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Old 20 November 2015, 04:32 PM   #1
Kinagoo
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Rolex Explorer 2 (21670) white dial

Hi everybody,
Pretty new here on the Forums and its my first review ever so... be nice...:)
The reason for this review is simple. I am 35 years old, love watches, have owned Omega, Sinn, Muhle Glasshutte, Seiko..and others. But never owned a ROLEX. I was worried to wear a ROLEX... Too expensive, too flashy, it seemed to not be "ME". Last year I got a bonus at work and thought what the hell i want to buy myself a Submariner, so I did and have been completely in love with her beauty and quality, been wearing her ever since...then i got really looking at Tudor, made buy Rolex, praised on the forums, great looking so I went to my local AD to look at the Tudor Brand, I was craving a Pelagos. Long story short I Liked the Pelagos but my eye, my head, my mind took me to the Rolex Explorer 2...not my wallet...:)
Anyway I have been reading the forums for a while now, absorbing like a sponge everybodys reviews and thoughts and figured now that I have made my purchase I want to make my contribution, so here it is.

This review will be done in 5 segments:

Design (looks, presence, finish, Bracelet...)
Comfort (Size, weight, Balance..)
Operations (ease of use, legibility, Lume, Bracelet..)
Movement (accuracy, Technology..)
Value (Price, resell Value, Is it worth it?)

Just remember this is my personnal opinion and in no way represents the majority, just my two cents for those of you out there looking to purchase this model.

So here we go...

1/Design

Let me start by saying that this watch is a stunner, I remember looking thru the Rolex glass at my AD and telling him "you should have this watch in a different display in makes all the other watches look boring, to witch he replied: "if we put it in a different display nobody will look at the other ones" I said: Fair enough...
Anyway what I meant to say is the watch is stunning.
A little on the big side (for my 6.75 inch wrist) but Man it is gorgeous.
The White Dial is something special, like nothing I have ever owned, Rolex does do White well, its so pure yet... I dont know just great. The hour markers are very legible and the white gold Black coated circles on the maxi dial are... well just perfect!

The hands are big and bold, I can glance at this watch and never have to look again, its like reading the time at the movie theatre.
The GMT hand is almost perfect, I would of like it in red better... I think. But cant really say anything bad about it since its legibility is pretty perfect.

The Bezel is gorgeous, Brushed, legible, understated yet in your face. Some people have mentionned a problem with scratches. I work outdoors all day and have a very physical job and have yet to put a scratch on the beautiful 904L steel.

The polishing, well its Rolex. Fit and finish to my experience and standards is above and beyond what I Have seen. I love the details of polishing on the Bezel bellow the numbers. It says "Hey I'm rugged and tough but remember, Im a Rolex and I'm beautiful"

Other than that, everything is alligned properly, Markers, Bezel, it all seems to be together with great precision so no complaints there. As you would expect at this price point.

The Cyclops...
Well that I well tell you is a sore subject, not a huge fan...
Why would you put this monstruosity on such a beautiful, clean dial?
I just don't think it should be there!
Date is LESS legible, Crystal is NOT flat, Face is NOT clean!
Ok lets calm down, I get it, I mean I get that rolex has Tradition, and heritage and thats what they do, so its growing on me. Growing does not mean I like it, I'll tolerate it.

The Bracelet...
Another Sour spot for me but just kind of...
Let me explain:
I own the submariner (no date 114060) remember...?
Why I mean WHY would you use a B+ bracelet when you have developed a A+ Bracelet? That's right hello Rolex you own the technology... USE IT!
Don't get me wrong the bracelet on the explorer is great but it's not to the level of the Glidelock on the submariner... PERIOD. And that kinda pisses me off.
The design of a watch is subjective and even tho I'm a little irritated about certain aspect of the Explorer 2 as a whole it's just a jaw dropping, easy to wear gorgeous watch that no pictures, I mean none can do it justice. For me it was when I put it on you don't want to take it off. My submariner has some serious competition. I just LOVE IT!!

Design: 8.5/10 (-1 for the cyclops, -0.5 for the bracelet)

Ok now let's talk about comfort.

