My 40mm Explorer has arrived!

[Hems]

Looks good buddy, Congrats!

[Cr_Zeek]

Congratulations.

Thanks for posting all the comparison shots. I think it looks great and I also prefer the improved crown as well as a more prominent seconds/minute hand.

Hoping to get mine soon enough, let's see if Rolex Gods are smiling :)

[cglondon]

Congratulations. Happy day for you. Im wearing my 214270 right now. Your hour marker is closer to the indices. Maybe they listened to some owners of the 39mm complaining about the “empty” space.

Awesome watch. Enjoy. Be careful with that bezel ha. Mine is three years old and the bezel is scratched to high heaven.


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[Vetracer]

I have the 39mm and enjoy wearing it very much. I’m struggling to see the difference between the 39 and 40mm. Enjoy whichever variant you have, they’re all classic understated watches.

[nickscaps]

Wow congrats OP, this is a grail for me. I really want a bigger Explorer to complement my DJ36. I didn't know they were shipping these out already!

[bullies]

Congrats!

[Jackie Daytona]

Great looking watch! Congratulations!

[LA_LEC]

The matte on my 39 really does it for me. Might be an acquired taste for some but for me it was automatic.

[omar-rye]

Originally Posted by LA_LEC

The matte on my 39 really does it for me. Might be an acquired taste for some but for me it was automatic.

In my opinion, matte is very fitting for a field watch




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[dannyp]

Originally Posted by omar-rye

Can you show me what looks better aesthetically? Only difference I see is the placement of the Explorer text.

Dial: For one reason or another, the 39 dial appears to have more blank space

Bezel: 39 bezel always looked too thick for my liking

Lug/bracelet alignment: Probably the most profound difference, the taper of the lugs lines up way, way better with the taper of the bracelet to give it the same "integrated bracelet silhouette" of the new 36

Lug shape: The lugs on the 39 appear too thick and the curvature looks too rounded (like the old cushion-style OP/DJ case)

[krounchou]

Congrats. It looks really good. I need to try one at my AD

[Drew.g.l]

Originally Posted by dannyp

Dial: For one reason or another, the 39 dial appears to have more blank space

Bezel: 39 bezel always looked too thick for my liking

Lug/bracelet alignment: Probably the most profound difference, the taper of the lugs lines up way, way better with the taper of the bracelet to give it the same "integrated bracelet silhouette" of the new 36

Lug shape: The lugs on the 39 appear too thick and the curvature looks too rounded (like the old cushion-style OP/DJ case)

I disagree with a few of these points

- having the text below is much better balance at this size, to me the 40mm looks like it has more blank space especially under the handset. Neither look bad

- lug shapes are identical and the difference is due to the 21mm vs 20mm bracelet. The 40mm lugs are shorter and stubbier than the 39mm.

- the lugs taper differently, the 39mm’s bracelet appears more like a compliment to the watch and less integrated as the 36/40. This is all preference and I don’t think either is objectively better looking

- I like the larger crown on the 40mm but think the smaller hour hand on the 39mm looks way, way better than the maxi handset they put on the 40mm.

[amphr1]

I have a love/hate relationship with my TT 36mm explorer. It feels perfect and looks great, but I'm just not a gold person. But putting a SS and TT 36 size by size, I had to pick the TT as the better looking watch. I was hoping the 40mm might best both 36 options, but from your photo, it really is mostly for someone with larger wrist. If 36 seems perfect for me, well perfect but border on the too small side, I doubt 40mm will solve my dilemma. I really liked how the black is really like a liquid black and the gold really pops the 3,6,9. Another thing I like is how the clasp is so narrow, yet feels so sturdy. Interested to know your opinion from some who owns or has owned 4 different Explorer. Did you ever consider the TT yourself when choosing?

[jzsj0]

Originally Posted by R3-D9

Just for fun… here’s all four Explorers I’ve owned over the years…

Thanks for all the contrast photos, very impressed you’ve got one already! I put my name down for one after having to rejoin the waitlist for my wife’s dj31 (as left and didn’t tell me). I want hers to come in first so I assumed at least a year wait - maybe not.

Proportions look absolutely spot on to me, such a great watch - hope you enjoy it for years to come.

[dannyp]

Originally Posted by Drew.g.l

I disagree with a few of these points

- having the text below is much better balance at this size, to me the 40mm looks like it has more blank space especially under the handset. Neither look bad

- lug shapes are identical and the difference is due to the 21mm vs 20mm bracelet. The 40mm lugs are shorter and stubbier than the 39mm.

- the lugs taper differently, the 39mm’s bracelet appears more like a compliment to the watch and less integrated as the 36/40. This is all preference and I don’t think either is objectively better looking

- I like the larger crown on the 40mm but think the smaller hour hand on the 39mm looks way, way better than the maxi handset they put on the 40mm.

I don't think it's the text placement so much as something about the hour markers that makes it look like the 39 has too much blank space. Maybe it's the matte vs. glossy?

