ninjagaiden Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Folks, My Exp II 2011 arrived from Josh this afternoon, so I took some pics to share with you. Overall I am very happy with the watch. The dial, hands and lume are all good, crown is centred in CGs and the movement feels smooth. GMT hand setting has a nice positive click action. The AR is really good and the lume whilst not superbright so far is quite uniform. Cyclops placement over date window is good, and date numerals all look okay. Rehaut engraving is not bad. R of rolex does not quite line up with the hour markers but it's not noticeable. Imprtant thing is that the letters are in line. It's quite a chunky feel at 161g on my wrist (though my gen seamaster is pretty close at 155g) and whilst all the edges are nicely smoothed and poliches, it is quite an edgy design on the case. As for dial colour - difficult to say but I think it has a very slight cream tinge to it. Only problem is that on the bezel a little flake of black paint has come off on the number 14. Pretty sure I can re-ink this myself if it becomes bothersome though. Anyway - what do I know. Have a look at the pics yourselves. Will try and get a good lume shot when it is dark. Enjoy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruprekt Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Looks good. Lume shot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krpster Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Looks really nice. I am partial to the older style expII but that one is pretty sharp. Wear it well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce79 Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Is the case 42mm? If so I might pick this one up. I want the gen but will probably try this one out first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cib0rgman Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 there is no AR on that Watch except for the cyclops which yours does not have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VesperMatt Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Read that the gen has just started trickling in to dealers in Europe. Perfect timing! I'm on the list (no deposit) at my local dealer. Never have bought a Rolex new and probably won't this one, but I'd like to try on the gen and maybe get a rep for the time being. Love the white face/orange hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irolexu Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 I LOVE the older one but this one is ok. only thing that kills me for this watch is the GMT hand and all of the orange! but hey great watch though!! I have 2 explorer IIs on the way both 40mm both may be for sale soon one is new rehaut engravings other is lug holes no rehaut engraving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VesperMatt Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 I love the orange, but its my favorite color. I suppose the black faced one is just in time for Halloween Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asf Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Thanks for the review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjagaiden Posted September 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Guys Absolutely right about AR cib0rgman. No comparison when placed next to my spectacles, however the flat(ish) crystal means reflections are not too bad, similar to my gen Tag. Got my verniers out and the case is in fact nearly 43mm across (not including CGs of course). Hope this helps bruce79 I don't know much about C3 superluminova but the lume is not as strong as any of my gen watches. However the blue lume is really cool in the dark. Will try and get a side by side shot with my Seamaster this evening. As for the orange GMT hand - it might not be your cup of tea but to my eye none of the current 40mm reps get the red colour on the GMT hand right. They are all too dark compared to the gen which has a really zingy red. I think the rep orange is closer to the gen. I went for the white dial because I like the contrast of the black edged hands and lume dots against the white. In the black dial these details are not so apparent. I can't see beyond my nose without my glasses so the extra contrast might be helpful for me. Hope this helps. Will try and get a lume shot soon. For my first non-toy Rep I am pretty pleased. N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolexman Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Sweet!. Never noticed it really. Looks great on the wrist. Thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjagaiden Posted September 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) Folks, Here are the lume shots. Quite interesting. First shot I left ExpII and seamaster in a tungsten lamp lit room, switched off and took the photo. You can clearly see that the Seamaster lume has done a better job in 'ambient' indoor light. Second shot I left both watches in front of a superbright 80 Ansi lumen LED torch for 10 seconds then took the picture straight away. The rep is a little better when its lume is saturated. In both pictures the ExpII is running and the seamaster is not, so ignore the blurry second hand (4 second expossure) Bottom line - if you want that glow in the day effect it will need a relume. Edited September 7, 2011 by ninjagaiden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giobo Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Τhe next super rep???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjagaiden Posted September 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 What's the definition of a super rep??!?? Josh confirmed that this watch was designed from pictures of the 2011 Exp II, building on the 40mm ExpII. It was not made by taking apart a real watch and duplicating it piece by piece. They have done a good job though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VesperMatt Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Josh confirmed that this watch was designed from pictures of the 2011 Exp II, building on the 40mm ExpII. It was not made by taking apart a real watch and duplicating it piece by piece. They have done a good job though... The watch is only just now, according to a post by Chrono24 today, trickling into Rolex dealers in Europe. And a waiting list is expected. So I think this one will be a little rare at least for the very short term. I think a lot of people were very excited about this 'heritage' model when it was announced at Basel. For what it is, made from only photos, the quality of the rep looks top notch. I think a super rep would refer to one thats so close its for all practical purposes indistinguishable from a gen. Usually, I think, it takes a couple revisions to get there (look at the 'Ultimate' version of the DSSD and such). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txrob779 Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 hey N, I want one bad I'll PM so you can tell me what ID # that was...I think I may go for the 40mm ExplorerII..but may go vintage explorer I.......have a friend who might possibly build me one. Peace Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txrob779 Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Read that the gen has just started trickling in to dealers in Europe. Perfect timing! I'm on the list (no deposit) at my local dealer. Never have bought a Rolex new and probably won't this one, but I'd like to try on the gen and maybe get a rep for the time being. Love the white face/orange hand. Hey Matt, I just window shopped Rolex's this past weekend and was SHOCKED....just SHOCKED....retail on ExpII was $8000...retail on Submariner $8000 retail on AirKing...$4500....NO FRIGGING WAY...I might suggest wating on the pre-owned market,,,even if your stupid rich..WHY drop $8000 on a Rolex? I bought my Z series 16610 in 2006 for $4175....now $8000...NOOOO WAYYYYYYYY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txrob779 Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 I LOVE the older one but this one is ok. only thing that kills me for this watch is the GMT hand and all of the orange! but hey great watch though!! I have 2 explorer IIs on the way both 40mm both may be for sale soon one is new rehaut engravings other is lug holes no rehaut engraving. Please PM me when you get ready to sell...I'd like a crack at the "to sell too" list. Peace, Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VesperMatt Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Hey Matt, I just window shopped Rolex's this past weekend and was SHOCKED....just SHOCKED....retail on ExpII was $8000...retail on Submariner $8000 retail on AirKing...$4500....NO FRIGGING WAY...I might suggest wating on the pre-owned market,,,even if your stupid rich..WHY drop $8000 on a Rolex? I bought my Z series 16610 in 2006 for $4175....now $8000...NOOOO WAYYYYYYYY Oh, I totally agree. I own gens and have never purchased a single watch new, as I mentioned. I went in there after basel inquiring about the price and availability and she put me on a list to call when it arrived. I see no reason to take the hit on immediate depreciation and the sales tax. I'm in the automotive dealer business, same deal there. Let someone else take the hit Still looking forward to trying on the gen though, and will probably wait till after that to pull the trigger on a rep of this. The more I see it the more I like it though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seroberts Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 I got one of those from WBK last month he only had a few, looks great. Wear it well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanW3010 Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 Anyone else having problems with the paint flaking off the bezel? ALL the paint has come off my "6" marker. Painting it back in (with Vallejo acrylic) didn't help. It just fell out again when I moved my thumb over it (as you would when you're adjusting it with the crown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanW3010 Posted November 2, 2014 Report Share Posted November 2, 2014 But (update) black nail varnish works REALLY well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elgreco Posted November 3, 2014 Report Share Posted November 3, 2014 Hi, I've had mine now for about 18 months an unfortunately the orange "explorer11" on the dial has faded very badly :-( Thanks Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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