Without a doubt, the most recognizable feature of the Rolex Explorer is its dial design. Since the earliest days of the Explorer collection, the dial has included baton hour markers, an inverted triangle at 12 o’clock, and most importantly, large Arabic numerals at 3, 6, and 9. In fact, enthusiasts refer to any Rolex watch with 3-6-9 numerals – no matter what the model – as an Explorer-style dial. Except for a few exceptionally rare vintage replica watches, the Rolex Explorer’s dial was always black and always equipped with Mercedes-Benz-style hands and never had a date window. 
People were excited to see a larger Explorer watch – not to mention the slightly matte black dial. However, others noticed that the chronograph hand seemed slightly too short as the minute hand didn’t quite reach the minute track. This early dial variant, now known as the MK1, is also home to non-luminous solid 18k white gold 3, 6, and 9 numerals. Except for the hands, of course, the rest of the indications are coated with Rolex’s relatively new Chromalight luminescence, which, unlike the green-illuminated SuperLuminova, glows blue in the dark.
At Baselworld 2016, Rolex announced an updated version of the Explorer 214270 with a revamped dial. This dial variant, now known as MK2, features larger hands with appropriately scaled minute hands that reach the minute track. In addition, Rolex has added Chromalight luminescence to the white gold 3, 6, and 9 numerals. The Explorer 214270 features an MK2 dial for the remainder of its production run until it is finally discontinued in 2021.
Given that Rolex discontinued the Explorer 214270 in 2021, this particular model is now only available from the secondary market. However, similar to almost all stainless steel replica Rolex sports watches, the Explorer 214270 has a much higher open market value, especially now that the watch is no longer in production and can only be found on the secondary market.
In the spring of 2021, Rolex unveiled its latest batch of models, including a new generation of Explorer watches. When Rolex announced the latest generation of the Explorer, there were two surprises: the size and the introduction of a two-tone variant.
That’s right, the Explorer is now back to its original 36mm diameter. Reference 214270 is thus the only model in the Explorer’s history to feature a 39mm case size, often considered the “sweet spot” case size for many collectors and a size that is rapidly disappearing from Rolex’s contemporary catalog. So, no hesitation, order as you like.