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Omega Speedmaster Hesalite vs 6 digit Rolex Explorer 2

schoolboy
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Hi Forum,

I really want to buy a Rolex Explorer 2, the most recent, 6 digit version.

However, apparently these are also super hard to come by, and I am thus on a waiting list 🙁

Does anybody here own one?

How does a Rolex Explorer 2 6 digit WEAR compared to a Speedy hesalite?

I know they are very different watches. Just wondering if the explorer 2 wears much bigger than the speedy or similarly to the speedy??

Thanks!
Edited:
 
Jensop
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How they compare? Well not really at all, if you ask me.
Chrono vs GMT
Old movement vs modern movement
Hand wind vs automatic
50 WR vs 100 or more.
Plastic vs Saphire
And so on..

do they complement each other? Sure!! Both very nice!
 
pw92676
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I have tried both on both don’t own either. In my very brief experience I think wore very differently and they would coexist very well in a collection, big or small.
 
schoolboy
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Jensop Jensop
How they compare? Well not really at all, if you ask me.
Chrono vs GMT
Old movement vs modern movement
Hand wind vs automatic
50 WR vs 100 or more.
Plastic vs Saphire
And so on..

do they complement each other? Sure!! Both very nice!
Sorry, perhaps I didn’t phrase my question correctly.

I meant to compare how they wear, only.

Does the explorer 2 wear much bigger than the speedy?

Or do they wear about the same?

Like that.
 
C
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The 6 digit Explorer 2 wears larger than the Speedy. The both are advertised at 42mm, but the Rolex is longer lug-to lug and wears like a larger watch. I have owned the white dial twice and sold it both times because I felt it overpowered my 7” wrist. I currently have the 6 digit GMT2 Pepsi and it wears a lot like the Speedy with regard to case size.

The rest comes down to what you want. As an only watch I would chose the Explorer 2 because I like having the date, and I find the GMT complication more useful than a chronograph. Add in the automatic movement and 100m water resistance I just feel like the Rolex is a better daily driver for me. With that said, I wear my Speedy pretty regularly and I get a ton of enjoyment out of it.

You best bet might be to buy the Speedy now and then buy the Explorer when you get the waiting list call. If you decide to keep the Speedy you will make some money selling the Explorer 2. If you decide you want to part with the Speedy you won’t lose a ton if you buy it right.
 
schoolboy
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C Cabinetman
The 6 digit Explorer 2 wears larger than the Speedy. The both are advertised at 42mm, but the Rolex is longer lug-to lug and wears like a larger watch. I have owned the white dial twice and sold it both times because I felt it overpowered my 7” wrist. I currently have the 6 digit GMT2 Pepsi and it wears a lot like the Speedy with regard to case size.

The rest comes down to what you want. As an only watch I would chose the Explorer 2 because I like having the date, and I find the GMT complication more useful than a chronograph. Add in the automatic movement and 100m water resistance I just feel like the Rolex is a better daily driver for me. With that said, I wear my Speedy pretty regularly and I get a ton of enjoyment out of it.

You best bet might be to buy the Speedy now and then buy the Explorer when you get the waiting list call. If you decide to keep the Speedy you will make some money selling the Explorer 2. If you decide you want to part with the Speedy you won’t lose a ton if you buy it right.
Thanks for the very comment.

Very useful.

Where do I start....

I recently bought a speedy because I loved it in pictures and never hard a mechanical chronograph.

Now that I have it, I really love it and can’t see myself ever selling it (if I’m healthy and financially okay).

I bought a new old stock Rolex 116610ln, but haven’t worn it, because I’m still waiting for the call for the explorer 2.

I know I can sell my sub date daily quickly and buy the explorer 2 but I fear the explorer 2 will be too big for my 6.75in wrist as I’ve never had a chance to even try one on!

In a nutshell, I want to keep the speedy, possibly sell my Datejust, and then keep either the sub date or the explorer 2 as part of the collection.
 
schoolboy
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Maybe I should just wait until I get the call for the explorer 2 to decide if to buy that one and sell my sub date or just keep the sub date.

I get anxious though, and ended up creating this thread to see if anyone could tell me details about how they wear.

The sub date vs the explorer 2, both have pros and cons.

I like the size of the sub date, and the rotating bezel, love the bracelet and the glide lock.

Explorer 2... love that it is very understated, more so than the sub date. Like the fixed bezel because that means I don’t have to worry about sand getting stuck under there and getting the bezel stuck (like on the sub) and it also has a neat clasp albeit without the glide lock. I don’t travel much but the GMT function could be useful.
 
Pun
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Jensop Jensop
How they compare? Well not really at all, if you ask me.
Chrono vs GMT
Old movement vs modern movement
Hand wind vs automatic
50 WR vs 100 or more.
Plastic vs Saphire
And so on..

do they complement each other? Sure!! Both very nice!
Hey bro, you should post here more often..... I liked the way you responded! 😀
 
nobbylon
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schoolboy schoolboy
Maybe I should just wait until I get the call for the explorer 2 to decide if to buy that one and sell my sub date or just keep the sub date.

