36mm Explorer 1 - ability to hold value?

[Ditch]

All I can do is speak from personal experience. I'm 27 & the young designers, photographers & architects I know around the London & Home Counties areas tend to wear vintage or vintage-inspired, which tends to mean 34-36mm. The late 30s bankers (no offence intended to the age group or profession) wear massive watches & my age group reacts against that.

All fashion is basically reactionary, so when the norm is to wear massive, people will react against it. It will probably be cyclical.

[PAULBYU]

If you look at the values of vintage Exp I's it should give you a good idea what the 36mm Exp I will be valued in the future...personally I think the 36mm Exp I is too small for the average man thus keeping the desirability from increasing over time..

[martin_blank]

Originally Posted by Ditch

All fashion is basically reactionary, so when the norm is to wear massive, people will react against it. It will probably be cyclical.

I agree. Its funny how fast something goes from being fashionable to one generation to the opposite of fashionable to the next...

I also think some of these older, smaller watches are on the right side of design vs function, where as the larger watches are not.

[alanc]

You can tell by my Avatar that I'm a fan of the 114270. I bought a like-new D serial from a trusted seller here because (1) I love the classic lines, (2) 36mm suited my smaller wrists and my suits better than 39mm - IMHO, the larger dimensions don't suit the design, (3) it was less than 4k (a deal to get into Rolex) and (4) I think its style will endure. I suspect it will hold its value, but frankly I don't care about that.

Unless you're a flipper or in the biz, don't buy a watch based on how you think it will hold its value; buy it because it speaks to you.

[U5512]

Originally Posted by mikeinalexandria

Given that any older (25 or more years) Explorer is worth far more than the original purchase price, I think the modern 36mm will most likely drop a little ore in value, maybe down to say $2500. But after that, given the new 39mm is $6550 in the US, they will start to increase.

I haven't since any 36mm Explorer for $2500 bucks since the early/mid 1990's. They're routinely selling for $3K and above and people are snatching them up.

[TARDIS]

Originally Posted by floater156

This is the battle cry of the TRF old fuddy duddys

Simon, Ditch & Chris, I can't agree with any of your arguments. The Explorer debate isn't based on case diameter alone. There is much more than just the size of the watch that you have missed in this discussion.

Describing senior members of this forum as fuddyduddys does nothing to support your argument either.

I own the 214270 model and here are the following features quoted from the model's handbook ~

'The Oyster Perpetual Explorer, with its new 39-mm case, is powered by the custom-built 3132 movement. This new movement is equipped with Paraflex shock absorbers and a blue Parachrom overcoil hairspring, which is completely insensitive to magnetic fields and highly resistant to shocks. The Explorer has an Oyster bracelet fitted with an Oyster-lock clasp and an Easylink comfort extension system. Its synthetic sapphire crystal is virtually scratchproof. This timepiece is a self-winding chronometer certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) and is waterproof to a depth of 100 metres (330 feet)'

Both models of the Explorer are built to a very high engineering standard. The latest model has new features as does many other Rolex watches and they continue to improve as time progresses.

Unlike many other brands, Rolex are among the best at keeping their value irrespective of what new models have arrived on the market. Some models become iconic and actually increase in value.

The Explorer 36mm will be a value retainer first and foremost because its a Rolex.

Only the passage of time will tell if it becomes iconic.