3 months, 20 days for the call...
No sh!t, there I was (which is how all true war stories start) - just got home and turned the car off two days ago on Thursday when I got a text from my local Rolex AD, "Good afternoon, this is... We received a watch you have been interested in. Please call me at..." Immediately called back and asked what time they closed. 6PM, two hours from now. On a good day, it's an hour drive from my home, but in rush hour traffic - through the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT, IYKYK) - odds are I'd have arrived 5 minutes after they closed! Quickly confirmed they'd hold on to it for me till Saturday morning. Avoided the temptation to leave work early Friday, and this morning I was standing at the door as they opened for business!
Flashback to 2017, when I first got into watches, the Rolex Explorer was the first "grail-level" watch to catch my eye. I devoured every review and bit of lore about the watch I could find. A visit to the local AD where we lived at the time to see the then current 39mm Explorer was a gut punch though. They say never meet your heroes. While I can comfortably rock 36 to 42mm on my 6.75 inch wrist, the 39mm Explorer just didn't live up to expectations. The dimensions just seemed...off. Not to mention I couldn't afford it at the time anyways, so I put the Explorer out of my mind and moved on to other watches. That is until 2021, when the 36mm Explorer was released. Now I could afford it thanks to a new job, but there were simply no new Explorers to be had. Despite that, the 36mm Explorer - I'm a sucker for tradition - began to live rent free in my mind.
In January of this year, I resolved to put myself on "the list" and see what would come of it. I figured if no Explorer by the end of the year, I'd finally get an auto/mechanical Grand Seiko, model TBD, to complete a movement trifecta to go along with my spring drive Snowflake and GMT quartz SBGN003. On 14 January I made the drive through the HRBT (IYKYK) to visit the AD and asked to see an Explorer. They had several exhibition models but no Explorer. Disappointing, but not a showstopper. I'd handled a steel and gold 36mm Explorer at a different AD the summer of 2021, and had a sense of the watch...thanks to devouring every 124270 review I could find. As the salesman took down my information, I casually mentioned the Tudor Black Bay 58 on my wrist was purchased in his store. Then never went back to schmooze the sales staff (see also the HRBT, IYKYK).
Over the past few months, I'd seen hints that the wait times for the Explorer were beginning to be measured in single digit months, at least in some parts of the world, per reports by Crunchers and other social media denizens. But I was still a bit shocked when I got the call after less than 4 months. The older I get, the more convinced I am that timing in life is everything. Sometimes my timing has been perfect...other times it's been terrible (see also: buying and selling two houses!). I've no doubt that if I were to put myself on the list for an Explorer at the same AD today, I could well end up waiting a year or more. There are no guarantees, and it's often better to lucky than good.
So that's the story of how I came to purchase my Explorer today. It's gonna be a very long honeymoon. I have a Baltic MR01 being delivered later this month which was ordered October 2022. After that, it'll be a while before my next NWA!
And what are the odds of waiting longer for a sub $600 microbrand watch than a Rolex at retail? Timing is everything! 😀
Eclectic collector: Swiss…Japanese…cheap…not cheap…big name brand...micro brand…mechanical…automatic…handwinder…quartz…homage…luxury…in-house…workhorse…it’s all good!
Big congratulation. The Explorer is a stunning watch. Wear it in good health.
Congrats on the beautiful Rollie! Love reading your journey and wear it with pride/joy 🤙❤️🤙
Lots of calls recently. The market seems to returning to normal and you are the beneficiary. Wear it in good health.
Beautiful watch and congratulations on getting what you wanted. So many times I talk myself out of settling for a watch that will “make do” or “scratch the itch” rather than waiting for what I actually want.
Wear it in good health
Congratulations
Lots of calls recently. The market seems to returning to normal and you are the beneficiary. Wear it in good health.
