bklm1234 Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 (edited) Trusty seems to have the best and most accurate looking Explorer 2 among our dealers. One is Hour Hand Adj for $228, the other is GMT Hand Adj for $208. I know 2836-2 is a bad hack for GMT function thanks to The Zigmeister. But I want this watch so much that I can live with however long the movement will last (or will not last). So the question is what's the diff between those 2 models? Which is a better one to buy in terms of durability (assuming they have the same look and both can provide dual time zone function)? Edited October 3, 2006 by bklm1234 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 I've got both of these movements, as well as a 2893-2 based GMT. I find the adjustable hand model to be the most functional of them all (in fact, I'm traveling with my Exp. II right now...). The problem with the others is that the GMT (or second time zone) hand moves when you reset the time on the main hands. Because of this, you have to remember the time, and reset the GMT hand if you want to maintain the the second time zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bklm1234 Posted October 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 (edited) I've got both of these movements, as well as a 2893-2 based GMT. I find the adjustable hand model to be the most functional of them all (in fact, I'm traveling with my Exp. II right now...). The problem with the others is that the GMT (or second time zone) hand moves when you reset the time on the main hands. Because of this, you have to remember the time, and reset the GMT hand if you want to maintain the the second time zone. Sorry, do you recommend the Hour Hand Adj or GMT Hand Adj? On the real thing, the hour hand can be independently adjusted (in 1 hour increment). The GMT hand is adjusted as a result of adjusting the minute hand so it's not directly adjustable. When you go between time zones, you will adjust the hour hand during when there's no hacking so you can freely change time zone without having to adjust the time (assuming you are not going to India or places like that where it has an additional 1/2 hour difference). That is to say you always use the hour hand to denote the current time zone's time. I like that and it's the way the real thing works. I hope Trusty's Hour Hand Adj means the hour hand is adjusted independently and it's more durable or equally durable. If that's the case, that's the one I want to get. Edited October 3, 2006 by bklm1234 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Sorry, do you recommend the Hour Hand Adj or GMT Hand Adj? On the real thing, the hour hand can be independently adjusted (in 1 hour increment). The GMT hand is adjusted as a result of adjusting the minute hand so it's not directly adjustable. When you go between time zones, you will adjust the hour hand during when there's no hacking so you can freely change time zone without having to adjust the time (assuming you are not going to India or places like that where it has an additional 1/2 hour difference). That is to say you always use the hour hand to denote the current time zone's time. I like that and it's the way the real thing works. I hope Trusty's Hour Hand Adj means the hour hand is adjusted independently and it's more durable or equally durable. If that's the case, that's the one I want to get. ...Sorry, I meant to say adjustable hour hand. Trusty has the best Exp. II rep available....that's the one I recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrgod Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 ...Sorry, I meant to say adjustable hour hand. Trusty has the best Exp. II rep available....that's the one I recommend. Yep, I got the Exp II with adjustable hour hand from Trusty yesterday... Review Very nice piece.. Finish and details on the Explorer II are spot-on, at least to me. But I find the adjustable GMT-hand on the old version more intuitive to use than the adjustable hour hand. The new version requires more thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bklm1234 Posted October 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 (edited) Yep, I got the Exp II with adjustable hour hand from Trusty yesterday... Review Very nice piece.. Finish and details on the Explorer II are spot-on, at least to me. But I find the adjustable GMT-hand on the old version more intuitive to use than the adjustable hour hand. The new version requires more thinking. From pics, I think Trusty's is spot on. I don't know if it's the angle of the pics, the crown seems a bit big. Is that true with your watch? BTW, I owned 2 explorer II before. The adjustable-hour-hand at first seemed non-intuitive. After a while, esp when I was doing a lot of travelling, I appreciated why Rolex makes the hour hand adjustable (at crown pos 2 which also does quick set date) and it's in one hour increment and there's no hacking. You can freely change the hour without stopping the watch. The hour hand denotes current time zone. I will default my GMT hand for home zone so I always know what time it is at home looking at it. GMT II has the moving bezel which some people think should be set to Greenwich time. That's the way GMT II is supposed to function. That's your choice in my opinion. Interesting read: http://www.koniaris.com/rolex/ Edited October 3, 2006 by bklm1234 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrgod Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 From pics, I think Trusty's is spot on. I don't know if it's the angle of the pics, the crown seems a bit big. Is that true with your watch? BTW, I owned 2 explorer II before. The adjustable-hour-hand at first seemed non-intuitive. After a while, esp when I was doing a lot of travelling, I appreciated why Rolex makes the hour hand adjustable (at crown pos 2 which also does quick set date) and it's in one hour increment and there's no hacking. You can freely change the hour without stopping the watch. The hour hand denotes current time zone. I will default my GMT hand for home zone so I always know what time it is at home looking at it. GMT II has the moving bezel which some people think should be set to Greenwich time. That's the way GMT II is supposed to function. That's your choice in my opinion. Interesting read: http://www.koniaris.com/rolex/ Nice link! The Explorer II is on its way to its new owner now.. but probably I will buy another one for myself..I doubt that it will get much better than this.. This is a close-up of the crown: The crown might be a bit too big, but is is even more obvious that the crown guards are too big. The whole crown should be visible between the guards. By the way; The logo on the crown is not very well defined, but edges are sharp and crisp. A nice crown that is easy to handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bklm1234 Posted October 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 chrgod, avitt: does the hour hand adjust in 1-hour increment or I have to line up the minute hand to 12 first so I keep the hour/minute hand relationship myself? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 It should be one hour increments, at least that's how the genuine is. I've posted about it somewhere but too tired tonight to do a search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrgod Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 chrgod, avitt: does the hour hand adjust in 1-hour increment or I have to line up the minute hand to 12 first so I keep the hour/minute hand relationship myself? Thanks. No, the hour hand on the rep moves freely, not in 1-hour incerements. There is one disadvantage, I have discovered: The minute hand and gmt-hand are connected. On mine, when the gmt-hand points exactly on an hour mark, the minute hand are five minutes past... No way to align this without uncasing the movement.. A minor, but slightly irritating flaw.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 No, the hour hand on the rep moves freely, not in 1-hour incerements. There is one disadvantage, I have discovered: The minute hand and gmt-hand are connected. On mine, when the gmt-hand points exactly on an hour mark, the minute hand are five minutes past... No way to align this without uncasing the movement.. A minor, but slightly irritating flaw.. Mine is totally different. My hour hand moves freely, but there is a "detent" at 1 hr. incrememts. I just release the hand in this general area, and within the next hour, everything is perfectly aligned (the hour hand is pointing directly at the marker on the hour). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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