Rolex Explorer 124273 Review

THE FIRST LOOK

Rolex Explorer 124273 First Impressions

What hits you the moment you pick up the two-tone Explorer.

Pick up the Rolex Explorer 124273 after handling the steel version and the first thing your eye does is warm up. This is the two-tone Explorer, and the gold catches light in a way the all-steel model never does. Among Rolex watches it is one of the few pieces that genuinely lives a double life: it reads as a rugged 3-6-9 tool watch from across a room, then turns into something far dressier the moment a sleeve slides back and the yellow gold center links flash. The polished gold bezel does most of the heavy lifting here, framing that flat black dial with a glint that the brushed steel case never tries to match.

What surprises you next is the restraint. For a two-tone watch, the 124273 is shockingly understated. There is no fluted bezel, no diamonds, no date magnifier, just a smooth gold ring and that clean Arabic-numeral dial. It is the opposite of a flashy gold watch, and that is exactly the point. The build feels every bit a modern Rolex sports watch: dense, tight, no rattles, and the kind of finishing transitions between brushed steel and polished gold that very few watches at any price get right. First impression is simple. This is the Explorer that grew up and bought a blazer, and it pulls the look off better than it has any right to.

THE WEARING EXPERIENCE

On the Wrist

How the Explorer 124273 actually wears, day in and day out.

On the wrist the Rolex Explorer 124273 is a masterclass in wearability. The 36mm case pairs with short, sharply curved lugs that hug the wrist, so the watch sits flat and wears true to its size. It is comfortable on wrists from roughly 6 inches upward and looks correctly proportioned on a 6.5 to 7 inch wrist, while still being one of the few modern Rolex sports watches a genuinely small wrist can wear without it looking borrowed. The 11.5mm thickness is the one number to know: it is not a thin dress watch, but it disappears under a cuff and never snags.

The two-tone construction adds a little heft over the all-steel version thanks to the gold center links, but the balance is spot on. There is no top-heaviness, no flop, just a reassuring density that telegraphs quality every time you put it on. Where this watch really earns its keep is versatility. It is the rare Rolex you can wear with a t-shirt on Saturday and under a suit on Monday without feeling over or under dressed in either context. After weeks on the wrist, the takeaway is that the 124273 is less a tool watch you occasionally dress up and more a daily watch that happens to be tough.

SHOP THIS WATCH

Shop the Explorer

Browse authenticated Rolex Explorer watches available now at WatchGuys.

If that two-tone wrist presence sounds like a match, here is what we currently have available in the Rolex Explorer 124273.

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BUILD QUALITY

Rolex Explorer 124273 Specifications

Breaking down the two-tone Explorer from every angle.

Case

The Rolex Explorer 124273 case is 36mm of Yellow Rolesor, Rolex's term for the combination of Oystersteel and 18k yellow gold. The case body and lugs are brushed Oystersteel with polished bevels, while the smooth, domed bezel is solid 18k yellow gold. That bezel is the only real bezel story here: it is plain and polished, with no rotating action and no scale, so it functions purely as a frame for the dial and a place for the gold to do its work. The Twinlock screw-down crown is also gold-capped, with a crisp screw action and a winding feel that is smooth without being loose.

Finishing is where Rolex separates itself from the field at this price. The transitions between the brushed steel surfaces and the polished gold elements are razor clean, with no overspill of polishing into the brushed grain. The case is rated to 100m of water resistance thanks to the screw-down caseback and Twinlock crown, which is more than this watch will ever realistically need but speaks to the over-engineered build. The flat sapphire crystal sits proud of the bezel with an anti-reflective treatment that keeps the dial readable from almost any angle.

Dial

The dial is the soul of the Rolex Explorer 124273 and it is gloriously simple: a matte black face with the iconic applied 3, 6, and 9 Arabic numerals, baton markers elsewhere, and the inverted triangle at 12. The numerals and the Mercedes-style hands are filled with Chromalight, Rolex's blue-glowing lume, which is genuinely bright and lasts the full night. There is no date, and the dial is better for it. The symmetry is undisturbed and legibility is outstanding in any light.

