A rare homage of a rare watch - the Space Explorers

[JCJM]

Greetings,

this is a story about two rare Space Explorers and a stolen RXW ExpIevo. It is kinda long and it has about thirty pictures in it...


You´ve been warned and it is futile to cry mommy :D That out of the way now... lets get to it shall we!



The first time I learnt that such models as "Explorer Evolutions" existed was when I came across a picture of one on an old Japanese forum sales ad in maybe 2002 or 2003. After that I had my eyes open In case one would surface and alas, after a few years of casual and occasionally not so casual search one ultimately crossed my path: On September 27th 2007 I bought a ExpIevo from an American FBI Agent who in turn had bough it from Ken Sato – the owner and creator of the RXW / ROCKX Solid watch brand – in-person while visiting his shop in Tokyo, Japan around 2002.


Ken Sato




RXW, whilst creating a buzz amongst the Japanese Rolex collectors right after their establishment in 1998 with the Subpro homage of an old Rolex design, did not become widely known amongst the Western WISses until it launched a homage of an old Italian naval divers watch – the MM20 which many, myself included, see as a decisive focal point marking the direction which the WIS phenomena was about to pursue next :arrow:

Talking about RXW´s, there is no middle ground on how WISses react to them – they either dig them or loathe them profoundly. From as far as I can tell it appears people that could be best labeled as brand snobs belong to the latter mentioned group, whereas many old school WIS - including James Dowling and the late Chuck Maddox – seems to like the RXW´s as what they are: Rock Solid homage watches with excellent quality and a certain tongue in cheek attitude. Now, getting back to the FBI Agent´s ex-watch, here are a couple pictures he sent me while we were discussing the deal – given his profession I shall refer to him from now on simply as “John”.













When John sent me these pictures he wrote “Unless you've seen a real RXW, it's hard to imagine how well built they are.” Having at this point owned tree of them I do agree. – Like the ideology behind them or not but you cannot fault the fit and finish of a genuine – pun intended – RXW homage watch :headbang:


Johns watch with the name “ExpIevo“ on the dial belonged to a series of watches made under the blanket name “Explorer Evolution” – an apt name for a series of homage watches designed to take the basic concept of the historical Rolex Explorer 1016 further by adding an antimagnetic inner case giving it antimagnetic shielding against 1000 Gauss, a well executed solid link bracelet, a slow beat ETA 2671 workhorse of a movement and a painstakingly well executed BIG triple-lock crown adding to the watches water resistance of 10ATM while still maintaining the basic design clues of what make the 1016 stand out as a 1016.

Most of these watches, like Johns, were equipped with thick acrylic crystals but some also had mineral or sapphire crystals which were made available as an option at the time they were sold in the early parts of the 2000´s.


Watch specifications

Thick acrylic crystal
Water Resist 10ATM
Triple locking crown
Shielded 1000 gauss
Hacking ETA 2671-2
Diameter is 36,8mm
Lug widht is 20mm
Weight 125g (all links)


Additional information regarding these pieces is scarce and mostly inexistent – there simply is no information! Or best said, the information that once was is no longer available. You see, there was some info on the series on RXW´s website (http://www.rxw.jp) about still two years ago but it has been taken off. And, even when available the information was scarce: a few small pics and a couple lines of text in Japanese kanji at best. Not much. Anyways, thanks to those killed pages it is known that the dials were made in five different finishes:

MIRROR, GYOSHE, BLACKOUT, UPLITE, HIMALAYA

Whether each finish corresponded to a particular dial text variation or whether all of the Evolution series dial text variations were available with all of the five different dial finishes, that I do not know for sure. Based on the scarce information though I managed to link Johns ex-ExpIevo (it rhymes, does it not? ;-) ) to the “Himalaya” finish – a deep black matte background giving great contrast to the lume. I have also seen another ExpIevo variant pictured below which dial, if I am right, has a “Gyoshe” finish(?). The dial text in this watch seems to be the same as in Johns watch so it is somewhat safe to assume based on this comparison that indeed all dial variants had been manufactured in all five different finishes :?:

