Explorer II - Review

[Franke]

Dear forum members.

let me introduce myself. My alias is Franke and i been a RG member for some time. Just a couple of weeks ago i was asked by J-C at RG to mod the Rolex section of that forum. To make a long story short, that ended up with me beeing banned of the forum. First i was banned for two weeks, but after posting here yesterday the ban was changed to infinit. That sucks. As well as RG management and vb skills. I was very surprised when i saw that other old RG mods also found this forum, Zeb and Anubis for example. And the discussion surrounding the departure of mattuss, from whom i got my DD btw. (Still working perfectly mate)

Anyway, have seen this forum since jan -09, but my postings have mainly been on RG for reasons that i can´t understand today. This forum seems to be so much better managed. I want to start of with a thread i wrote some time ago on RG, on my fav rep. The Explorer II. Enjoy.

- - - -

Greetings,

my first rep was a Rolex Explorer II. It was a RMB 150 piece from the infamus xiangyang market of Shanghai. I was looking for a watch, and the Explorer looked nice, so i got it. I just assumed that no one ever could imagine if was a fake, it just looked sooo good. I was wrong. When i saw my new watch, i instantly promised myself never to wear the old one again. Ever.

So, today i recived my Noob Explorer II from my trusted dealer, Andrew at Trusty time. This is a stunning piece, and i will go through every detail, exept from braking the caseback as i dont have the proper tools for this move. Nor will i remove the bracelet, commented below.

The Explorer, introduced 1953, and the Explorer II, introduced in the early 70 was never any of Rolex big sellers. I would guess that its connected to the rather silly advertisments of it (The E II) as being a tool for the speleologist. How ever whants to be one of those, when you can be like James Bond (sub)?

Futhermore, the E II only comes in SS and is claimed by Rene Jeanneret to be part of Rolexes "Tool watch series" along whit Sea-dweller and the GMT. (not GMT master II)

When it comes to the E II you basicaly have two choises: Black dial or white dial. By-tor claims that the white dial is the only possible option for a tru Rolex connaisseur, and he might be right. Personally i dont feel quite comfortable in white, for the same reason that i would never buy a white BMW M5, nor a white tuxedo. So i just stick with black. Ok call me conservative, but i guess its just a matter of taste in the end.

Personally i think that black is the right choise for a nonsens free piece like this. It just so versatile, light weight, no extras, no rotable bezel, nothing. Just perfection. The only thing i don´t like about it is that stupid cyclop. Why in heavens name did they ever put it there? If someone has a good method of removing it, i be all ears. The date window is large enough on this model to be seen perfectly whitout a magnifying glass. Looks so ugly to me. While were on the cons, the lume is not very strong. Usual rep lume i would say, nothing like my ever glowing DSSD V3.

You also have a pricetag to consider. Trust have these starting at a nice entry level of USD 108 for a vintage ref:1665 to the premium 2006 M series ref:16570 with correct hand stack at USD 348. I decided to go for the mid range Swiss ETA @ USD 248. I can live with the fact that it has the wrong hand stack. Heck, no one will ever see this, and its an unimportant detail that will never show. Not many people even know that there is a specific order of the hands anyway.

Some geeks will stress that the "Swiss ETA" is not really swiss ETA. On this matter i choose to trust my dealer. Why not? Ok, the movmt. might not be produced in switzerland, but in one of the sub contractors somewere in asia. I go like this: If i buy clone (nanning, Seagull etc) i will be screwd when it fails. If i buy ETA i might be able to find a horologier that can make service (dealer says its refundable if found not ETA) or even fix it, as spare parts should be availible. And IF its really an ETA it´s at least as good as any Breitling!!

The piece im about to review here is as follows:

Replicated item:

Rolex Explorer II M Series of 2006

Movement

Swiss ETA 2836-2

Dealer

Andrew @ trusty time http://www.tt88time.com

Manufacturer

The Noob factory (I have no idea what this is in reality, exept for a producer of replica watches)

Pricetag

USD 258 as of 090601

My collection now consist of:

"Super" Sea-dweller, Swiss ETA

DEEPSEA V3, clone (shame, should have gone for the ETA)

"Noob" explorer II, Swiss ETA

Day-date II 41 mm Blue face, "Super" president link

Breitling superocean on leather. (Cant find decent mesh for this one)

------------------

So, the piece came with express speed out of the big C as of today (060612). I was very happy with the delivery, alwas speedy and safe, no customs hassle. Perfect.

Just been unpacked.

Overview

Another angle...

Overview

Closeup of the dial. Note "Rolex" aligned @ 12. The hand stack is incorrect. The GMT hand is individualy adjustible. Movement has a very precise feel upon adjustment, dates popping over perfectly.

Dial

The rehaut is as By-tor (King of Explorers) usually tells us a very important detail on the E II: On this model its very nicely replicated. Its present enough to be visible, subtle enough to show the depth. Note also the very crisp hour makers.

Dial/rehaut closeup

Rehaut agin, this time @ 6. Note the M serial and crown. Crown is not visible to the bear eye, my macro is making it stand out in this pic.

Dial whit serial

Bezel. In my opinion the edge of the bezel is one of the most important details. It is critical that this detail is correct, if not, its an instant give-away. Here it´s perfect.

Bezel edge

Crown. The crown is not correctly replicated. I should have a little "bulb" on the top. It has not. So it looks a little flat, and it rides almost on the same level as the crownguards.On the real thing it comes up about 1.5 mm more. Crown has the Rolex logo underlined, stating single locking system, apart from the tree dots on trippel lock system pieces such as the Dweller.

Crown

Another shot of the crown and CG´s. You also gets a feel for the thickness of the watch, its correct at 13 mm.

Sideview shot.

