Lex recently unpacked the concept of the grail watch and came to the conclusion that it is better if it remains a dream. I guess I agree since I will not be chasing mine, as much as I love it. My grail watch is the Rolex Explorer 1016. More specifically, one from the early ’60s with a gilt dial. It is my favorite watch by some margin. I would not change a single thing about it. But, most likely, it will never be mine.
My grail replica Rolex watches UK are not exciting. It is not impressive like Lex’s grail Patek 5270P. My grail is the most modest and unassuming sports watch in Rolex’s (back) catalog. And, in my humble opinion, it is also the best watch ever designed.
I am not into the Rolex Explorer for its half-fabricated story about summiting Mount Everest. As much as I love watch a good story, this is really not one of them in my eyes. My love affair with the Rolex Explorer is purely based on the physical product, perhaps augmented by what it represents. Let me elaborate.
For starters, the 36mm Oyster case and Oyster bracelet are the best case and bracelet designs ever drawn. Please do not feel offended if you disagree; this is a completely private opinion. In my eyes, almost everything else looks like an effort to not look like the Oyster case and bracelet. I have not seen a more simplistically functional and beautiful case and bracelet design since. And goodness gracious, there have been quite a few!
Conceptually, I love that the Explorer is free of the stigma that some other AAA+ clone Rolex watches carry. When you spot a Rolex, it is either on the wrist of a watch aficionado or a showboat. Not the Explorer. Its owner is either an aficionado or an adventurer. You do not wear an Explorer to flaunt it. And that, I think, only serves to make it cooler. It is anti-bling.
I love almost all Rolex Explorers, but my grail watch is the Explorer 1016. It is the archetypal vintage Explorer reference. It was in production for a whopping 29 years, starting in 1960. If you are only familiar with modern Rolex, you will still have no trouble identifying this as an Explorer. Like almost all of the brand’s watches, the design has undergone slow evolution rather than radical change. I believe this is part of Rolex’s long-term success and why many of the brand’s watches became iconic. Slow and steady is the way to go.
The dial is what differentiates the Explorer from similar Rolex Oyster Perpetuals. The signature 3-6-9 dial is adorned with slender, simple Arabic numerals. A minute track, stick markers, and a triangle at 12 o’clock complete the basic layout. Around the center of the dial, we find the brand logo, perfect fake Rolex watches designation, and chronometer spec. The hands are the typical “Mercedes” style. The lume is radium for the first three years and tritium from 1963 onwards.
The 1016 is powered by caliber 1560, and later 1570 with an upped beat rate. These calibers remain quite easy to service and source parts for today if you have a proper Rolex-specialized watchmaker. Technically, you can wear an Explorer 1016 on a daily basis, free of worry.
The Explorer 1016 was produced with a host of dial variations. They can be roughly divided into two main categories — gilt dials (up until ca. 1967) and matte dials (1967–1989). My personal favorite by far is the gilt-dial variant. Just in case, here is an ultra-short refresher course on gilt dials.
Today, dials are often referred to as “gilt” if they feature any sort of gold-tone printing. True gilt dials, however, are made through a unique (and costly) process. First, the dial printing is applied to an (often) brass blank dial in clear lacquer. Next, the dial is galvanized with a black paint. Since the paint is applied through an electrical current, it sticks only to the conductive exposed metal, not the clear-lacquered dial features.
The result is a black dial with shimmering gold-tone (or, more accurately, brass) features that lay ever-so-slightly deeper than the black surrounds. Paired with aged radium or tritium, you get a warmth that is simply stunning. Well-aged gilt dials are truly some of the prettiest dials ever made if you ask me. The metal blank can be made of other materials than brass, sometimes resulting in silver-colored dial features.
The characteristics I love most in watches come together in the gilt Explorer 1016. You may be growing tired of my never-ending proclamation of love for small do-it-all cheap fake Rolex watches, but this is perhaps the daddy of them all. A good vintage Explorer 1016 is even more stylistically versatile than a modern 36mm Explorer, I think. The pure sportiness is somewhat attenuated by the vintage vibe.
As much as I love the daily practicality of a sapphire crystal, aesthetically, I prefer the old domed acrylic. The same goes for the riveted Oyster bracelet. It is technically inferior to any modern bracelet, but I prefer the looks. And no, a faux-riveted modern bracelet is not the same.
The 1016’s dial layout is even more subdued and more function-first than later Explorer dials. I still love the dials found on the 14270 and later copy Rolex watches for sale, but the 1016 has an old-world charm to it. It is a look that is not of the modern age, and I am totally in love with it. The gilt versions, even more so. The metallic sheen of the dial features is just so beautiful. You simply do not get that effect from gold-colored paint.
I guess my quest for the perfect everyday watch will continue, but I will be looking at the more affordable and under-the-radar segment for this specific purpose. In the meantime, I will drool over the idea of a gilt Explorer 1016 on my wrist from time to time. This is my one absolute holy grail, and I am perfectly fine living without it. As they say, you can get ultimate wealth by obtaining more or by wanting less. I guess I just got very wealthy indeed.