EDIT 30.3.2010: I have just received some tangible information on the series from Japan. First a correction - the one that got MIA did not posses a "HIMALAYA" dial but either the "MIRROR" or "UPLITE" dial. This can be deduced from the following facts:

1. the "HIMALAYA" variant actually has the word written boldly on the dial - the one that got MIA did not have this
2. the "GYOSHE" variant most likely means Guilloshe finish, which again, the one that got MIA did not have either
3. the "BLACKOUT" dial refers to (for me) previously unseen variant with its dial finished like the Explorer Blackout

Other bits of info: there are at least two variants of the Space-Ranger - the one shown in this thread and a white one which is a negative of the Explorer Blackout mentioned above: modern font black 3-6-9 markers on white dial with lumed batons on 10-11-1-2-4-5-7-8 and big lumed triangle on 12. This has the wording Space-Ranger where the "regular" blackout homage continues under the name ExpIevo. The black ExpIevo version of the blackout comes with either white or blue hash markings and text - if there are other colors that I am not aware of. Now, based on the fact that the one that got MIA did not posses a noticeably shiny or glittery dial I gather it was a model with the "UPLITE" dial. Whether this is a fact or not can not be validated yet. So, what have we learnt from this update? Apparently not much - the series remains a mystery. I suspect that the series keeps further evolving and whilst it has been taken off the RXW´s website I further suspect they continue being both manufactured and sold in small quantities as we speak. - I cannot validate this but I strongly suspect it. I have also seen a picture of a ExpIevo with modern font 3-6-9 which resembles an awful lot the last true Explorer before the horrid monster unveiled at BASEL 2010. It may however be that it is the aforementioned "BLACKOUT" model angled so on the pic that the 3-6-9 reflect ambient light. I simply do not know.







Suffice to say is that the whole Explorer Evolution series is a Enigma and unless someone gets answers from Mr. Sato the mystery surrounding it will likely remain.
Anyways, I now have in my possession a third variant which - so I assume - has a “blackout” or a “mirror” finished dial... But, lets discus Johns ex-watch a bit more before proceeding to this new piece in question.



So, what happened to the FBI Agent´s watch?

I wore the ExpIevo I bought from John, the FBI Agent, on a steady rotation with a IWC 3536 for three months. I then sold it to Karl on January 7th 2008 on a quest to land a grail – which, at the writing of this, I don’t even remember what it was! ;-D Nevertheless a deal was made, the watch shipped and then, on January 19th Karl reported it stolen in transit. His wife had been home and collected the package, which had been cut open from a seal and then resealed after the dirty job had been executed :cussing:

Karl – after finding out the inevitable – wrote: “A empty bag was waiting for me at home yesterday when I finished work. I'm really gutted. Didn’t ´think I’d get so upset over a watch.” It was a sad thing to have happened and, as suspected, the watch never surfaced again and is still missing at the writing of this. Nevertheless Karl got his money back and I began the hunt for a replacement as I missed the darn shiny thing. I knew it would prove to be a hard task and I was right - so, after two years of search I still had not found one.

Then the unexpected happened - I received an email from a Japanese collector whom I had crossed paths with years earlier while searching information on the series. This gentleman had remember my interest and contacted me with the news that a NOS variant of the Explorer Evolution series was coming FS in Japan. I collected this watch yesterday, on March 5th 2010 at 11.45PM and am wearing it as I type. If the ExpIevos are rare homages of the regular Explorer 1016; then this one has to be an even rarer homage of an even rarer 1016 version – the rarer than hens teeth JDM only Rolex 1016 Space-Dweller. Yeah, you read right - the Space-Dweller.



The Rolex 1016 Space-Dweller

According to Rolex lore there is a story that says when the Mercury astronauts toured Japan in1963 Rolex began to realize the significance of having an own “Space Watch” as the Japanese showed enthusiastic interest towards what were seen as the ultimate explorers at the time – the Mercury astronauts. Thus a new space model was produced as a test, simply by replacing “Explorer” with “Space-Dweller” on the dial of the Rolex Explorer 1016.

