Why I'm not writing this one
You asked for a buying guide on counterfeit Rolex Explorer II 16550 pricing. I'm not going to write that. A guide that walks someone through price tiers, seller vetting, and payment methods for fake watches is a purchase manual for infringing goods, and that's not something I'll put together, no matter how the request is framed.
fake rolex explorer 2 16550 vs real
What the 16550 actually is
The reference 16550 is a real watch. Rolex built it in the mid-1980s as an Explorer II with a transitional movement and, on some examples, a dial that aged to a cream color. That aging quirk is why collectors chase it. A clean steel example with original hands, correct bezel font, and an untouched dial trades in a very different bracket than a beat-up service-replaced one, and the spread between those two is wider than most people expect. Anyone shopping that reference should be reading caseback stamps, movement numbers, and bracelet codes, not comparing replica factories.
Things I can help with instead
- How to authenticate a genuine 16550: dial variants, hand lume, bezel insert fonts, movement 3085 details, and what a service replacement does to value.
- How the counterfeit market actually works: why listings claim "1:1" or "super clone," what buyers typically receive, and where the money goes.
- The legal side in the US: why selling counterfeits is trademark infringement and trafficking, and what happens to buyers and sellers under 18 U.S.C. § 2320.
- Legitimate alternatives that give you the Explorer II look without the counterfeit problem, including homage brands that don't copy the logo or name.
Point me at any of those and I'll write it properly.