hello everyone. I received my v2 explorer II today from Ken. this model was supposed to be released back in November so I had paid for it then, and have been waiting 10 months on this thing. lol. but it has finally been released and I got it today and snapped some pics. I'm not really going to make this a review because I haven't really studied it in depth yet, but that will be soon to come with more pics. and I'm also hoping to to a comparison with a gen side by side with mine, so I'm working on that and hoping that I'll be able to do it. I should know in a few days if that's going to happen or not. but anyway, here's some pics I took of it today.
A lot of you know I'm a big exp II fan. It's just one of my favorite watches, so I've studied it a lot and know the gen and rep inside and out. So, I'll just say a few things that I've just noticed without really studying it yet. Immediately upon unboxing the bezel font hit me. it looks so good now. Just from eyballing it, it looks so much better than the V1. so I think that is a huge improvement on this watch, since the bezel is a very visible thing on this watch. It seems to be the right thickness now, or at least a lot closer. The corners at least with the naked eye seem to be nice and crisp and cornered instead of rounded off. But When I study it I'll know more in my review.
I bought the asian 2836 as it is a proven movement and is a very reliable movement. they also have these available in swiss or the clone 3187, which I would not choose either of those. the 3187 looks nothing like the gen 3187, not even close and is much more expensive than the 2836. I just see no reason getting that movement. and the swiss at 500 bucks. no way. not worth it in my opinion. the asian 2836 functions exactly the same as both of those movements and is a lot cheaper.
the rehaut hasn't changed. It's exactly the same as the v1. Not great, but not terrible either. With the naked eye, it looks gen like, It's only with the macro pics that you can see that it is different.
Winding the watch is smooth as butter. just as good as any swiss I've had. no difference. and setting the time and date just the same.
the LEC is amazing. I can see the LEC's on gens. I've got good eyes, and this is the most gen like LEC i've seen on a rep. I only was able to capture it in one of the pics I took. But again. when I do my review I will get pics of the LEC with a side light. but it is basically invisible.
another thing that I was excited to see and am very impressed with are the hour indices. They are polished so fine to emulate white gold. I think it's just amazing. and that is a huge improvement on the v1. Just that makes this dial really pop out at you. The dial is also great. Looks pretty spot on to me. the printing seems good too. In macro pics obviously not exactly gen like but very very good in my opinion.
the clasp is perfect now. that issue that was with the v1 where it would stick up and not lay flat is gone. So that's another improvement.
One negative about the watch is the lume. Even though the lume is applied perfectly on this watch. It really is. very nicely done, but the lume on the hands does not match the lume on the hour indices. the lume on the hands is almost a stark white, where the hour indices are darker. Not by much, but they are darker. In the dark the lume is still amazing, and I'm hoping that it will last all night like my v1 did. I'll know that tonight. It really doesn't bother me that much, but what bothers me is that they had it right with the v1 with the hands matching the hour indices. So this was actually a step backwards with this version. I'm not sure why it is like this or what happened. but hopefully with the next version they will rectify this issue.
Other than that. my first impressions of this watch are that it is just a great watch. I love the looks of it, the colors with the orange, black and white, I like the size of the watch, and I like that it's a heavier watch, I like to be able to feel that I'm wearing a watch, but it's not too heavy either. The brushing and polishing are just amazing on this watch. Best rep I've owned in that regard.
With that said. On to the pics. Like I said. I will sit down with this watch and study it and do a proper review of it going over everything soon, and also hopefully will be able to set up the appointment so I can do the side by side comparison with the gen here soon.
A lot of you know I'm a big exp II fan. It's just one of my favorite watches, so I've studied it a lot and know the gen and rep inside and out. So, I'll just say a few things that I've just noticed without really studying it yet. Immediately upon unboxing the bezel font hit me. it looks so good now. Just from eyballing it, it looks so much better than the V1. so I think that is a huge improvement on this watch, since the bezel is a very visible thing on this watch. It seems to be the right thickness now, or at least a lot closer. The corners at least with the naked eye seem to be nice and crisp and cornered instead of rounded off. But When I study it I'll know more in my review.
I bought the asian 2836 as it is a proven movement and is a very reliable movement. they also have these available in swiss or the clone 3187, which I would not choose either of those. the 3187 looks nothing like the gen 3187, not even close and is much more expensive than the 2836. I just see no reason getting that movement. and the swiss at 500 bucks. no way. not worth it in my opinion. the asian 2836 functions exactly the same as both of those movements and is a lot cheaper.
the rehaut hasn't changed. It's exactly the same as the v1. Not great, but not terrible either. With the naked eye, it looks gen like, It's only with the macro pics that you can see that it is different.
Winding the watch is smooth as butter. just as good as any swiss I've had. no difference. and setting the time and date just the same.
the LEC is amazing. I can see the LEC's on gens. I've got good eyes, and this is the most gen like LEC i've seen on a rep. I only was able to capture it in one of the pics I took. But again. when I do my review I will get pics of the LEC with a side light. but it is basically invisible.
another thing that I was excited to see and am very impressed with are the hour indices. They are polished so fine to emulate white gold. I think it's just amazing. and that is a huge improvement on the v1. Just that makes this dial really pop out at you. The dial is also great. Looks pretty spot on to me. the printing seems good too. In macro pics obviously not exactly gen like but very very good in my opinion.
the clasp is perfect now. that issue that was with the v1 where it would stick up and not lay flat is gone. So that's another improvement.
One negative about the watch is the lume. Even though the lume is applied perfectly on this watch. It really is. very nicely done, but the lume on the hands does not match the lume on the hour indices. the lume on the hands is almost a stark white, where the hour indices are darker. Not by much, but they are darker. In the dark the lume is still amazing, and I'm hoping that it will last all night like my v1 did. I'll know that tonight. It really doesn't bother me that much, but what bothers me is that they had it right with the v1 with the hands matching the hour indices. So this was actually a step backwards with this version. I'm not sure why it is like this or what happened. but hopefully with the next version they will rectify this issue.
Other than that. my first impressions of this watch are that it is just a great watch. I love the looks of it, the colors with the orange, black and white, I like the size of the watch, and I like that it's a heavier watch, I like to be able to feel that I'm wearing a watch, but it's not too heavy either. The brushing and polishing are just amazing on this watch. Best rep I've owned in that regard.
With that said. On to the pics. Like I said. I will sit down with this watch and study it and do a proper review of it going over everything soon, and also hopefully will be able to set up the appointment so I can do the side by side comparison with the gen here soon.