Facts: I have a small wrist, I was worried about the size, I was worried about the weight, I was worried about the MAXI MAXI dial.

I put all those ideas to rest the minute I put it on my wrist.
It's beautiful but it doesn't scream at you, it's bold and big but not huge by any means, it's heavy in a way that screams "I'm quality but hey I'm better than your other watches DUDE" (not with a suit that is... For that I have the Sub...:) )
The bracelet even tho being a B+ is still an A in comfort. With the glidelock missing you will have to fiddle a bit more to get the right fit but all and all its pretty darn good when you compare to the offerings from OMEGA and others that still havent come up with a way to micro adjust a bracelet. That pisses me off even more so I can only give credit to Rolex.

Comfort over all is excellent, I would say on par with the Submariner.
Submariner fits my wrist better but the Flat case on the explorer 2 makes the watch disapear...for a 42mm watch.

Comfort result: 9/10 (-1 for size, it would be perfect at 41mm in my opinion)

Now operations:

It is a GMT watch as a result will give you time in two different time zones. I know you are thinking "big freaking deal" well let me say that all GMTs are not equal. The big orange hand is very legible and allows the second time zone to be glanced at and determined without a second look. That's more than I can say from previous GMTs I have owned.

The Crown: it's great, not submariner great but pretty darn great. Smooth winding operation, time setting, quick hour setting makes it a pleasure to use.
It has the twin lock technologie witch provides ample "waterproof-ness" to the common mortal (100m-300feet) and allows you to go about your daily tasks of cleaning, bathing, swimming without a worry. The crown is very easy to operate. Clean, crisp audible CLICS make it a joy to use. I don't wish it were bigger but do wish they implemented the trip lock crown that's in the Submariner. Again Rolex why a B+when a A+ is within your repertoire... I know the explorer 2 is not a dive watch but then again the GMT master isn't either but got the trip lock crown. Not a big deal just a mention.
I do wish there was a quick Date set tho. Instead you have to use the quick hour set to change the date, again not a big deal but a worthy detail.

The Lume: it's fantastic! Beautiful blue Chromalite. Rolex wasn't kidding, it does everything they say it does. In bed around 10pm, morning alarm goes on at around 5:30am and I can still easily read those beautiful blue markers and hands. Even going from a well lite area to a normally lite room I get comment like: "oh waoo your watch is glowing!" That's how good the Lume is. Well done Rolex.

The bracelet is extremely comfortable, no squeaks, no play, no hair pulling, except for the little negative I mentioned above its a fabulous bracelet. The 2.5mm of extra adjustment works very well and allows me to give it a better fit when my wrist expands. The clasp feels very solid and secure and gives you the feeling that the watch is coming off only if my arm gets chopped off...good feeling... Sort of...:)

Operation result: 9/10 (-0.5 for lack of trip lock, -0.5 for lack of quick date set)

Now the Movement:
Most of what I will say next is mainly from reading this forum and other sources online.
Rolex is well known for their in-house movements, they are robust, accurate and seem to stand the test of time. This particular movement (3187) is equipped with the now well known blue parachrome hairspring. This feature is supposed to minimize the effects of magnetism on the movement and provide better accuracy. The 3187 Rolex movement also comes with rolex's own patented Paraflex shock absorber. This technology provides the movement with up to 50% more resistance to shock than typical shock absorbers. To be honest it's one of the features that pulled me to the Explorer 2. My job is very physical and involves a lot of moving around.
I've only had the watch a couple weeks so my observations are limited and I will make sure to update this post in time.
Right now after 11 days of wearing the watch 24 hours a day it has gained 6 seconds, yes you read that right 6 freaking seconds! I am blown away. I have never owned a watch that gained 0.5 seconds per day, it was always between 3 to 10 seconds in average with my previous timepieces.

