Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by Viognier »

If financially I had to get to one watch I could.

That said (and I'm actually selling to achieve this in my collection....) I can get to 3 or 4 and hold that number. The watches that compose that finite number may change but I can achieve that number.

For me:

1 or 2 divers
1 chrono
1 versatile dress up/or down all purpose watch that is a strap magnet
Small collection of timepieces that I enjoy
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by jkbarnes »

missF wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:41 am Maybe the one watch question is simply a philosophical exercise that helps us hone our watch buying so that we make better decisions out in the real world?
Perhaps giving some thought to the “one watch” question is a bit like checking ones bearings while one journey. You might not ever settle on one watch but thinking it about it keeps you on the right path.
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

gwells wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:59 am
Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:22 am ^^^^You're correct about Scooter. It was a while back that he went on a 'long journey' to get a Jager LeCoutre (or similar) but ended up selling it for his Rolex Submariner.

As for AVO and his Cartier Tank? Sorry, but you're totally barking up the wrong tree on that. He's still got it, and will likely never let it go.

Guy

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maybe it was the one before the cartier? i'm sure steve will chime in and correct me. i could have sworn he had an expensive regret watch.
Good to see you back, Greg.

Guy is correct; the Tank is still here and going nowhere. It was probably the Nomos Tangente that I had for a few years. Although it was the most expensive watch I had bought at the time, it wasn't really a regret. I sold it because after the Tank arrived I wasn't wearing it.

I do regret selling it because it was a lovely watch. There are sometimes days when I wish I still had it. But I have drifted away a little from the pure dress and vintage styles, so even were I to replace it, it still probably wouldn't get worn that much.
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by Wis »

The concept of a one-watch is interesting. One watch that will not look out of place anywhere, and do basically everything. It is not the ‘my watch’ of most people way back when, which is of course what we would now call a dress watch.
So it is a ‘middle of the road’ kind of watch. A goldilock watch. Not too this and not too that. Of course, this is highly subjective. What looks out of place to me may seem perfectly ok to you. The Submariner is an interesting case to consider. It began life as a tool, designed to do a job.

Now the Submariner seems to qualify as a one-watch for most people - perhaps even the ultimate one-watch for men, because of years of very clever marketing. I would have liked to be present when someone bravely proposed that what was a very toolish watch ought to be marketed as a watch equally at home in the boardroom and at a cocktail reception as below the sea. Maybe the idea came from the Bond film? It is well documented that Connery was handed the personal Rolex of someone on the film set for the famous scene. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable in Rolex lore can tell us when the first ad along these lines came? And because of the Submariner other divers watches seem to qualify also, as long as they are somewhat discreet.

It seems to me that the current craze for steel sports watches is in part because they are seen as a one-watch to many people. A watch that is sporty, but ‘equally at home in the boardroom’.
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by TheBeatles »

ONE watch!!!

Are you mad, girl. Or have you been talking to my wife? 😂
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Wis wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:59 pm And because of the Submariner other divers watches seem to qualify also, as long as they are somewhat discreet.

It seems to me that the current craze for steel sports watches is in part because they are seen as a one-watch to many people. A watch that is sporty, but ‘equally at home in the boardroom’.
I think these two sentences are quite telling, Bjørn. Whatever its beginnings, I do believe that the Submariner has been for a long time now a sensible, almost conservative, choice for a one watch. A dive watch that is discreet, perhaps some kind of PO or perhaps even a Trident mark 3, is quite obviously acceptable in any situation. The Rolex has a lot of plus points: great brand history and image; smart and stylish; excellent construction and reliability; and to quote an old advert for some type of booze (I can’t remember which) – reassuringly expensive.
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by missF »

TheBeatles wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:03 pm ONE watch!!!

Are you mad, girl. Or have you been talking to my wife? 😂
:lol:
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by gwells »

We live in a different age than the mad men era, where there were “proper” watches to wear for certain situations.

Personally, I’d wear a lot of my regular watches with a tux. I mean, if I didn’t have my grandfather’s omega deville, which a tux is a good excuse to wear it. But the PO, the blue 556i (my tux jacket has a subtle blue plaid), the aqua terra, my old zodiac seawolf... few people worry about it that much any more, so I would avoid something that just looked awkward; U1, Doxa, a gshock, or something brightly colored/oversized.