Pic courtesy of Jakes Rolex Blog



Plan was, if the re-branded watch had been a commercial success, Rolex planned to re-launch the 1016 Explorer as the Space-Dweller in the Japanese market. It turned out not to be a success and ultimately very few Space-Dwellers were made. How many, no-one knows and Rolex has remained tight-lipped about the subject. Suffice to say is that these are ones of the rarest of tool Rolexes and come up for sale rarely. When they do they tend to be sold by Big Auction Houses, fetching prices around and over 40000USD… So, it looks there might had been a solid market for a good Space-Dweller homage...



Enter the RXW Explorer-Evolution Space-Ranger

I have chosen to introduce the Space-Ranger in the very spirit I have learnt to associate with RXW / ROCKX Solid – with tongue in cheek. So, this is the how it was first introduced in the Friday thread as a response to Jim´s ZEX post:

Cool ZEX Jim! Wear it in good health :)

I am wearing it´s cybernetic cousin in design, manufactured by an advanced reptilian race who created robots that serve them, maintain their vast empire and man their military forces. These robots, sometimes called the Space-Rangers, have as a strong resemblance to the human body as their watches have a strong resemblance to a particular rare watch designed with the human Space Explorers in mind many thousand yahrens ago on a distant Planet called Earth.
Keeping time to a couple microns a time cycle it´s surely is not your average Cylon wrist wear... HAGWE! :occasion5:

I like the old Galactica series...
So, lets play the Cylon card here! Also of interest here is to notice, that when the 1016 Explorers began to be hunted by collectors it was actually the Japanese Rolex collectors who began the craze in the 80´s. Also of interest is that it was again the Japanese that were - and still are – the most devoted fans of the cartoon-like, you can say kitsch if you want – I don’t care, band KISS when it was on top of its reign. And last but not least… It is of course the Japanese that are the descendents of the people who formed ones of the most feared and lethally efficient of military forces – medieval Rangers if you will: the Samurai. For me the RXW represents a fusion of all of the aforementioned on a well-executed solid form you can wear and use for tracking time. What’s not to like then, uh? 8)



Nuff words, here are the pictures:




















































































Pure awesomeness! :rr:






I don´t know if you like The Space-Ranger or not but just remember what Gene Simmons said when the band was looking for a new lead guitar player back in the day when Mark St. John had to leave the band because of a medical condition: "we don´t want someone who thinks rock is played with skill; we want someone who plays it with a big dick" :mrgreen: :headbang:



Make no mistake about it: this one has big balls! :jerk:




Thanks Eddie and thanks TZ-UK :occasion5:



PS:
While at it go check Josés review on his RXW US Marine on the review section.
He takes far better pics I do, even though some have horrid backgrounds! :lol:

[Wes Bourne]

'OFFICIALLY CHRONOMEISTER SUPERLATIVE PRECISION' :lol: Watch is kinda cool though.

[ktmog6uk]

very nice, although if i got one i suspect i'd tire of explaining it wasn't a fake rolex to people

[RyanV]

Wow, what a post. Thank you for that.

For those who say TZ-UK has become a "look what I'm wearing today" forum, I point to your post as a welcome antidote.

[Dugena]

Thanks for this nice story :)

[Chye]

I thoroughly enjoyed the post, thanks for sharing!

Chye

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Great post Jussi 8)

[PeterM]

Fascinating post - thanks for taking so much time and care :)

[Micke L]

Nice post Jussi.
Me myself have an Pro-Lex Subpro incoming next week

[omegaUK]

Congratulations on one of the best posts of the year.. i always enjoy reading your well written thoughtful posts.
all the best

[miked10270]

Lovely post. Far more interesting & entertaining than anything in todays magazines.

But, may I raise a point about what a "Space-Dweller" watch would really be expected to do?

I think that a 24-hour hand would be a must since surely the normal day/night reference would be lost far faster than just going down into a cave!

Is a dive bezel relevant?

Is a date complication relevant?

Surely some sort of chronograph function would be relevant, but would that be on the watch itself?

In effect, were "WE" to design a space-dweller, how would it look? What features would it need? How would it look?

Mike.

PS. Not meaning to hijack your thread J, just wanting to throw out some food for thought.

