Historic, affordable and good enough for Bond: Rolex’s Explorer watch remains a favourite

The Covid years led to most new Rolex watches becoming difficult to obtain, largely due to a swell in demand that saw many of its ‘special customers’ – those who had priority – turning into ‘flippers’, who collected handsome profits from cash-rich fans desperate to buy statement models such as the Submariner, Cosmograph Daytona and GMT-Master.

Demand has now eased and used prices have dropped substantially, although those particular pieces remain difficult to find through authorised retailers, and you’ll still pay a premium if buying from a pre-owned dealer.

But if you really fancy a Rolex and are not one to follow the crowd, how about exploring an Explorer? Although a perennial favourite in the range and, in the opinion of some, the quintessential Rolex tool watch, the Explorer is not only more affordable than its trendier cousins, it’s also relatively available.

It’s hugely historic, too, having been created to celebrate the epic achievement of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in reaching the south summit of Everest on May 29, 1953.

According to Rolex, the 1953 Everest team was equipped with various versions of the existing Oyster waterproof model, though it’s now generally agreed that Hillary took a Smiths to the top and left his Rolex at camp.

All the same, the brand decided to recognise the feat shortly afterwards by launching its first Explorer model, examples of which are relatively rare and not all to a uniform design.

The Explorer pattern we’re familiar with today first appeared in 1959, featuring a stainless steel 36mm case containing a black dial with luminous hands and hour markers in the now-celebrated ‘3, 6, 9’ layout – that is, numerals at these positions. It was chronometer certified and water-resistant to a relatively modest 50m.

But it was the Reference 1016 Explorer produced from 1963 until 1989 that truly established the classic credentials of the watch and attracted many famous owners – not least James Bond author Ian Fleming who, many believe, was thinking of his personal Explorer when he equipped the fictional 007 with a Rolex.

The Reference 14270 followed, before being replaced by the 114270 in 2001 which, in 2010, was joined by the 214270, which caused quite a stir thanks to its 39mm case – at the time considered more ‘on trend’.

What goes around, comes around, however – and now that smaller case sizes are consider cool once again, so the 36mm Explorer is well and truly back in favour.

The current version, the Explorer 36 Reference 124270, combines the classic Explorer appearance with numerous technical upgrades to make it even more robust (such as the Rolex-patented Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock-absorbing system) as well as a Chromalight glow-in-the-dark dial.

Now, the 36 is also available in a combination of gold and steel, and there’s also an all-steel 40mm model, the Reference 224270. But for our money (i.e. £6300) the only one to have is the all-steel 36.After all, if it was good enough for Ian Fleming…

Rolex Explorer 36 Reference 124270, from £6300. rolex.com