Year In Review: The #19 Story Of ’22: All That Glitters Isn’t Gold, Sometimes It Is Oystersteel
Turns out the Explorer, as the watch enthusiast’s entry-level Rolex of choice, has quite the fanbase. Mark Cho’s first luxury watch was an Explorer, legend has it so was Ben Clymer’s, and Gabe Reilly from Collective Horology has bought three of them. They all have their own Explorer love story to tell, but mine was born of a desire for understated luxury. I know, the girl who loves yellow gold wants to be understated? And she wants to be understated by wearing a Rolex? But here’s the thing about the Explorer, your average non-watch-wearing layman doesn’t know that your Explorer is a Rolex. There’s no clout-signifying GMT bezel on this watch, it’s a sleek format that says, ‘I like this watch because of the watch, I don’t need the validation of external approval, I wear it because it’s low-key.’ In 2022 quiet luxury feels appropriate.
