Rolex Explorer 124270

I’ve already written praises about this watch, as you can see here and here. The fact is, I like it far more than I care to admit to liking any Rolex watch. Allow me to explain.
Let’s start with the statement that Rolex is the number one watch brand in the world – this isn’t an opinion, it’s a fact. The company controls nearly a third of the Swiss watch market share, with sales far exceeding those of the next three brands, combined. Thus, every watch enthusiast must, sooner or later, form an opinion regarding Rolex, and this usually develops alongside their beliefs, collection, and individual taste.
I was one of those people who initially disdained Rolex. Matter of fact, I spent about a decade with a certain aversion to the brand, as, for me, their success was their undoing. Being somewhat of a condescending snob (I don’t declare this proudly but honestly and with a degree of self-acceptance), I like to feel special and prefer brands known only to a select few. That every child is familiar with Rolex, their relative ubiquity, and the fact that there are more fake crowns out there than stars in the sky led me to dismiss the manufacturer for years.
But as the years passed, I discovered two things. First is just how much marketing and branding have indeed been a primary and fundamental component of the company since its inception, starting with the very choice of the name Rolex, which was chosen purely with the thought that it’s catchy, easy to pronounce, and evokes a sentiment of luxury in multiple languages. The second thing I realized is that by my choice to reduce Rolex’s history, significance, and impact on the watch industry to these aspects, I was severely ill served.
Because Rolex was a pioneering company, perhaps the pioneering company, in the emergence of wristwatches in the early 20th century (before then, men wore pocket watches after all). The emphasis they placed on the reliability and durability (including water resistance) of their watches was no less than their investment in marketing and advertising. Rather, what allowed them to make such grandiose claims was also the quality of their manufacturing. This timepiece is a good example of this. It’s a well-known story in the industry – Rolex went out of its way to brand the Explorer as a watch for mountain climbers and adventurers, trying to link it to the Everest ascent, a connection that today is questionable at best. That said, this is also the most precise, legible, and comfortable watch I own. Is that less important?

Technical Details
Brand: Rolex
Model: Explorer I
Ref.: 124270
Year: 2023
Movement: Automatic Rolex cal. 3230
Includes: Box & Papers

Dimensions
Diameter: 36mm
Lug to Lug: 43mm
Between the Lugs: 19mm
Thickness: 11.5mm