Movement result: 10/10 (so far so near perfect... Fingers crossed)

Now value:

That's the part that's really subjective but I will attempt to make sense of it according to what I feel.
For me it was a lot money, I mean a lot of money!
Was it money well spent? Well let's put it this way if you are going to spend 8K in a watch or any piece of jewelry then yes a Rolex is the way to go. The prestige, craftsmanship, quality and warranty (now 5 years) make for a relatively risk free investment. If you are like me and you worked really hard and saved for months perhaps years to buy this piece then Value is not really relevant. What matters is you were able to buy yourself one of the most exciting piece in the Rolex lineup and let me tell you that you won't be disappointed.

Value result: 8/10 (no matter how you look at it, that money can buy you a used car)

Final thoughts:

It's not the watch for everyone, it's kinda quirky with its big hands and dial, it will seem too big for a lot of people. But hey it's very well made, it's beautiful, it's robust, it's accurate.... What more do you need...?
If you have more than 5k to spend on one watch, it's hard to beat Rolex, it's well crafted, dependable and backed up with a 5 year warranty. Or you can do like I did buy a bunch of other brands, loose a ton of money and later realize that You should of bought this from the very beginning...
I love this watch...can you tell?

I hope this can help somebody in there decision.
Cheers guys
Alex
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Old 21 November 2015, 12:14 AM   #2
Kinagoo
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Just realized there is a typo in the title, it's model 216570 not 21670.
I'm unable to edit at this time.
My apologies.
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Old 21 November 2015, 03:08 AM   #3
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Welcome and nice review
Any pics to share?
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Old 21 November 2015, 06:32 AM   #4
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Nice write up
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Old 21 November 2015, 10:02 AM   #5
Kinagoo
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Thank you appreciate it. Working on adding pics as well...:)


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Old 23 November 2015, 03:06 AM   #6
CRasch
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Let's see some pics! Also, great choice.
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Old 27 November 2015, 09:17 PM   #7
ASGMT50
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Now that you mentioned it, I'm starting to agree with you that the cyclops actually spoils a nice clean dial. And it's actually harder to read the date when viewing from an angle. :)
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Old 4 December 2015, 12:40 PM   #8
Kinagoo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ASGMT50 View Post
Now that you mentioned it, I'm starting to agree with you that the cyclops actually spoils a nice clean dial. And it's actually harder to read the date when viewing from an angle. :)
It's just such a great dial, I mean I'm getting used to the cyclops now and it no longer bothers me but can't stop trying to imagine the watch without it...
My sub-c looks so clean without it. I think the explorer II deserved a perfect clean look...:)
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Old 6 December 2015, 04:20 AM   #9
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Nice review - Exp II is a great watch!
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Old 19 September 2016, 04:18 AM   #10
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Great review..
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Old 23 September 2016, 07:23 PM   #11
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Good review thanks from a fellow Polar owner.
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Old 7 December 2016, 03:53 PM   #12
Pharaoh_83
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Great review.

For me, I like the look of the cyclops. It goes hand in hand with the crown. It's been such a staple that I can't imagine a rolex without it
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Old 18 December 2019, 03:56 PM   #13
interneal
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pharaoh_83 View Post
Great review.

For me, I like the look of the cyclops. It goes hand in hand with the crown. It's been such a staple that I can't imagine a rolex without it


Agreed! The cyclops is a (functional) styling cue I’d really miss if it weren’t there.

Great review, cheers!


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Old 4 January 2020, 05:47 PM   #14
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Thanks for sharing the review
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Old 6 February 2020, 01:38 PM   #15
interneal
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Great review from a fellow 216570 owner! I’ve had a 214270 and a 16570 and this is the one for me. Cheers!


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Old 20 February 2020, 12:42 PM   #16
bluemoonhops
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Great review, I to love the Rolex Explorer II so much that I just added a black dial so my White dial Rolex Explorer II will have a new friend Cheers
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Old 12 March 2020, 06:01 AM   #17
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Great review! Thanks for sharing.
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Old 14 March 2020, 04:11 PM   #18
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Great review! We are like-minded as I just traded for an exc-cond Sub ND 114060 and am currently looking for the EXPII Polar 216570. After going through a few Omegas, the Rolex Sub and EXPII Polar are my end game watches - no going back...


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