Completely Satisfied With My Explorer I 114270 (A Very Long-Winded Story)

For the past few months I've been researching different options for my first foray into Rolex and I'm happy to announce that I've finally pulled the trigger on a mid-2000's Rolex Explorer I 114270!

How did I land on the 114270? Let me explain...

To give some context most of my watches are vintage Omegas along with a few vintage UGs, some Seikos, and a modern Speedmaster. My main criteria for this purchase was something I could wear every day that was nice but not flashy and that could stand up to any abuse I might throw at it. Basically I wanted one watch I could take on a combo business/pleasure trip, something that could hold up just as well in a board room as on a bike trail or at the beach.

This naturally leads to Rolex stainless steel sports models, but I find most of the modern versions a bit too large for me to pull off (I have pretty small wrists). The one exception is the modern Explorer I 214270 at 39 mm, and I really liked those when I tried them on at a couple of boutiques. That said, with most of my collection being vintage (34-36 mm), it still felt a bit large. Yes, I know 39 mm is a full 3 mm smaller than my modern Speedmaster, but the whole point of this watch was to be understated, and somehow it felt different! Part of me wanted to go for it as I was confident that I'd adjust, but at the same time it didn't feel "perfect", and to be honest the last thing I needed was a watch I wasn't 100% satisfied with.

Doing the research I kept coming back to the 114270. At 36 mm it still had that classic case size, but was modern enough that I could be confident in it's waterproofing, movement, etc. (provided service history, reputable dealer, and all that jazz). There were plenty online but I really wanted to try it on first - I've done this enough by now to know that what looks great online doesn't always look great on the wrist. Plus who knows, maybe I'd try on the 114270 and decide that I liked the 214270 better. I almost wanted that to happen, because then I'd be getting a brand new watch along with the warranty and assurances that came with it. I put a call out to a local resource who has a pretty good track record of sourcing used watches (I won't call this one vintage) but never heard back from him. No worries, I figured, I'm not in that big of a rush anyways, and in reality the longer I wait the better.

Fast forward to the week of Thanksgiving - I was travelling to DC to visit family and while I was there thought I'd do some light Googling to see if there were any 114270s in the area I could try on. Lo and behold one popped up at Torneau, so I gave them a call and was standing in the showroom two hours later. This was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

I was hugely excited as the dealer handed over the watch. I put it on, looked at my wrist and thought to myself... something's off. Is it too small? Shit. Looking at the picture I snapped at the dealer I don't know why I thought that (granted I was wearing my Speedmaster to the shop, so maybe it was going from 42 mm to 36 mm that was throwing me off) but I had come in completely prepared to fall in love and was now unsure. Here's a crappy picture I snapped at the time - in retrospect the size looks perfect but first impressions matter:



To make matters worse, right next to it was an Explorer II 16570 black dial. One of my buddies has a white dial version that I've always loved, and I thought maybe I should try that on. I did and was pleasantly surprised. Crap. Things were getting even more complicated.



The GMT/date provided a lot of utility while still maintaining a reasonable (for me) size compared to the new versions. I travel a lot so the GMT was particularly appealing. Still, the added functionality meant there was a lot more going on, and the Explorer I was the undercover piece I was looking for originally. Trying the 114270 back on I realized I had been insane about the size thing before, and thus was in a total quandary.

I spent the next 4 hours (OK, maybe 20 minutes, but it felt like 4 hours) swapping between the Explorer I and Explorer II as the Torneau employee very helpfully told me that both looked great (you don't say!). Eventually I decided I should think about it and come back after Thanksgiving. If someone bought one or the other in the meantime there'd always be another, and maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Plus my wife was flying in later that night, maybe she could tag along on the next trip and provide some critical feedback (she's very good at critical feedback).

I spent most of my Thanksgiving turkey-coma researching the pro's of cons of the 114270 vs. the 16570. The conclusion was basically that people loved them both, and I just needed to man up and make a freakin' decision.

The next day (yes, Black Friday) we had grand plans outdoors but they were cancelled as it was pouring rain, so after lounging around the house all day I thought, well, might as well make another trip to Torneau...

