Purchasing an Explorer I 214270

[uri40]

I'm going to buy an Explorer I 214270 but was wondering if I should wait until Baselworld in case there are any announcements of an updated movement. Should I wait?

[WatchOut4It]

One of the things I’ve learned about Rolex over the past few years is that they manage their brand well. They don’t obsolete watches by releasing a “better” model; they simply release something new. If you like the Explorer in its current iteration (and who doesn’t? :-) I’d get it now. The downside of new releases is that they often come with price increases and limited availability. I’d say get it while the getting is good.

[Rocket_Man]

Couldn't hurt, but even if they make an announcement you won't see any at ADs until late 2018. And I don't think they would change the ref number so it might be pretty hard to know when they'd actually come out.

[OmegaManOnTheMoon]

I don't think the lifecycle of the Explorer is due a refresh. They redesigned the hands and lume on 3/6/9 two years ago.

I prefer my 214270 Mk1 in the daylight, but in darkness I like the newer one. Not enough to upgrade however.

[JacksonStone]

Just like OmegaMan said, the last update for the Explorer was in 2016. That doesn't mean it's impossible Rolex would drop in a new movement, but it's pretty unlikely. And if they do, that's all the update would be; I can't see any aesthetic changes for the foreseeable future. As it is, the 2016 update came only six years after the previous redesign, which itself is pretty fast for Rolex.

It's likelier we'll see something happen to the GMT or Sub lines (although even that is hardly certain), and the Explorer will get the "treatment" some years down the road. If you want it, get it.

[jdpny]

I don’t see it happening for ‘18 IMHO.

[Justindo]

I'm confident that nothing will change with the Explorer I for at least a few years, except for probably a price increase or two.

[run23]

Rolex doesn’t seem to change for the sake of change, so I’d pull the trigger now if you can find one. Would love it if they released a 36mm version of the Explorer, but doubt its going to happen.

I was in the airport in Hong Kong yesterday and almost bought a 214270. Great price— a little over US$ 6,000. But I was pretty sleep deprived and didn’t trust myself on a sort of impulse purchase. We’ll see if it’s still there when I go back through Hong Kong in a couple of weeks.

[AEC]

The current 214270 is pretty perfect as-is, and I recommend buying it and enjoying it now.

[RichM]

Originally Posted by AEC

The current 214270 is pretty perfect as-is, and I recommend buying it and enjoying it now.

This

[uri40]

Thanks everyone, will start searching for one soon.

[Hairdude1]

Go for it now!

[carloman]

As far as mechanical watch movements go, Rolex's Explorer has the equivalent of a small block Chevy under the hood. That brain-spraining analogy was merely to point out that it's a timeless classic whose basic philosophy will remain sacrosanct.

Apart from slight tweaks generation to generation (mainly in order to generate new interest, IMHO), it's not going to change enough to make you regret buying one at any given point.

Go buy it. Enjoy it. And then when something else shiny pops up that makes your heart flutter, do it all over again.

[Jack T]

Originally Posted by carloman

As far as mechanical watch movements go, Rolex's Explorer has the equivalent of a small block Chevy under the hood. That brain-spraining analogy was merely to point out that it's a timeless classic whose basic philosophy will remain sacrosanct.

Apart from slight tweaks generation to generation (mainly in order to generate new interest, IMHO), it's not going to change enough to make you regret buying one at any given point.

Go buy it. Enjoy it. And then when something else shiny pops up that makes your heart flutter, do it all over again.

As much as I love my Explorer Mk1, and recommend it to anyone who wants a watch that is reliable, durable, tasteful and discreet, unfortunately Chevy ain't making those small block engines any more

[RossHetherington]

It's a lovely watch. Buy it now.

[Colin G]

I love mine and since getting it my Seamaster 300m sits in the box. I like it more than my Submariner also.

In my worthless opinion, if the crown was slightly larger and the watch had a longer power reserve It would be even better.

[Chadridv]

if it were me i'd buy now. If something crazy were to happen and you had to sell/trade down the road, you'd take a small hit. Maybe $500-700 (assuming your ExI was in great shape). For me the enjoyment and risk is worth it. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to be a bit more conservative and potentially save the money.

But again, the risk is that Rolex may not come out with anything to replace the watch you want right now. Also, if they do, you might not be able to get it in hand till the fall.

I'd make a move :)

[mui.richard]

need a push?

Sent from my F8132 using Tapatalk

[Spoonage]

Get it now if it's the watch you want. Anything released at Basel won't be readily available till ~Q3 2018 anyway. If nothing new at Basel then you just wasted almost 2 monthswaiting for nothing that you could have enjoyed your Explorer. Its an endless cycle... You may be asking yourself end of this year (if you wait) why buy a watch so close to the end of the year when Basel 2019 is around the corner. Or you'll buy now and buy later and buy next year...

[watchwatcher]

I don't see this model undergoing much if any change...it just got a major facelift.

As far as a new movement...eh, that's not going to make any appreciable difference to us mortals. Go for it.

[uri40]

For those that own one do you miss the date function?

[CamSLC]

Every once in a while I glance down to check for the date and it's not there. I rotate through 3-4 other watches that all have a date wheel. So I'm assuming if the Exp was the only watch I wore, I'd forget about the date.

[JacksonStone]

Originally Posted by uri40

For those that own one do you miss the date function?

I don't have an Explorer, but I do have a no-date Omega. Simple answer is yes: the lack of date was frustrating. So much so, in fact, that after a series of situations where I needed to know the date and had to look at my phone after drawing a blank from my wrist, I went and bought a Sub Date. Prior to that, I had been considering buying an Explorer, but I realized it wasn't going to work for me. Too bad, because I think the current Explorer is a classic.

[Maxy]

Originally Posted by uri40

For those that own one do you miss the date function?

It depends on an individual. For me personally, I enjoy both date and dateless watches. If you restrict to either one type, you'll miss out many classics like Explorer, 114060, etc. The one thing I look at my watch is for TIME and not usually the date. So, it doesn't matter if its dateless or date as both does have the TIME as the minimum.

[diracpoint]

Originally Posted by uri40

For those that own one do you miss the date function?

Not AT ALL!

Lack of date makes it so perfect.

[Earnyourturns]

Originally Posted by rich mickol

this

x2

[Spoonage]

Less than 1/2 my watches have the date so I'm fine without...

[run23]

I thought I would miss it when I went to a no date as my daily wearer about a year ago. It took me a week or two to stop looking at my wrist for the date, and now I don’t miss it at all. I greatly prefer the design of watches with no date.

[spoilsofwar01]

I'm currently looking for a 114270 , this is how the Explorer 1 looks up against my 5513, unfortunately the AD's lights were blinding and this was the best photo I could get, in comparison its hard to believe its a 36mm, well worth a look All the best "H"

[NLYogi]

just encouraging, not enabling!