I finally got the call: after four months of waiting, an authorised dealer phoned to tell me there’s a Rolex Explorer 1 ready to pick up… once I parted with a fistful of cash.
Now I wasn’t expecting to get my first Rolex quite so quickly – I’d planned to wait until I got closer to 40 (I’m 38 at the time of writing) to toast a landmark birthday. However, Rolexes have become slightly easier to get, with the dreaded waitlist not as long as it used to be, though there are exceptions with super-desirable replica Rolex watches UK like the Daytona.
Yet I’d opted for the simple Explorer, which is basically an entry-level watch from Rolex’s ‘Professional’ range. Often described as a boring watch, with its three-handed, no-date black dial, I’d call it the classic AAA+ clone Rolex watches that’ll look just as good 50 years from now as it does today.
While I’d not say no to a Rolex Submariner, I opted for the Explorer 1 due to a combination of its history – it was based on the Rolex Oyster Perpetual perfect fake Rolex watches Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay apparently wore when ascending Mount Everest in 1953 – and its simple design that doesn’t scream ‘Rolex’ and can be worn just as comfortably in the office as it can hiking across hills.
The latest Explorer 1 range comprises a mere four watches: the 36mm and 40mm versions in steel, and the same sizes but in two-tone steel and gold. These all share the same movement and only come with a black dial. I tried on both sizes, and while the 40mm watch looks good, the smaller 36mm watch is more historically correct to the copy Rolex watches for sale Hillary and Norgay wore and I feel is more suitable for wearing in formal settings. I also tried on the 36mm two-tone Explorer, as during my first visit to the dealer it was the only watch available; it looks good but gold on purpose-driven sports watches doesn’t work for me.
The steel Explorer 1 is considered one of the best ‘go anywhere, do anything’ watches, in that it’s robust enough to swim with and survive the elements, yet can also be dressed up. Now I already have a ‘GADA’ watch in the form, but I wanted something a little smaller with lumed Arabic numerals and indexes, and an alternative to my beloved Aqua Terra.
But let’s talk specs before I dig into my journey so far with the Rolex Explorer reference 124270.
Despite its 36mm designation, I measured the dial and bezel of my Explorer to be closer to 35.5mm, with Rolex likely rounding up. Lug-to-lug, the Explorer comes in at 43mm, has a lug width of 19mm, and a thickness of 11.5mm, making it a fairly compact watch.
The case uses Rolex’s proprietary Oystersteel, with polished bezels and sides that contrast the brushed finish of the lugs, giving the Explorer some wrist presence without being too showy. Leaning into the explorer-centric rugged ethos, there’s a lightly-domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating on the inside that does a reasonable job of absorbing reflections in direct light, and a screw-down crown to give the watch 100 metres of water-resistance. Completing the case is a solid case back that emphasises the tool-watch nature of cheap fake Rolex watches.
I’ve written before that there’s no perfect watch, and I stand by that. An exhibition caseback, an innovative quick release bracelet mechanism and access to Rolex-made straps – I’d love to see an Oysterflex strap option – would pretty much perfect the Explorer 1.
But until then, I’m more than happy that the Rolex Explorer is as close to perfection as the three-hand sports top replica Rolex Explorer watches can get; Simply brilliant and might just be the best watch in the world.