Watch Paparazzi

Athlete Adrian Lewis spotted wearing Rolex

Adrian Lewis, the Stoke-born darts professional known by his nickname 'Jackpot', was spotted on his wrist a Rolex Explorer II in white dial steel — Reference 216570 — following a commanding 5-2 victory over Peter Wright that sent him into the semi-finals. It is a choice that speaks to a certain no-nonsense practicality: the Explorer II has always been a watch built for function first.

The Rolex Explorer II Reference 216570 was unveiled at Baselworld 2011 and represented a significant evolution of the Explorer II lineage that dates back to the original 1655 of 1971. Rolex enlarged the case from 40mm to 42mm stainless steel Oyster case, a move that proved divisive among purists but made the watch considerably more legible on the wrist. The distinctive fixed 24-hour bezel — originally designed to help cavers and polar explorers distinguish AM from PM in environments without natural light — remains central to the reference's identity. Driving everything is the Calibre 3187, a movement featuring Rolex's proprietary Parachrom blue hairspring for enhanced resistance to shocks and magnetic fields, a Paraflex shock absorber system, and a 48-hour power reserve. The prominent orange GMT hand sweeps the 24-hour scale with precise authority.

Among collectors, the 216570 occupies an interesting position. The white dial variant — sometimes called the 'polar' dial — is considered the more desirable of the two dial options, offering stronger contrast against the applied hour markers and the orange GMT hand. When Rolex discontinued the 216570 in 2021, replacing it with the updated 226570, secondary market interest in the outgoing reference sharpened noticeably.

For an athlete of Lewis's stature — a two-time PDC World Darts Championship title holder in 2011 and 2012 — the Explorer II is an apt selection. It is a serious, professional-grade Rolex without ostentation, built for people who actually do things.

On the grey market, the white dial 216570 trades at a modest premium to its original retail, reflecting steady collector demand for a now-discontinued reference that the darts community can consider officially Jackpot-approved.