I get anxious though, and ended up creating this thread to see if anyone could tell me details about how they wear.

The sub date vs the explorer 2, both have pros and cons.

I like the size of the sub date, and the rotating bezel, love the bracelet and the glide lock.

Explorer 2... love that it is very understated, more so than the sub date. Like the fixed bezel because that means I don’t have to worry about sand getting stuck under there and getting the bezel stuck (like on the sub) and it also has a neat clasp albeit without the glide lock. I don’t travel much but the GMT function could be useful.

I wouldn’t say an Exp2 is understated at all, if anything it stands out more with that shiny bezel and orange hand. Looks bigger too. Maybe too big for your wrist. Sand under bezels? new one on me and I’ve worn Subs and Sea Dwellers for years and never had this happen. Not sure about waiting lists anymore either, sure there used to be such things but now even the AD’s sell out the back door for bigger profit. The last thing I got from a list was a BLNR and was offered 2 Subs two years ago but those days are gone. I voted with my feet re’ Rolex and went to Omega and Panerai. Sadly there’s way too much profiteering and no actual liking for the new Rolex by a large proportion of people. You only need to look at chrono to see it, plenty of new Sub 41’s but ZERO at AD’s. The easiest way to make something desirable is to make people feel privileged. Take your NOS Sub out of the box, pull the stickers off if some sales assistant hasn’t already and enjoy it.
 
Croc
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My experience is they wear very differently, the Speedmaster feeling much smaller. The Explorer II is a great watch, but feels much bigger, I would say it wears more like a Panerai Luminor
 
schoolboy
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nobbylon nobbylon
I wouldn’t say an Exp2 is understated at all, if anything it stands out more with that shiny bezel and orange hand. Looks bigger too. Maybe too big for your wrist. Sand under bezels? new one on me and I’ve worn Subs and Sea Dwellers for years and never had this happen. Not sure about waiting lists anymore either, sure there used to be such things but now even the AD’s sell out the back door for bigger profit. The last thing I got from a list was a BLNR and was offered 2 Subs two years ago but those days are gone. I voted with my feet re’ Rolex and went to Omega and Panerai. Sadly there’s way too much profiteering and no actual liking for the new Rolex by a large proportion of people. You only need to look at chrono to see it, plenty of new Sub 41’s but ZERO at AD’s. The easiest way to make something desirable is to make people feel privileged. Take your NOS Sub out of the box, pull the stickers off if some sales assistant hasn’t already and enjoy it.

I don’t know if understated was the right word to choose, but I think the Explorer 2 is significantly less shiny than 6 digit subs, GMTs, Daytonas and Datejusts with fluted bezels.

About the sand under the bezels.... I’ve read a few examples of that happening on the Rolex forum.

I don’t know if it happens because people forget to rinse the watch after exposing it to sand and water at the beach, but it does happen.

Usually remedied by soaking the watch in soapy water for a while or popping off the bezel to clean under it. (Which is harder to do on 6 digit models than on 5 digit models)
 
schoolboy
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Croc Croc
My experience is they wear very differently, the Speedmaster feeling much smaller. The Explorer II is a great watch, but feels much bigger, I would say it wears more like a Panerai Luminor
Darn it.

Maybe I should mentally prepare for the possibility that I might not have enough wrist for the watch

🙁

We’ll see I guess.
 
MtnMarine
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schoolboy schoolboy
Darn it.

Maybe I should mentally prepare for the possibility that I might not have enough wrist for the watch

🙁

We’ll see I guess.

or look at the 5 digit explorer 2. I tried on a 16570 last week and was surprised by how it felt. In my opinion, it wears smaller than the speedy but not by much.
 
OmeGez
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Agreed - the 16570 wears like a 38/39mm. Fantastic piece.
 
pw92676
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schoolboy schoolboy
I don’t know if understated was the right word to choose, but I think the Explorer 2 is significantly less shiny than 6 digit subs, GMTs, Daytonas and Datejusts with fluted bezels.

About the sand under the bezels.... I’ve read a few examples of that happening on the Rolex forum.

I don’t know if it happens because people forget to rinse the watch after exposing it to sand and water at the beach, but it does happen.

Usually remedied by soaking the watch in soapy water for a while or popping off the bezel to clean under it. (Which is harder to do on 6 digit models than on 5 digit models)


The sand under the bezel issue is very minimal, nonexistent IMO. My sub is my beach watch.

I’d recommend just going to try on an Explorer II at a local grey dealer. This will help you better decide if you like the Sub vs Explorer II based on fit.

As far as “understated,” “under the radar” and any affiliated term I think it’s rubbish. Get what you like regardless of what others think. Ignore collectability, resale/investment and all that stuff: just wear the watch you like better.
 
nobbylon
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Sand under bezels is spoken about by those who have never seen let alone had a Submariner. Soaking in water does not disolve a grain of sand btw. You soak under pants not Rolex watches! I love the internet, full of bs as usual. Carry on.....
 
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