebrities in Japan for some reason, so Rolex chose to test the waters for a space-themed (or rather space-named watch) initially in Japan only. But despite the popularity of the astronauts in Japan, sales of the Space Dweller never took off (no pun intended), and it was canned after a couple of years.

It's therefore extremely rare nowadays as it was an unpopular piece (so a poor seller) at the time, with an incredibly limited release both in terms of regions (Japan only) and lifespan as it was discontinued after a couple of years. Oh and it's now 60 years old too.

That's pretty much all I know about it.

[capnty]

I found a bit more backstory below.

https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/watche...-space-dweller

[77T]

For seekers of this model - the paragraph from the story linked above that rattles me is this:
“The sale of three Space-Dweller dials at Sotheby’s in 2008 is concerning as, for the £3,500 they made, you could change a regular 1016 Explorer into a grail watch. As such a tiny change makes so much difference, would-be buyers should remember: provenance is paramount.”

Those last three words…impressive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[996marty]

Being sold in limited numbers and unpopular at the time I’m guessing would make them more appealing now and maybe more valuable? And as got mentioned by PaulG The 3 dials sold would be a concern

[1William]

Cool watch.