I think people are confusing Rolex 2021 release thread with ‘Moaning and Whining about Rolex ADs’ thread:-)
EDIT: My original response was a long essay of bitterness.
My own experience of that same AD is completely the opposite. Nothing but wasted time, made to feel like utter scum and spoken to like dirt.
Ruined my perception of the brand, and resulted in me shopping elsewhere at dealers that treat me like a human being. I still buy Rolex and travel to do so, but just because I like the watches themselves and the way they wear
Last edited by NickGaters; 10th April 2021 at 22:00.
I think people are confusing Rolex 2021 release thread with ‘Moaning and Whining about Rolex ADs’ thread:-)
Godwin's law
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Got my name down for SS Explorer 1. Couldn't resist, if I don't like it I'm sure I could easily move it on.
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Just put my name down for an Explorer with an AD, never been on a list before. Got a kind of wooly commitment for them to get me one.
What's the score these days with adding your name to lists of multiple AD's? Is this seen as a big no-no or just part of the game?
I just called my usual AD, I have previous with them so it wasn't any hassle.
Is that even true? GDPR etc? I can see a Rolex AD with multiple shops having a central database but I doubt for one second the AD I deal with would ask Rolex for an Explorer and give them my name. It will just come on their allocation and they will distribute as they see fit.
Last edited by Toshk; 11th April 2021 at 19:46.
I politely disagree, the 39mm is superb IMO. The Explorer was always going to match the OP size if adjusted, so it was going to be 36 or 41 (and we may well see the 41 in the future). I can see why they went 36 to offer a unisex professional model though, smart move in that sense.
Why all the hate for the 39mm Explorer I?
The 214270 is my most loved watch along with the other 'silently admitted mistake of the 2010s!' - the 116600 Seadweller SD4K.
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Last edited by Toshk; 11th April 2021 at 21:26.
I cant remember exactly the year, probably 2016, I was travelling through Heathrow to Hong Kong. In the Rolex shop I bought a 39mm Explorer. Got a little discount and duty free so only cost £3.5K I think. The flight was over 12hrs so I had plenty of time to play around with it. I couldn't get over the fact that it just didn't look right. Too much dial thin shiny bezel looked like a soy sauce dish on my wrist. On arrival in HK I spent a few days contemplating whether or not to keep it. In the end I sold it to a grey at the same time made a little profit.
With you both 100%. I had the opportunity to pick up a 39mm Explorer on a couple of occasions but it just didn’t feel right. And yes I realise it must be perfect for someone, there’s no need to write a defensive reply explaining why it’s just right. But it’s not just all relative to wrist size. Some watches look like dinner plates even when they’re in the display case and nowhere near the wrist - with a Rolex logo visible from across the room it just feels different. Some people want a larger watch because it fits them, but some people just want a large watch (and to be fair, on some people oversized works for them). Having said all that, 36 can feel pretty dainty these days and I think they’re going round in circles.
Last edited by Itsguy; 12th April 2021 at 15:11.
I don’t know why they didn’t just keep the 39mm and add the 36mm alongside it ...
Doesn’t matter what they do ... everything sells anyway. Must be a fun business to run.
I wear my 39mm Explorer as the daily beater, it just seems the perfect watch.
The watch buying public have always had a soft spot for the 36mm model and its reintroduction was only a matter of time. I suppose the 39mm, now that it has ceased production, will become more sought after.
The more I look at the Meteorite Daytona with ceramic bezel the more I like it. As close to perfect as the Daytona has been imo. If I could get on a list for one I’d be all over it but it looks highly unlikely tbh.
Very intriguing however I would like to see new innovations related to the movements. Rolex is stagnating.
Waltzed into Goldsmiths yesterday evening. They said it is Aurum group policy to not register interest in some models only for people that have no buying history with them.
I put my name down for either new 36mm Explorer model and was told they expected up to a year-ish, which I expect was just a figure. So, we'll see.
Had a classic Rolex post-2017 experience today in the Rolex section of a big watch store in Switzerland. There I was browsing the empty display cases while passing the time with the friendly Chinese sales assistant when he mentioned in passing that they'd had the new Explorer II arrive in store today. Momentarily forgetting that it was 2021, I was just about to ask him to bring it out for me to try it when I noticed the panicked look on his face, having realised that he'd just suggested to a walk in customer that he could actually sell them a sports model - a borderline sackable offence. He quickly blurted out that the watch had already been 'sent out' to a 'customer' (as if I wasn't one).
You had better luck than I. I called my Goldsmiths AD and was also told no registration of interest without history. I pointed out that I do have history; two Rolexes in the last two years. However she said ‘computer says no’. She pulled up my record successfully, confirmed the personal details but informed me that there is no purchasing history against my account. So that’s that!
Popped into my local AD and they have not had a single interest registered on the 36 bi metal explorer.
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I put my name down for a new SS Explorer 1 within 1.5 hours of it being announced and so quite excited as this will be the first new watch I have purchased for over 8 years. I had thought about the previous model before but the new size swung it for me.
One question, on reading through the info posted above, it appears that the crystal has an AR coating along with all new Rolex models since 2020. Does anyone know if this coating is on the inside or the outside of the Crystal? If on the outside how robust is the coating, any information out there?
this is the 39mm. I believe a lot has to do with perception. This is the same watch seen at different distances - I believe we have become accustomed to close up phone shots with distorted reality. The first shows what it looks like to other people and without camera distortion.
Here is the same watch in standard phone shot mode. The look is quite different and could be perceived as too large. But it’s the same one.
Finally a comparison shot with another 39mm watch:
And my 35mm air-king - (which I think is too small for me)
Saying all that - I’m sure the 36mm will sell like hot cakes (if you can find them). Also when trying on DJ the 36mm with fluted bezel is my favourite!
Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 14th April 2021 at 09:09.
A favourite topic, with no obvious solution. But what strikes me is how quickly perceptions change. After a short time on the wrist, lots of sizes seem ‘fine.’ And other people couldn’t care less. For me, up to 43mm seadweller is ok, although the bulk, the thickness, seems the most obvious thing. For instance, the slim 42mm Yachtmaster doesn’t seem any larger than my old Daytona. Which is a similar thickness. The size of the bracelet/strap is also influential.
So I don’t think there is a simple answer.
I bought my 39mm Explorer in 2014 and it was the blingy short hand model. The saleman who sold it was wearing a 36mm model and to be honest the difference in size was not that noticeable. . It was the bling that stood out, not the size.