Caseback stikcker. Im not sure if they come whit this anymore, but it has the correct model number, 16570. This just have to go, sooner rather than later.

Caseback sticker

The most impressive part of the watch is the bracelet. I tell you, its absolutely immaculate. Its hollow piece, but very, very tight indeed. This is no short of the real thing.

Bracelet

Im really picky about the endlinks, and these ones did not fail me. Ultra tight to the case, and correctly numbered whit 78790A. Im tempted to take the bracelet of, but it just sits so tight, i dont wanna mess whit it just yet.

Bracelet endpiece

Screws. Just look at that. Perfect!

Bottom of screws

Screw heads. I got tears in my eyes, just so beautiful.

Screw head.

The screws were a little on the loose side, so when i adjusted the bracelet the remaining screws were locktited down.

Locktited screws

The brecelet links are hollow, and have the correct screw locking feature, meaning that the screws goes in to the piece before it sits in. You can see here, the screw being long enough of going in to the piece.

Bracelet pieces

Bracelet lockingplates is nicely replicated. No bluryness what so ever in this print, and the blades are tight, just like the original.

Bracelet lock

Just a little detail that adds to the perfection. This machined groove is also present on the gen.

Clasp lock

The clasp head is somewhat shorter than the counterpart on the Dweller as the E II is not accomodating any extension.

Bracelet head

Overview

Ok, thats all for now folks.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Franke

[dluddy]

Very thorough review Franke. Welcome to RWG and thanks for sharing your views of this one

[krpster]

Fantastic review! Makes me want to get one. Thanks

[automatico]

Great review and a few 'genuine' words of wisdom.

"And IF its really an ETA it

[TeeJay]

Fantastic review, and welcome to the party

I totally understand your point about the cyclops, I don't like them myself, so I tend to remove them from my watches. There are two methods for doing this, well, one method, two approaches, depending on how brave you're feeling

Method One:

Decase the movement and push the crystal out of the case from the back. Using something to protect your fingers, use a butane cigar lighter to heat the cyclops, thus melting the glue enough to allow the cyclops to drop off, or be pushed off with a flat blade. Once the cyclops is off and the glue residue is removed, replace the crystal, applying firm pressure to re-seal the case.

Method Two:

Do not decase the movement or remove the crystal from the case, but apply the flame from a butane lighter very sparingly to the cyclops. Literally, two seconds at a time, trying to remove the cyclops with the blade each time, until you are successful in popping the cyclops off. DO NOT hold the flame over the crystal for a prolonged time in the hopes of 'speeding up the melt' of the glue, you will only succeed in heating the crystal, thus causing it to expand in the case, which will in turn, cause the crystal to crack under the pressure from its expansion. I have had this happen, and as a result, had to replace the entire crystal. Applying the flame for a few seconds at a time might take longer to allow the cyclops to be removed, but it will minimize the risk of heating the crystal. This method is okay if you cannot remove the crystal yourself, but, be very mindful of the very real risk of cracking the crystal if it is over-heated...

[Franke]

Thanx for the kind words and tips. I can not disasemble the piece in the extent needed, so i just stick with the stupid cyclops for now.

[gimper]

Great watch and great review. I got the same model but with the asian eta clone. I couldn't agree with you more on the bracelet it's lightweight but feels very solid and tight so it wears great.

[BrianT]

Great review, thanks!

[rek001]

Thanks much for the review, Franke. Very nicely done.

I would really like to get a white dial Exp II, what would be my best option?

[Franke]

About the whites, im not really your man. Take a look at By - tors reviews, he

[JIFF]

Fantastic review, and welcome to the party

I totally understand your point about the cyclops, I don't like them myself, so I tend to remove them from my watches. There are two methods for doing this, well, one method, two approaches, depending on how brave you're feeling

Method One:

Decase the movement and push the crystal out of the case from the back. Using something to protect your fingers, use a butane cigar lighter to heat the cyclops, thus melting the glue enough to allow the cyclops to drop off, or be pushed off with a flat blade. Once the cyclops is off and the glue residue is removed, replace the crystal, applying firm pressure to re-seal the case.

Method Two:

Do not decase the movement or remove the crystal from the case, but apply the flame from a butane lighter very sparingly to the cyclops. Literally, two seconds at a time, trying to remove the cyclops with the blade each time, until you are successful in popping the cyclops off. DO NOT hold the flame over the crystal for a prolonged time in the hopes of 'speeding up the melt' of the glue, you will only succeed in heating the crystal, thus causing it to expand in the case, which will in turn, cause the crystal to crack under the pressure from its expansion. I have had this happen, and as a result, had to replace the entire crystal. Applying the flame for a few seconds at a time might take longer to allow the cyclops to be removed, but it will minimize the risk of heating the crystal. This method is okay if you cannot remove the crystal yourself, but, be very mindful of the very real risk of cracking the crystal if it is over-heated...

Or just put the crystal in acetone. The glue will desolve.

[TeeJay]

Thanx for the kind words and tips. I can not disasemble the piece in the extent needed, so i just stick with the stupid cyclops for now.

There is always Method Two... Just be sure to only have the flame on the cyclops for a couple of seconds at a time, so you only heat the glue, not the entire crystal

Or just put the crystal in acetone. The glue will desolve.

That's a method I didn't know, thanks for the tip

[xlike]

The only thing that shocks me a bit is the engraving on the rehaut honestly. I've just orderd the same model and I'm thinking about that I might made a misstake by choosing the version with the rehaut engraving.

It's not missalligned... well a bit it is ... but more shocking is the fact that the "ROLEX" "ROLEX" font is not on one line. It seems to get higher after each "ROLEX"!

Might be a image angle problem, but really looks like this.