I noticed that as well. Within 24 hours of me getting the call at least two other Crunchers - not all in the States - reported that they'd gotten the call on Friday. Admittedly a small sample size, but it did get me thinking about Rolex's production schedules and distribution model. I've no insight but have long suspected they run production lines for certain models and movements for set periods of time during the year for a while, then switch production to different models and movements for a bit, so on and so forth until they hit production goals, then ship them as needed. They make numerous varieties of dozens of models and movements, a million watches a year per reports. I'd be shocked if the factory is producing every model every working day of the year - factory floor space and labor force are finite after all. So, I suspect that a recent production run of Explorers recently entered the distribution channel. And I'll take it!
Congratulations on a beautiful watch! I was fortunate enough to purchase the new 36mm Explorer I. This watch is rock solid and a legend. Enjoy!
Congrats! And happy to hear the list is getting shorter 😃.
Congratulations! Love seeing one bestowed a Explorer. I can echo the joys of owning it. Huzzah! 😎😃
I’m both happy for you and happy to hear a story that doesn’t involve years and/or endless hours of sucking up to an AD. Congrats, the Explorer is one of the greats.
Done forever with my Rolex AD🤬 - but glad to hear stories of my buddies getting their grails!
Nice choice as well, my dad wore his 1016 from 20s through till his 80s. I think the Explorer is one of the only non hype and solid tool watches that they still make.
Congratulations on a beautiful timepiece.
Congrats for the new piece, enjoy the honeymoon👏waiting for call for new 40mm, 36mm is just too small for me
Congrats for the new piece, enjoy the honeymoon👏waiting for call for new 40mm, 36mm is just too small for me
Hope it’s a short wait, pics when you get it!
Congratulations on an awesome piece! 🤩🍻
Fun story, enjoy.
I noticed that as well. Within 24 hours of me getting the call at least two other Crunchers - not all in the States - reported that they'd gotten the call on Friday. Admittedly a small sample size, but it did get me thinking about Rolex's production schedules and distribution model. I've no insight but have long suspected they run production lines for certain models and movements for set periods of time during the year for a while, then switch production to different models and movements for a bit, so on and so forth until they hit production goals, then ship them as needed. They make numerous varieties of dozens of models and movements, a million watches a year per reports. I'd be shocked if the factory is producing every model every working day of the year - factory floor space and labor force are finite after all. So, I suspect that a recent production run of Explorers recently entered the distribution channel. And I'll take it!
Congrats my friend. I agree with your (and @Aurelian 's comments). I had first put my name on the list with 4 ADs mid 2022 (in the states). By the end of 2022, I felt I will not get a call, thanked all the ADs (basically moving on). Then I visited 1 AD 3 weeks ago... first they offered me Pelagos 39 (in a week), which I declined saying I still prefer the Explorer, and suddenly last week they offered me an Explorer 36. So believe there is some merit in thinking things returning to normal & a model being produced certain months a year (and then Rolex moving to another one)... Now my confusion is should I go for the 36 or wait for the 40 - Have a 7.5 inch flat wrist; friends say 40 looks better, but for some reason it doesn't feel comfortable to me (I like lighter watches, that disappear) and 36 feels just right... :]
Congrats my friend. I agree with your (and @Aurelian 's comments). I had first put my name on the list with 4 ADs mid 2022 (in the states). By the end of 2022, I felt I will not get a call, thanked all the ADs (basically moving on). Then I visited 1 AD 3 weeks ago... first they offered me Pelagos 39 (in a week), which I declined saying I still prefer the Explorer, and suddenly last week they offered me an Explorer 36. So believe there is some merit in thinking things returning to normal & a model being produced certain months a year (and then Rolex moving to another one)... Now my confusion is should I go for the 36 or wait for the 40 - Have a 7.5 inch flat wrist; friends say 40 looks better, but for some reason it doesn't feel comfortable to me (I like lighter watches, that disappear) and 36 feels just right... :]
That’s a tough one. The 40mm would very likely be a great fit for you. But the 36mm is the OG, so to speak. “Manly men” of all wrist sizes wore the 36mm for decades with nobody batting an eye before style conventions shifted to thinking 36mm was a woman watch/too small for a man. The 36mm certainly is smaller than most these days but I’ve noticed my eye has become accustomed to seeing it, it’s plenty legible and it just feels right on wrist. One of the most comfortable watches I own.
Let us know what you get, and pics when you do!