Like I said, the world has changed. Most of us don’t wear suits or ties to work any more. I wear jeans and a collared shirt 99% of the time (even pre-pandemic) and I work in a large, professional AE firm. Watches have evolved the same way.
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by stefs »

Viognier wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:39 am If financially I had to get to one watch I could.

That said (and I'm actually selling to achieve this in my collection....) I can get to 3 or 4 and hold that number. The watches that compose that finite number may change but I can achieve that number.

For me:

1 or 2 divers
1 chrono
1 versatile dress up/or down all purpose watch that is a strap magnet
That is where I got to for quite a long while
1 gmt
1 diver
1 dj
1 dressy (reverso)
This i still reckon is a good 4 watch collection but was supposed to be the stage before reducing further. Instead with my recent cw splurg plus a seiko I have gone further away still and it isn’t something I’m over comfortable with.

I wonder if just one watch is actually easier to deal with than a small collection
Cheers now, Paul
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by missF »

stefs wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 7:44 pm and it isn’t something I’m over comfortable with.
Sounds like a touch of rotation drama. I find it interesting that many of us have a limit beyond which we get uncomfortable with our collection.
Here's my theory on how to resolve this - simply buy three more watches, quickly, then sell three watches again, quickly. The feeling that your collection is coming down in size will make you comfortable once you get back to your starting point!
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by exHowfener »

ONE watch!!!

Are you mad, girl. Or have you been talking to my wife?
My wife, despite loving jewellery, has NO INTEREST in watches. She thinks I do have only one :D
Watches have evolved the same way
As has our idea of "formal wear" the DJ/Tux was originally considered to be for less formal occasions.
I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by nbg »

Wis wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:59 pm The concept of a one-watch is interesting. One watch that will not look out of place anywhere, and do basically everything. It is not the ‘my watch’ of most people way back when, which is of course what we would now call a dress watch.
So it is a ‘middle of the road’ kind of watch. A goldilock watch. Not too this and not too that. Of course, this is highly subjective. What looks out of place to me may seem perfectly ok to you. The Submariner is an interesting case to consider. It began life as a tool, designed to do a job.

Now the Submariner seems to qualify as a one-watch for most people - perhaps even the ultimate one-watch for men, because of years of very clever marketing. I would have liked to be present when someone bravely proposed that what was a very toolish watch ought to be marketed as a watch equally at home in the boardroom and at a cocktail reception as below the sea. Maybe the idea came from the Bond film? It is well documented that Connery was handed the personal Rolex of someone on the film set for the famous scene. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable in Rolex lore can tell us when the first ad along these lines came? And because of the Submariner other divers watches seem to qualify also, as long as they are somewhat discreet.

It seems to me that the current craze for steel sports watches is in part because they are seen as a one-watch to many people. A watch that is sporty, but ‘equally at home in the boardroom’.
I think it was 1965. Well that seems to be when this advert was produced.
319E99A0-C457-407C-9D71-D57951C55E89.jpeg
Not sure if it was at a similar time, but the reverse of diving tool watch to evening wear was used in this DateJust advert.
38A80503-4094-442D-8EFE-0607EF3AFFD2.jpeg
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by Wis »

Thanks Neil. 1965 makes sense. The relevant Bond film, Dr. No, premiered 5. October 1962. So my theory could be true. 😎
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by Wis »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:29 pmWhatever its beginnings, I do believe that the Submariner has been for a long time now a sensible, almost conservative, choice for a one watch. A dive watch that is discreet, perhaps some kind of PO or perhaps even a Trident mark 3, is quite obviously acceptable in any situation. The Rolex has a lot of plus points: great brand history and image; smart and stylish; excellent construction and reliability; and to quote an old advert for some type of booze (I can’t remember which) – reassuringly expensive.
Reassuringly expensive, and universally recognised and respected. Not a bad combination when you need a watch to signal that you’ve made it. A very safe choice. No wonder it has become virtually unobtainable now that the Chinese middle class has discovered it.
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Re: Is the Rolex Explorer II 'a' one-watch??

Post by gwells »

the rolex sub is also **THE** most "homaged" watch out there.
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