Finally got to try on my dream, true-grail Rolex, 124270 Explorer

And? Is it still your grail or did it not live up to the expectations?

I don’t have any negative impressions so far. I pretty much just popped my head in. It’s a “true grail” for me currently. Given all the other luxury-priced watches i want over this and my career choice I’m working towards, i don’t see myself being able to afford any Rolex for many years. And if i ever get into a place in life where i could financial do it, i would have to think long and hard about spending over 7 thousand dollars—likely much more by then—on a single wristwatch.

Looks like the perfect size to me. In 10 years 36mm will be considered big again. 😉

It’s a great watch!

Looks fine on your wrist.

Take a look at the IWC Mark XX vs the Explorer you might have a new grail 😉. I’ve owned both watches and the Mark is a clear winner. 120hr power reserve, easy exchange strap system for unlimited options, more symmetrical dial, slimmer in thickness, and a date! Just my opinion.

I was debating myself between this explorer I and the iwc ingenuier, what do you think?

+1 for the explorer

Yeah—no. I won’t pay a few grand for a fleiger Type-A dial lol. Definitely no fear of adding a grail from any of those flieger brands. Such a large PR only makes sense on a manual-wind watch, where you can really experience it. And I have a somewhat Soviet approach to PRs. If I’m not wearing it and it’s still going, then it’s kind of unnecessary wear on the movement. And in terms of styles, it’s apples to oranges.

Y’know, when I first watched TGV’s video about the Explorer, comparing his and the 124270, I thought that the 19 mm strap width change was a negative, but on a second take recently, it’s fine for a luxury watch like this. The lugs look so much better with that additional millimeter. And another noticeable change is that the brushing on these cases gets so much better over time.

I bet the taper would feel amazing with more exposure. I don’t think it would be allowed but it would be so cool if I could do a “try before you buy”.

Oh how I wish “manifesting” worked. We’ll see what Karma thinks.

Imo, Explorer. I think a much better-looking alternative to the Engineer is Nivada Grechen’s F77

https://nivadagrenchenofficial.com/collections/f77

To each his own. Why not try out the cronos explorer, looking at your collection seems like your into homages.

I’ve considered it. The Pagani I have was more of a curiosity purchase. I’ll be honest, with the Explorer I have even considered a fake, but both fakes and copies have an issue in common: they always have one thing that don’t make them hit the mark like the original—especially copies.

I’ve read that the Tissel Explorer is the best Explorer copy. I’ve even looked at Alpha’s. (Imo, Alpha’s logo works the best as it takes a similar position to the coronet). Maybe I will get one. Maybe I won’t. But rn it’s not a priority compared to the other watches I have on my wishlist. I am still curious which people think is the best in a comparison.

The 36mm looks great, but I ended up going with the 40mm (which I think is actually like 38.6mm) and I adore it. I also have just over a 7” wrist.