Then there’s the much more subdued fixed stainless bezel of the Explorer II which matches the case and features a 24-hour marked scale. This feature was specifically built for explorers who need to distinguish day from night – think cave explorers or polar explorers in the height of summer when the sun never sets.For decades, the durable and waterproof Oyster case on the Explorer II measured 40mm, but upon its redesign for the 40th anniversary of the collection in 2011, it was enlarged to 42mm. However, while Rolex produces a precious metal version of the Submariner, the Explorer II is exclusively offered in 904L stainless steel, and there have never been any solid gold or two-tone models ever produced. The current Explorer II is only offered on a steel Oyster bracelet with a Oysterlock clasp, but to be honest, when it comes to the Explorer II, collectors are much more concerned with what really makes this watch: the face.The dial of the Explorer II is iconic for a few reasons. The most notable being the colored 24-hour hand which circles the face. First there’s the iconic orange 24-hour hand, originally designed to help polar and cave explorers distinguish night from day, that gained its cult-status from the original “Steve McQueen” reference. Rolex eventually brought back the bright orange hand with much fanfare. Then there’s the red 24-hour hand which graced the dial for decades – it’s distinctly different than the orange hand with a skinnier body and smaller luminous triangle at the tip. The dials with a red 24-hour hand are far less punchy than their orange counterparts, but still make the Explorer II standout from the rest of the Rolex lineup.Then there are the dial colors – available in effortlessly-cool black and the coveted ‘polar’ white. The polar dial is totally cool and clean, the white face outfitted with white lume plots and Mercedes hands outlined in black. The black face on the other hand has a totally different appeal. While it boasts the same features, the darker face really highlights the stainless steel bezel, lume hour plots and lume-filled Mercedes hands (this time in white gold rather than finished black). It’s a punchier look, and the colored 24-hour hand – especially the orange one – shines against the black a little brighter.
So, a lot of people who were Noob watch fans have turned to be clients of ARF. Today, I want to introduce two important Rolex watches AR factory just published several days ago, both are Datejust II models in 41mm, which is a trendy size in current watch industry. Two Datejust 2 watches have some common features, like genuine watches, the replicas are made of 904L stainless steel, and both feature a fluted bezel. The difference is that one is with a grey dial, the other is with a blue dial. I saw both watches and took these photos below, compared two of them, I like the Datejust II with grey dial more.About case, both are made of the latest genuine watch material 904L stainless steel, case is brushed, while the lugs are polished. The case finish is very good, which is the same quality level of Rolex made by JF factory. While I find one subtle flaw on the case, that is the back of lugs does not have engravings, while the replica Rolex made by Noob has. Compared replica Rolex watches between Noob and ARF, the quality of case finish of ARF is better than Noob, but if you do care about some detailed engravings, I suggest you buy from Noob. The fluted bezel is also made of 904L stainless steel, the tooth design on the bezel has the same size as that of genuine watch, the amount of bezel tooth is the same as original. The bezel fits the case body perfectly, so there is no gap for water penetration.About dial, the Rolex Datejust II 126334 replica has two options, grey and blue, I prefer the grey one, which looks more low-key, while the blue one looks more elegant. The grey dial matches the white stainless steel appearance better, the unique sunray polishing on the grey dial looks more obvious, I like such sunray polishing on the dial, it looks high quality. The inner bezel has Rolex’s famous rehaut engravings, which look exactly the same as genuine Rolex.
The case is fully made of black ceramic, it is a pioneering work Omega made in their Planet Ocean. The case is brushed, while the edge of lugs is polished, seeing the side, the case has a graceful arc shape. The bezel uses high grade black ceramic with silver engravings. The case back is see-through sapphire crystal, VS factory developed Omega-patented Naiad Lock system, you only need to rotate the case back a bit to lock it perfectly. Check the case back, there are unique engravings on three lugs.The dial is black, which is made of real ceramic Zr02, this is the high gloss black dial that is exact 1:1 imitation of original. The dial has a correct hand stack, hour markers and hands have silver edge and are applied with white lume material, the dial has two different lume colors, hour markers and hour hand will emit strong blue light, minute hand will emit strong green light in the dark. On the outer dial, there are 24-hour gmt markers, GMT hand in the center has an orange triangle mark that is also filled with luminescence. This Deep Black Planet Ocean is a GMT watch, if Omega makes a full ceramic Planet Ocean without GMT function, that will be very popular.
