Rolex Explorer 'Tritinova'

When it comes to design language, the Reference 14270 may be the most important Rolex of the contemporary era. Launched in 1990, the 14270 was the follow-up successor to the iconic 1016, and featured a truly avant-garde design language. Moving away from the matte dial 1016, the 14270 features a glossy dial with stylized applied Arabic quadrant indices and a sapphire crystal which gives the watch a thoroughly modern and luxurious visual appeal that was initially a very polarizing departure for the model. With the benefit of hindsight, we can know understand that the 14270 was essentially a test-run for a new design language that would many years later become standard for numerous timepieces across the entire Rolex catalog. This particular example, a U-serial dating to circa 1997, features an excellent Oyster case with a sapphire crystal, a signed crown, a matching solid link Oyster bracelet with a signed fliplock clasp, and a transitional 'Tritinova' dial. These dials were produced for less than a year and are the result of Rolex applying Luminova to leftover dials marked with "SWISS - T < 25", which were originally produced to spec for earlier Tritium applications. These timepieces are incredibly versatile for everyday use, and can easily be dressed-up for formal occasions or dressed-down and worn as a sporty everyday companion. This one just has a bit of added 'if you know, you know.'