My wife and I headed to the store, and to make a very long story slightly less long I tried them both on again and decided the 114270 was the most versatile and would get the most wear given my collection. The wife rolled her eyes in agreement, and out came the champagne!



Here's my wife trying to cheers me while I just take more watch pictures:



We ended up staying for about 3 more mini-bottles of champagne chatting with the actually very knowledgeable Torneau employee, and I left a happy happy man.

It's now been a week on the wrist and all I can say is that I'm 100% satisfied with my purchase. I haven't felt this good about a new acquisition in a long time. I'm sure a lot of people are thinking the 16570 is the more interesting watch with more bang for the buck but to be honest the 114270 does everything I need it to and IMO has a lot more versatility (no offense to my buddy with the white dial - you know I love the Polar!). It hasn't left my wrist since, and I can't wait to bring it on many explorations to come.

TLDNR - I waffled on which Explorer to buy and settled on the 114270. I am happy with it.

That’s a good story and an interesting read. Thank you.

I’ve had a long time yearning for an Explorer 1 also, pretty much for the reasons you cited. My own collection is primarily bigger than 36mm, the biggest watch I own is a PAM510 at 44mm.

My local Rolex Dealer called me a couple of weeks back to say he’d got my 214270 Explorer 1 39mm in and it was in the safe waiting for me to collect it. This was the first time I’d actually seen one in the metal. I was underwhelmed by it when I tried it on, too big I thought. Even though it’s 3mm smaller than my Speedys it seemed to wear too big. I tried a 39mm and 36mm Oyster Perpetual and much preferred the latter.

Same Dealer called me yesterday to say they have a pre owned 114270 coming in and he’s put my name on it. Should be going to look on Wednesday.

Wear yours in good health Sir

Great story. I echo the points above re the 39mm. Seems small by spec but the case is quite bloated and therefore seemed a little off to me (I find a DJ41 to wear better). The 36 is a killer piece and so under the radar. Congrats and enjoy

Nice story. Nice choice and watch which I like personally very much. Wear in the best of health.

I think sometimes when we see something online we convince ourselves it will be perfect, and then when we try it on it can't live up to those lofty expectations. That certainly happened to me with the 39 mm, and then almost even with the 36 mm. Too much time spent looking at gorgeous perfectly-shot photos on Omega Forums!

I did the same thing trying on the 36 mm OP's, but find that the 114270 wears much better (maybe that's just me though). Let me know how you like the 114270 when it comes in, from what you said in your post I think you'll really like it!

I agree that the 214270 wears larger than 39 mm, I think because it's pretty much all face. It's a beautiful watch and the new lume, bracelet, etc. is very compelling, but in the end it just came down to personal fit and for me the 36 mm took the cake. The 39 was nice, but the 36 was perfect. Just goes to show you really have to try these things on.

Also agree the 36 is very under the radar, which is a big part of the appeal 😉

Congratulations my friend! Great story and a great watch. Thanks for sharing!👍 Wear it in good health!

There seem to be quite a few of us whom have recently picked up 36 mm Explorers in preference to the 39 mm current version. Personally, I think the proportions work better in the more modest size...

Great choice. Two things learnt; you never know if you will like a watch before it is on your wrist and actual size is only one part off the equation when considering how a watch might wear. Enjoy your watch.

Love it!


Exactly. The need to see it on the wrist, and to think through what you're really asking for out of the watch, is the biggest takeaway.

Congrats, a beautiful watch. I have the 39 that I thought was too small despite my skinny little 6.25 wrists and recently came to the conclusion that I've been wearing watches that are way too big for me so my perception is waaaay out of whack, not only is the 39 almost too big now, but I'm considering backing down to smaller watches. Either way, love the Explorer, all the quality without the bling/attention.

In the exact opposite situation. 7.25 wrist, and I know the 36 is probably too small, but I’m used to vintage sizes. Much prefer how the 114270 wears. Go figure.

@be.norm
The contemporary Explorer, be it the 114270 or the 214270, is a modern classic in my opinion. Congrats on your purchase and wear it in good health. Cheers!

Great story!