The 14270 Explorer is the close descendant of the infamous 1016 Explorer. The 36mm case lends itself to effortless fit into a wardrobe of skinny jeans or a summer suit. The lack of a thick bezel makes it the ideal discrete sports watch and has recently become a favorite of ours outside the traditional Sub or GMT watch. The 14270 to chase after for us are the tritium lume variants as these are the last tritium Explorer’s made. They offer a tint of yellow and color that contrasts nicely against the white enamel 3-6-9 numerals on the dial.

This specific example has a beautiful tropical patina that shows speckles on the dial. We are unsure what caused this reaction or effect but we love the weird patina that contrasts against the sterile perfection that Rolex is known for.

Dial: Tropical tritium 3-6-9 gloss dial

Insert: Smooth

Case: Excellent case

Bracelet: Oyster

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