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Tudor Boy's Size — Explorer Dial

Details

The Story

Here's a vintage Tudor prince date \"Boys Size\" automatic reference #72034 from the 90s. Keeps great time and is fully functional. Measurements include a 32mm oyster case and 17mm lug width. It's on its original Tudor jubilee bracelet that fits up to a 7 inch wrist (comes with 2 extra links, making it fit 7.5 inches). Time and quickset date function at 3 a clock. Egg white dial. Fluted bezel. Arabic numerals with white arrow hands. The lume in both the hands and lume plots remain crisp. The watch wears quite small for men, but a great size for women. This watch comes with its original brown leather box, papers, pamphlet, and tag. Steel case and caseback. All parts are original including the signed Rolex crown, caseback, dial, and movement. Both the dial and case are in great cosmetic, untouched condition.
Key Specs
History

In May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest wearing Rolex watches. The Explorer — launched that same year — was Rolex's acknowledgment that the Oyster case could go anywhere. Clean dial, no complications, just luminous Arabic numerals at 3, 6, and 9 on a matte black background. Function as design.

The Explorer II followed in 1971 for a different kind of explorer: speleologists and scientists working in environments where day and night lose meaning. A fixed 24-hour graduated bezel and an additional orange GMT hand allowed cave explorers and polar researchers to track whether it was AM or PM when daylight was unavailable.

References 14270 and 114270 (Explorer I, 36mm) and 16570 (Explorer II, 40mm) in our inventory cover the 1990s through mid-2000s — the most mature and reliable expressions of both watches before they were resized in subsequent generations.