Rolex Explorer I Ref. 14270 - 'Blackout'

May 29, 1953

After an arduous journey starting on March 10th of 1953, and an extremely difficult assault on the summit, Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first people to successfully summit Mt. Everest. On their wrist? NOT a Rolex Explorer.

Whoops.

Well, to be fair the Rolex Explorer wasn’t created yet. So why the hullabaloo about Sir Edmund Hillary? Well - he was wearing a Rolex. A Rolex Oyster Perpetual. After hearing of the success of this expedition and ruggedness of the watch - the decision was made to replace the Oyster Perpetual with a new model named in Hillary’s honor - The Explorer. Or so the story goes.

Either way, the Rolex Explorer I was introduced in 1953 but like many Rolex models, the first series was not considered ‘the best’ reference. For many collectors, the most desirable Explorer I reference is the 1016, but of course like nearly everything in the world of watches, this is subjective...

The 1016's replacement, the Ref. 14270 was a major departure from the 1016s, utilizing a glossy black dial with applied white gold indices, a sapphire crystal, and was naturally met with some negative feedback at launch.Of course, any negativity would have been purely subjective and it didn't take long for for some of the negativity to fade after enthusiasts began getting hands-on time and wearing these for awhile.

Like so many other references, this model underwent a series of changes over its roughly 12-year production run and is typically broken down into three different variants, each with their own appeal. The early pieces had Tritium indices and handsets, whereas models produced after 1997-1998 introduced Luminova units. The third variant showed up around 1999 with the only real difference to the previous variant being the utilization of SuperLuminova for the luminous indices. If you want to get really specific, we would even split that first variant of Tritium-dialed piece into two... up until about 1993, the earliest cases still had lug holes for easy strap changing and bracelet removal.

And then, diving deeper still, there is the piece that we have here: the 'Blackout' Explorer.

Produced in very small numbers in the 'E' and 'X' serial range, these are the earliest examples of the Ref. 14270. Like other early examples, they feature drilled-lugs , a blade clasp bracelet, and Tritium-filled indices, but there are two small, almost easy to miss details on the dial that separate these from the lot: First, where all other 14270s (and frankly, all other Explorers since the first matte-dial 1016) have white text on the dial, the Blackout has silver text — and its gorgeous. Second, rather than having white paint on top of the white gold

3, 6, & 9 markers, the Blackout has black paint — which is its namesake. Make of these watches have last their dials by being sent back to Rolex for service, which further contributes to their collectability.

This example is an 'E-serial' dating to circa 1990 and it comes to us in excellent, honest overall condition. The case is lightly polished along with the bezel with defined edges with no significant damage or blemishes to speak of. The correct Oyster bracelet is in matching condition. The dial within, of course, features the black-painted 3, 6, & 9 markers and Tritium-filled white gold indices surrounding them. It remains clear and glossy, devoid of any 'spidering' or 'stippling.' The handset matches the dial beautifully and both retain a crisp white tone.

These early 14270s in particular are fantastic daily wearers — perhaps even perfect. The updated sapphire crystal and deep glossy black dial combined with more traditional features like the drilled lug holes, and the Tritium elements, amount to something that has a foot in the worlds of both modern and vintage. The very definition of neo-vintage.

And then there is the Blackout... truly one of the more elusive pieces produced by the brand in the last 35 years.