It’s funny, but this is a question I have not addressed yet.

And why is that you may be asking?

Honestly… it’s because I don’t really care!

That’s right. The truth is that I really don’t care about so-called “beautiful watches.” Sure I may call a watch good-looking and whatever, but to me the “look” of a watch is not as important as its durability, legibility, functions, and overall usefulness in my everyday life and the lives of others.

I for one truly believe that beauty must be in the eye of the beholder. I would oftentimes hear my buddies describe their wives, girlfriends, cars, and other such things as “beautiful,” and while I may have doubts in my mind as to their choice of partner as well as their butt ugly cars, I get that I don’t have to find beauty in the same things they do and vice versa.

For example, if you were to ask me what the most beautiful watch in the world, I would probably say THIS:

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer II Mens Watch 16570-WSO

You see for me, this is watch perfection. It has a fixed 24hour bezel so you don’t have to worry about having it accidentally turned, it has a clean and functional dial, and it has an 4th hour hand to keep track of a second time zone. On top of that it’s a tough-as-nails Rolex Oyster so you know it will last through almost anything you throw at it.

This durability, cleanness, and simple functionality is beauty in my mind. It’s got all the main points covered very well without being showy and ostentatious, and while I am aware that most non-watch enthusiasts may think that “plain” is overly generous word in describing this Rolex Explorer II, that’s cool with me because I think I know what they are getting at!

Let me explain…

There is a large majority of the population who appreciate this thing called “art.” It’s a fairly vague concept but basically amounts to someone looking at it and then having something in their mind saying “Sweet!”

It can also act as a way for imbeciles to appear sophisticated to girls, a way for rich jerks to one-up other rich jerks, and a very handy and useful way to cover up an otherwise boring white wall in your living room.

I don’t know, I guess you can say that I find a watch beautiful if they do their job so well that you never even notice. Something so pretty and delicate that you would be afraid to even swing your arms is just annoying. I would even say that I find a beautiful watch to be something that can go well with anything and can be worn everyday without fear of consequence.

But while I may be in a bit of a minority, I do understand that there are indeed genuine appreciators of watch beauty. They are people who take notice of beautifully finished movements, immaculate dials, complicated complications, and other fancy watch stuff, and based on that, if I were to say what watch company makes the most beautiful watches, I would say Ulysse Nardin.

Just for an example, look at THIS:

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Mens’ Alarm Watch Automatic 18K White Gold Grey Dial on Black Leather Strap 670-88/212

I have to admit, if I had the money, I would probably put this on every time before bed and just gaze at its beauty. Watch nuts just go gaga over Ulysee Nardin watches and it’s not hard to see why. This is just epically beautiful. I don’t know what to call all the fancy finishes, but the hands look as though they’ve come from a Picasso painting and the rest of it is quite nice to look at indeed!

Those rich folks who like to wear smoking jackets whilst swirling their brandy in their wingback chairs ought to enjoy this quite nicely. I can’t imagine being too comfortable wearing this watch out in public, but when in your home when you have a moment to yourself, you can just wear it and think to yourself that you have arrived!

In fact, I hereby declare this UN Sonata:

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WATCH IN THE WORLD!!!

Watch One: Rolex Explorer II (My Favorite Rolex)

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer II Mens Watch 16570-WSO

Watch Two: Rolex GMT-II (The New Version)

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date GMT-Master II 116710BKSO

If you look past the shiny or brushed exteriors, differing colors, different fonts, and overall differences in perceived demeanor, you will notice that these two watches are essentially the same. They both have a 24 hour bezel, they both have an independent 4th-hour hand, the dials are essentially the same, the date bubble is in the same place, and if you just look at the core of the watch you would be hard-pressed to find any difference.

So then, you might be asking, why make two different watch models in the first place?

You see while the fundamental core of both watches appear to be the same there is actually only ONE difference between the two watches that makes ALL the difference, and that is in the bezel. In the GMT-II the bezel (the ring around the watch that has the 2-22 numerals on it) can be turned either counterclockwise or clockwise, whereas on the Explorer II the bezel cannot.

Why have they done that?

Well the answer to that is separated by the very extremes of vertical airspace.

If the two watches share anything, it is the fact that they are both purpose-built watches, and while they are very similar, the purposes and intentions as to the use of these watches are very different. It doesn’t make too much of a difference these days since most Rolex models spend their days on some golf course rather than the extremities for which they were originally built, but back in the day Rolex sport watches were built with purposes for purpose-minded individuals. And just like the diving watch pioneer the Sea-Dweller, the GMT-II and the Explorer II were both built with a purpose in mind.

You see the original Rolex GMT was originally designed with pilots in mind. The idea was that the time would be set to Greenwich Mean Time (hence the name GMT) while the bi-directional bezel is turned either clockwise or counterclockwise depending on whether you are traveling westward or eastward through the time zones. The original GMT did not have an independent 4th hour hand. In other words if the time was 10:10 p.m. your 4th hour hand would be pointing toward 22 and that could not be changed. The GMT-II, however, allowed that hand to be independent, so that, in tandem with the bi-directional bezel meant that you could track a total of 3 time zones.

The Explorer II, however, was very different.  Whereas the GMT-II is for pilots, the Explorer II is for adventurers.  The reason why the 24 hour bezel doesn’t turn was because traversing time zones was not the priority in mind for the Rolex Explorer.  The fourth hour hand, furthermore, was never really designed to track another time zone but rather to act as an a.m./p.m. indicator for those in the most polar extremes or darkest of caves where day and night cannot be distinguished simply by looking at the sky.

Whether or not you choose to get the watch for pilots or the watch for adventurers is your call, but either way you can’t go wrong.  They are both solid watches with iconic status.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer II Mens Watch 16570-WSO

The looks are just so-so, and like the vastly similar GMT-II, the Explorer II also has a GMT hand to track a second timezone. The looks have not changed much in the past decades and with the GMT-II already being a success one wonders what, if any, point there is to making another GMT watch…

For those who are not familiar with a GMT watch, a GMT watch is basically a watch that is just like any other watch with an hour, minute, and seconds hand, only with an additional hand to track the 24 hour time of any timezone of your choosing.  So if you look at the Rolex pictured above, the red hand is the GMT hand and is indicating that the time is 10:10 a.m. (as opposed to 10:10 p.m.)

So what kind of dingbat needs a watch to tell day from night you might ask?

Well the answer to that question is precisely the reason I love the Explorer II so much.  You see the Explorer II is designed for people of adventure.  People who travel so frequently that they may need to track a second timezone, and people who cannot tell day from night because they are exploring either the darkest of caves or traversing the most polar extremes where the sun never comes down.

The reason why I love the Explorer II is because it fits exactly my clean, simple, and functional tastes in watches AND accommodates the future self I hope to be.  In other words it is who I am AND the adventurer I hope to be.