It could easily be an illusion, but the lugs look like they curve outward slightly (lending a rounder looking shape to the whole watch) vs the 36/40, which appear straight if not curved slightly inward near the tips. The wide appearance of the lug tips were my primary turn-off from the 11 series Sub/GMT/SD

In the end, the thicker bezel and lugs just make it look a bit bloated to me. You're right about the effect of the narrower bracelet, and I find myself preferring the more integrated look, with some taper continuity between lugs and bracelet.

[omar-rye]

According to what I’ve read on many threads, the “purists” don’t like the proportion of the new 36mm as well

[Cr_Zeek]

Lot of people forget that the oversized Oyster bracelet was long a Rolex hallmark.

[Snowballs]

Very nice. How did you manage to get a new release so quickly? Asking for a friend...

[dannyp]

Originally Posted by omar-rye

According to what I’ve read on many threads, the “purists” don’t like the proportion of the new 36mm as well

This is true; to them the Explorer died with the hollow center link 114270. I personally like the proportions of the new 36, but also agree it's not the purest possible interpretation of the original.

[R3-D9]

A bit better photo of the 224270 that presents a better view of the new case:

[isgrb]

Wow, looks absolutely perfect. Hoping I get the call soon as well…

[Frank McKay]

Just a dynamite piece, brilliant watch mate. Enjoy, congrats!!


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[kenco]

Looks great on you mate congrats.

The newest 36mm model has been called a bit of a strap killer, with the recessed slots in the lugs and closer placement of the spring bars, making it hard to put even a Nato on. If its easy for you to remove the bracelet, some pics of inbetween the lugs would be most appreciated and try putting a nato if you have any handy to see if its also the case with this 40mm model?

Thanks!

[Lew Archer]

Congratulations! A very handsome, classic rendition of the Explorer but in a size many prefer. I have the current 36mm as well as the first 39mm. I like my 39mm very much, but agree there's more blank space than on the 36mm version. To my eye, the new 40mm scales up the size, but retains the same proportions found on the current 36mm. I think that's what eliminated the "extra space" look. I think the hands, indices, etc., on the new 40mm are ever so slightly larger than on the 39mm, so that more of the dial is filled up by those markers.

For me, my favorite Explorer is whichever one I've been wearing for a few days. If the 36 has been on the wrist, pretty soon I think, "wow, THIS is perfect." If I switch to the the 39mm, after a few days, I think, "wow, THIS is perfect". The differences in case size, the dial being glossy black or matte black/grey...doesn't matter. The one I've been wearing is the one I prefer. Until I change watches.

And that's why I never got around to selling the 39 after buying the 36.

I think the new model is the best of both worlds. If I was out shopping for my first Rolex, of the current line up, I think I'd be after this 40mm Explorer.

Enjoy it in great health for many years to come.

[cglondon]

Originally Posted by LA_LEC

The matte on my 39 really does it for me. Might be an acquired taste for some but for me it was automatic.

How long have you had this for? My 39mm bezel has a 1000 scratches on it.


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[Urosfan]

Congrats


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[whybrge]

Originally Posted by omar-rye

Can you show me what looks better aesthetically? Only difference I see is the placement of the Explorer text.

Thinner bezel
Better proportioned hands (instead of a repurposed sub-hour)
Better proportioned numerals
"Swiss Made" not crowding the 6

I do wish they reatained a thicker marker at each 5 min interval

[Lu..]

Congrats!!

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by kenco

Looks great on you mate congrats.

The newest 36mm model has been called a bit of a strap killer, with the recessed slots in the lugs and closer placement of the spring bars, making it hard to put even a Nato on. If its easy for you to remove the bracelet, some pics of inbetween the lugs would be most appreciated and try putting a nato if you have any handy to see if its also the case with this 40mm model?

Thanks!

Really interested in this too.

[R3-D9]

Originally Posted by kenco

Looks great on you mate congrats.

The newest 36mm model has been called a bit of a strap killer, with the recessed slots in the lugs and closer placement of the spring bars, making it hard to put even a Nato on. If its easy for you to remove the bracelet, some pics of inbetween the lugs would be most appreciated and try putting a nato if you have any handy to see if its also the case with this 40mm model?

Thanks!

My apologies guys… when I first took delivery of the 36mm 124270, I scratched up the back of the lugs and even put a tiny flea-bite on the top of one lug, and I swore I’d never try to remove a Rolex bracelet on my own - lol.

The massive issue with the 36 was that there is a divot in the case and a small bump that extends out from the endlink, which makes it impossible to pull the bracelet up and away from the watch, when laid flat… the only way you can remove it is in the sideways direction… it took me maybe ten minutes to figure that out, so I kept struggling, thinking that a springbar might be stuck or fused… fumbler with my tweezers a few times, hence the damage.

Probably my dumbest moment as a watch owner.

What I can do is show you a shot of the underside of the watch. Looks like there may be room enough for a thin strap, but it is typical modern Rolex in terms of the placement of the lug holes… as a certified strap junkie, I really hate that they do that.