Ref 14270 (1989 – 2007)Launched in Baselworld 1989, the ref 14270 marked the beginnings of the modern Rolex Explorer. Taking from the foundation laid by the ref 1016 – it had all the staples of the Rolex Explorer, but with its matte dial replaced with a lacquered dial and its painted markers replaced with applied markers with white gold surrounds. Furthermore, it also replaced the previous acrylic crystal with a scratch proof sapphire crystal. Of course, the movement was also upgraded to the Caliber 3000 and later on with the Caliber 3130 in 2001, with the slightly updated ref 114270. All these modern upgrades created a stark separation from the tool watch heritage of the Rolex Explorer; and put the collection at the cross-section between sport and luxury. |