Short handed Explorer

[upsidedownbelt]

I have owned this piece for a couple years and love it. What was the general consensus on the short hands? Is it generally accepted that they were a mistake and that’s why it had a short run and RSC will replace the hands with the bigger ones? Do you think that when they changed to the longer hands they also changed back to the lume numerals because they just didn’t want to correct the one mistake? They wanted it to see like a different watch. Either way, I like both but was just wondering what the actual story was. The short handed version seems like kind of an outlier in the past decade or so.

[TheDude]

Basically yeah. When it was announced, the short hands were a choice few could understand. It’s still a great watch though!


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[Rori]

what?!

[Eingram141]

+1 will RCS replace them with larger hands if taken for service?

[nigelUK]

Originally Posted by Eingram141

+1 will RCS replace them with larger hands if taken for service?

I'm sure this actually happened to someone who had a service .... there a thread on here somewhere

[upsidedownbelt]

Originally Posted by nigelUK

I'm sure this actually happened to someone who had a service .... there a thread on here somewhere

Yes, lots of people have said they had their hands replaced for the larger ones.

[tquieng]

The shorter hand is a rarer version only made for 5 years - I would keep it original. Might be collector item in future.

[AJMarcus]

Originally Posted by tquieng

The shorter hand is a rarer version only made for 5 years - I would keep it original. Might be collector item in future.

Agreed. I really enjoy my Mark I 214270. The white gold 3-6-9 dial is also special. The only one I’ve ever seen in the wild is the one on my wrist. Very unique yet classic.

[Wembleyisgreen]

Originally Posted by tquieng

The shorter hand is a rarer version only made for 5 years - I would keep it original. Might be collector item in future.

Extremely collectible. Already being hoarded by some collectors. The inventory is shrinking as well because some are getting serviced and getting new hands/dials.
In 10 years this will be a hard to get piece. The white Milgauss is another future collectible.

[tquieng]

Yes white Milgauss is another one and the seadweller ceramic - made for 3 years only

[brandrea]

I like both but do prefer the newer handset and lume

[The Libertine]

Originally Posted by tquieng

The shorter hand is a rarer version only made for 5 years - I would keep it original. Might be collector item in future.

Absolutely agree. I didn’t even notice the so-called short hand until reading about it here, and could care less. I like my Explorer just the way it is.

[upsidedownbelt]

Yes, it will be interesting to see how many original short handed pieces will be around in 10 years.

[CDNWatchNut]

I don’t think the Mk1 hands were a mistake, as in not designed with intention for good reason, however if Rolex reads this forum, they may have considered them to be a mistake based on the criticisms that resulted. I very much enjoy my Mk1 exactly as it is, the WG 3-6-9 stands out as unique more than the shortish hands make it odd(which I don’t think are necessarily short when you look at how the lume on the hands lines up with the indices). I’m not tempted to change the hands and dial for the Mk2 versions when service time comes, but I totally get why most people prefer the Mk2. Traditionally speaking, it does align to the Explorer blueprint more closely.

[upsidedownbelt]

Originally Posted by CDNWatchNut

I don’t think the Mk1 hands were a mistake, as in not designed with intention for good reason, however if Rolex reads this forum, they may have considered them to be a mistake based on the criticisms that resulted. I very much enjoy my Mk1 exactly as it is, the WG 3-6-9 stands out as unique more than the shortish hands make it odd(which I don’t think are necessarily short when you look at how the lume on the hands lines up with the indices). I’m not tempted to change the hands and dial for the Mk2 versions when service time comes, but I totally get why most people prefer the Mk2. Traditionally speaking, it does align to the Explorer blueprint more closely.

Agree with this, guess we will never know if it was a mistake or not.

[moore2]

Originally Posted by upsidedownbelt

Yes, it will be interesting to see how many original short handed pieces will be around in 10 years.

Actually i agree with you, we will watch to see how long it last..

[MoosicPa]

I like both versions.....

009 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/150333170@N07/]

[glamorama]

Originally Posted by tquieng

The shorter hand is a rarer version only made for 5 years - I would keep it original. Might be collector item in future.

Not if they change the Explorer this year, which they might do.

[Ihatecheese]

Uneducated guess would be the hands were something they thought best to rectify without making a fuss hence not changing the model number. Perhaps collectable in decades but still mass produced and enough of them out at the moment to be cheaper than the newest proportional 39mm version. It's a forum so no-one likes to readily admit that Rolex try to improve their watches iteratively as it might infer theirs is not the 'best'. Which doesn't matter if you like it!

[Commonproject]

Old hands were a bit thinner too, and combined with the WG 3 6 9 makes it a much classier watch than the new version