Look closely and the gold returns: the hour markers, numerals, and hands carry gold surrounds that tie the dial to the two-tone case, a detail the all-steel Explorer renders in white gold instead. It is a small touch but it is what makes the 124273 feel cohesive rather than like a steel watch wearing a gold bezel. Against the matte black, the polished gold elements pop without tipping into bling.

Bracelet

The Rolex Explorer 124273 comes on an Oyster bracelet in Yellow Rolesor, with brushed Oystersteel outer links and polished 18k yellow gold center links. It is the three-piece solid-link Oyster, which means it is robust, articulates well, and tapers cleanly into the case with solid end links. The polished gold center links are the bracelet's visual signature, and they are also the part that shows wear first, something worth knowing on the pre-owned market.

The clasp is the folding Oysterlock with the Easylink 5mm comfort extension. Easylink is the unsung hero of daily Rolex wear: flip the clasp open, pull the extension, and you get 5mm of on-the-fly adjustment to handle a hot day or a cold wrist without tools. The clasp action is solid and secure, and the safety catch over the Oysterlock means it is not coming undone by accident.

EXPERT TIP | Robertino Altieri | WatchGuys CEO

What to Check on a Pre-Owned Explorer 124273

"On a two-tone Explorer, the polished gold center links are the first place wear shows. Look for thinning gold plating on aftermarket fakes, but on a genuine 124273 the gold is solid, so what you are really inspecting is scratches and bracelet stretch. Hold the bracelet horizontal and watch the gap between the links. If it sags and the links spread, the bracelet is stretched from years of wear. Also check that the gold bezel has no dings, since polished gold dents more easily than steel. Box, papers, and an unpolished case always command a premium on this reference."

UNDER THE HOOD

Rolex Explorer 124273 Movement Review

How the movement performs where it matters: on the wrist, every day.

The Rolex Explorer 124273 runs the caliber 3230, the no-date workhorse Rolex also uses in the no-date Submariner 124060. It is a modern in-house automatic with the patented Chronergy escapement, a paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring, and Paraflex shock absorbers, and it is certified as a Superlative Chronometer to within minus 2 to plus 2 seconds per day. In practice that rating is conservative. Over weeks of daily wear our example settled around plus 1 second per day, which is the kind of accuracy that makes you stop checking it against your phone.

The headline upgrade over the old caliber 3132 in the previous-generation Explorer is the power reserve, which jumped from roughly 48 hours to around 70. That is the real-world difference between a watch that dies if you take the weekend off and one you can set down Friday evening and strap back on Monday morning still running and on time. The bidirectional Perpetual rotor winds efficiently and is quiet on the wrist, and because there is no date, there is no date-change fiddling and no quickset to worry about. Service intervals run roughly ten years, and as a time-only three-hander this is one of the cheaper modern Rolex calibers to maintain when that day comes.

EXPERT TIP | Robertino Altieri | WatchGuys CEO

Why the Caliber 3230 Makes the 124273 an Easy Owner

"People obsess over complications, but a no-date three-hander like the 124273 is one of the smartest watches to actually live with. The caliber 3230 has no date to reset when it sits, the 70-hour reserve covers a weekend off the wrist, and there is less to service than a date or chronograph movement. When a pre-owned 124273 comes through, I want to see it keeping time within a few seconds a day and winding smoothly. If it does, that movement is good for another decade before it needs anything."

MARKET VALUE

Current Market Snapshot

What the Rolex Explorer 124273 costs right now on the secondary market.

