I guess sometimes its hard to recognzie sorcasm in written form, never mind!

 

Lol, i thought someone will have to say this at some point

 

I am going to go against the flow and say that I think the 39 mm looks better on your wrist (and I deplore the trend to larger watches, so I'm not quite sure why that is).

I also recognise the appeal of having a new watch with the five year warranty. I'm currently waiting for an Explorer (who knows if it will ever come, frankly, the way things are right now with Rolex). I had been slightly worried, having the same sized wrists as you, that the 39 mm would look too big, especially as I have a nice 34 mm Oysterdate that looks just right on me to my eyes, and I would end up rejecting it. However, I think it looks very good.

If you do end up set on a 36 mm, have you looked at a 36 mm new Oyster Perpetual? That's a solid watch to wear every day, I think, and you have some dial colour variety.

 

Thanks for your reply!
I have looked at the 36mm OP as well. It does look fine, but somehow the 39mm sizing felt more at home.
The 39mm Explorer might look a bit large in close up photos, but in real life i enjoyed the 39mm more. Also the proportions of the new 39mm case are so nice!

The topic of 36 vs 39mm Expolrer has been beaten to death on the forums already, and i was aware of this fact when i made the post. But still wanted to share my experince.

To be honest it feels i would also go against the grain here, but i prefer the 39mm more overall.

 

The 36 looks like it was made for you. Just go ahead and get it. I was looking at some of them for sale here today, I think they are a smooth looking under the radar rolex

 

39mm is my pick

 

As someone who's just bought a 39mm Explorer I can say you won't be disappointed. It's excellent and wears wonderfully.

It's an unusual watch though in that on the wrist it looks perfectly proportioned and well sized (for me at least with 7.5"-7.75" wrist), but it always seems larger in photos, more so than any other watch I've ever worn.

As an aside I also considered a 36mm OP but the double markers at 3,6,9 and especially the thick lugs ruin it imo.

 

This thread caught my interest so I did a little searching on the internet about the two Explorer sizes.
I didn't realize there are actually 4 modern Explorer models to choose from.

Eve, I assume you are choosing between a model 114270 (36 mm) and 214270 Mk II (39 mm), true?

Here's an image I found on the internet showing the differences between the 4 modern Explorer models.

 

Gratuitous pics

 

That's a great resource and really shows the difference in size

You can even break them down slightly more than that at least so far as the 14270 is concerned, thanks to the move from tritium to luminova that came towards the end, the Swiss only dials etc.

 

Interesting to learn that about the 14270 model.

I also read that the 114270 had a feature for only 2 or 3 years during its production where the letters "R O L E X" were engraved around the inside of the rehaut (inner bezel under the crystal).
When I zoom in one of the first pictures Eve posted in this thread, it looks like the 114270 watch she was trying on had that "engraved rehaut" feature.

Here is her watch picture blown up as large as I could get it.
The engraved letters are blurred but it does look like it says "ROLEX" around in the inner bezel.



.

 

That's a 214270.

 

You are correct. Sorry.

I was thinking the 214270 had the word "Explorer" on the top half of the dial and the older 114270 had the word "Explorer" on the bottom half of the dial, but it is the other way around.

Thanks.

When I zoom in on the picture Eve posted of the 114270, it appears to have the smooth inner bezel.
.

 

You wrist is framed better with the 114270 imo

 

Interesting nonetheless.

 

yes, indeed. thank you for the image!

 

Thanks to everyone for their opinion, it didnt make it easier for me to make a decision between the two but did help to think it over again.
I guess the only way to really find out how the watch fits, is to buy, size it and wear for a while..

EUR 6k for a time only watch is a lot of cash, it is hard enough to justify the price of a brand new watch, and even harder to justify the prices the 36mm versions commanding, which creep up to 5,5k already. This particular 36mm example is lovely and has the early Serif dial, which i like more than the later dial without serif. But the case is not the most attractive. It has papers though, which is nice.

For now i will probably be passing on both.. again...

 

don’t eliminate a good 14270 from
consideration for that price they are out there

 

Yep the traditional hollow link bracelet is a plus. I have never been in love with the heavy and bulky look of the solid end link oysters and even worse that bulky glide-lock baloney on newer sport models. Both those modern "features" are also prone to breakage with extended use. Rolliworks in California specializes in repairing them as Rolex will only sell you the entire same bracelet as a replacement.

 

i do eliminate a 14270 due to tritium lume, which i am not fond of. as i would like the watch to be functional (therefore 114270).

the last time i was negotiating for a full set 114270 a year ago, it was ~4500,- EUR. Now one year later you hardly find any under 5500,- in a similar condition. I personaly find the price a bit steep for this refence, but what do i know.