{"product_id":"rolex-explorer-blackout-as02323","title":"Rolex Explorer \"Blackout\"","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe can all be resistant to change. The old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” holds true in many cases, not least of all in watches. Certain watches have become so fixed in the minds of collectors that any deviation from the classic design is met with derision on all sides.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuch a thing happened when Rolex released the Reference 14720 Explorer. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMake no mistake, the Explorer has an impressive lineage. Early versions were worn by members of Sir John Hunt’s 1953 expedition to Everest, in which Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first to reach the summit. Ever after, Rolex has touted that feat in advertising material for the Explorer, and became a sponsor of further expeditions to Everest. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIts distinctive 3-6-9 layout has become so iconic that any other watch with a similar dial is referred to as “Explorer-style,” whether it was made by Rolex or not. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor decades, and through countless references, the movement of the watch might have changed but the fundamental layout of the dial did not. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat is, until the 1990s, when the Reference 14720 was introduced. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInstead of a matte dial that had been found on the Explorer since the 1950s, it was now glossy. The crystal was sapphire. The numerals—the same 3, 6, 9 they’d always been—were now surrounded in white gold. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd certain versions of the Reference had numerals filled in with black enamel. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDetails are scanty, but collectors have found that all of these “Blackout” Explorers (as they’ve come to be called) bear serial numbers that start with E or X, putting their production years to 1990 or 1991. Sometime in 1991, the numerals metamorphosed back to the white ones that we’ve come to associate with the Explorer. As the Explorer continued to change (even becoming 39mm instead of the usual 36mm in 2011), sharp-eyed collectors saw value in these rare and elusive watches. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSince the one featured here bears an X serial number, it’s one of the later ones. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile some collectors might lament the presence of a glossy dial, white gold surrounds, and a sapphire crystal, these are changes that Rolex made throughout its sport watches, the result of the manufacture shifting into the luxury realm. In fact, one might even defer to Winston Churchill on the subject: “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” In the case of the Explorer—particularly the Blackout model—we think that it is faithful enough to the traditional Explorers (with its 36mm case and drilled lugs) to please even the most diehard of purists like ourselves.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rolex","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":4381836247070,"sku":null,"price":10000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0809\/1255\/products\/Rolex_Explorer_Black-Out_14270_AS02323_1.jpg?v=1511919232","url":"https:\/\/www.analogshift.com\/products\/rolex-explorer-blackout-as02323","provider":"Analog:Shift","version":"1.0","type":"link"}