Here is the honest pricing picture on the Rolex Explorer 124273, and it is the most important thing a buyer needs to understand about this reference. Unlike the steel sports Rolex models that trade above retail, the 124273 trades at or below its retail price on the secondary market, with unworn examples regularly available in the $10,000 to $13,000 range against a 2026 retail of roughly $12,950. That is unusual for a Rolex sports watch and it is the single biggest mark against buying this watch brand new from an authorized dealer.

The reason is the gold. Two-tone carries a precious-metal premium at retail that the secondary market simply does not fully pay back, so the 124273 holds value worse than the steel 124270 and worse than the broader Rolex average. That is bad news if you buy at retail and try to flip it, but it is excellent news if you are buying to wear. You let the first owner absorb the depreciation and pick up a gold-and-steel Rolex, often unworn with full set, for at or below what the dealer charges new. For a watch you actually intend to keep, the 124273 is one of the better-value entry points into a precious-metal Rolex.

HEAD TO HEAD

Rolex Explorer 124273 Comparison

The two-tone Explorer against the alternatives buyers actually cross-shop.

Rolex Explorer 124273 vs. Rolex Explorer 124270

This is the comparison nearly every 124273 buyer wrestles with. The Rolex Explorer 124270 is the all-steel sibling, mechanically identical down to the same 36mm case, same caliber 3230, and same dimensions. The only differences are the metal and the price. The 124270 is the pure tool watch, lighter on the wrist and a stronger value holder. The 124273 trades some of that value retention for the warmth and dress-watch flexibility of yellow gold. If you want one watch that disappears into any outfit and reads as a sports watch first, the steel 124270 is the rational pick. If you want the gold and you are buying to keep, the 124273 makes more sense than its price tag suggests once you buy it below retail.

Robertino's Take

"I have sold plenty of both. The honest truth on the 124273 is that you should never buy it new. Buy it pre-owned or unworn below retail and it becomes one of the best-value gold Rolexes on the market. The 124270 holds value better, but the 124273 gives you a precious-metal watch for sports-watch money once the first owner eats the depreciation. If the gold speaks to you, let someone else pay retail and you buy theirs."

Rolex Explorer 124273 vs. Rolex Datejust 36

The other cross-shop is the two-tone Rolex Datejust 36, which sits at a similar size and price and is the obvious "dressy two-tone Rolex" alternative. The Datejust offers a date, a wider range of dials and bezels (including the fluted bezel and Jubilee bracelet), and more overt elegance. The Explorer 124273 answers with cleaner symmetry, a tougher 100m case, the no-date purity of the 3-6-9 dial, and a more understated read. Choose the Datejust if you want a classic dress watch with options. Choose the 124273 if you want a sports watch that happens to wear a suit well.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Is the Rolex Explorer 124273 Worth It?

Is the two-tone Explorer worth your money?

Yes, the Rolex Explorer 124273 is worth buying, with one firm condition: buy it pre-owned or unworn below retail, never new. On the merits of the watch itself there is very little to criticize. The 36mm two-tone case is one of the most wearable and versatile sports watches Rolex makes, the caliber 3230 is excellent and easy to live with, the build and finishing are reference-grade, and the understated two-tone look genuinely earns its keep across tool-watch and dress-watch duty alike.

This watch is perfect for the buyer who wants a do-everything Rolex with a touch of warmth and luxury, especially someone with a smaller wrist or anyone who wants one watch to cover a t-shirt and a suit. It is the wrong watch for a flipper or anyone treating it as an investment, because it depreciates harder than the steel Explorer and most other Rolex sports models. Buy it for the right reason, which is to wear and keep it, and the 124273's weak resale becomes your discount on a precious-metal Rolex.

Robertino's Take

"The 124273 is a genuinely great watch wearing a bad investment case, and that mismatch is the entire opportunity. Stop thinking about resale and start thinking about wrist time. For a gold-and-steel Rolex you can wear every single day, that takes a beating and never feels precious, bought below what the dealer wants for it new, this is one of the smartest buys in the current Rolex lineup. Buy it to keep it and you will never think about the resale number again."

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