[AlphaOmega]

Great post, thanks for taking the time. :)

Battlestar Galactica - superb memories

[Dapper]

Good post, I enjoyed reading it :thumbright: But the watch is just an Alpha with attitude :twisted:

[JCJM]

Good post, I enjoyed reading it :thumbright: But the watch is just an Alpha with attitude :twisted:

Yeah, like the same way these are just boots :wink:



:D

[jwg663]

Enjoyed that.
.
.
Thinking laterally, isn't "Gyoshe" just "Guilloche" in a more phonetic
form of spelling?
.
.

[deano42]

Moi Jussi

You need to buy me a new 56K dial up modem, mine burst into flames halfway into this thread.! :lol: :lol:

Lovely story (as always) on the Space Ranger. We need to meet up soon...

Thanks
deano

[angeche]

Great thread, Jussi. Now I realise how special is that RXW...
You should consider posting this in watch review as well......

[Ripley]

Thanks for posting this Jussi. Really great story. One for 'classic post' status surely?

regards

John

[JCJM]

Thanks for posting this Jussi. Really great story. One for 'classic post' status surely?

regards

John

Thanks but I don´t know about that, it seems the status "Classic" is reserved only for postings considering "true" horological merit = stuff about movements etc.
I did however spent an awful lot of time putting this together as a countermeasure for the countless "looki-looki ma, I have an expensive watch" postings :tongue2:

[NJH]

Thanks Jussi for posting. An interesting watch for sure, like the decision to put a proper triplock crown on, the text on the dial though I really don't like though.

[H.Solo]

Thanks for posting this deep insight! A really great watch, wear it in good health! :D

[alljay]

You're a mad man, Jussi! :lol:

Great post.

Cheers,

Jay

[JCJM]

You're a mad man, Jussi! :lol:

Great post.

Cheers,

Jay

I know Jay, I know...

Now, ship me my old Square Mistress back or I´ll come hunt you down with a silver helmet on my head! :twisted:

[alljay]

You're a mad man, Jussi! :lol:

Great post.

Cheers,

Jay

I know Jay, I know...

Now, ship me my old Square Mistress back or I´ll come hunt you down with a silver helmet on my head! :twisted:

I'm no madman! I love that Omega, she is my second most worn watch. That lovely domed plexi crystal, the way that the moon dust dial catches the light, the perfect size and the way that it slips under the cuff of a dress shirt, not to mention the fact that it is unique... simply stunning. Oops, guess that I shouldn't be rubbing it in. :twisted: :drunken:

Jay

[Karl]

great stuff nice post Jussi pics, info etc 8) i saved the pics again.

[Chartman69]

I think you have been mixing with Bubi too long ! :D

[abraxas]

Thanks for posting this Jussi. Really great story. One for 'classic post' status surely?

regards

John

Thanks but I don´t know about that, it seems the status "Classic" is reserved only for postings considering "true" horological merit = stuff about movements etc.
I did however spent an awful lot of time putting this together as a countermeasure for the countless "looki-looki ma, I have an expensive watch" postings :tongue2:

It should have been in the Reviews section. Nice article. Loved reading it. :thumbleft:

john

[JCJM]

Thanks John,

I appreciate that knowing that you know what it took. Maybe this indeed should be moved onto the review section?

[angeche]

Maybe this indeed should be moved onto the review section?

Just copy it again in the review section. So we know where to find it...

[omarcomarco]

kool thread. kool watches. :)

[JCJM]

EDIT 30.3.2010:

I have just received some tangible information on the series from Japan. First a correction - the one that got MIA did not posses a "HIMALAYA" dial but either the "MIRROR" or "UPLITE" dial. This can be deduced from the following facts:

1. the "HIMALAYA" variant actually has the word written boldly on the dial - the one that got MIA did not have this
2. the "GYOSHE" variant most likely means Guilloshe finish, which again, the one that got MIA did not have either
3. the "BLACKOUT" dial refers to (for me) previously unseen variant with its dial finished like the Explorer Blackout

Other bits of info: there are at least two variants of the Space-Ranger - the one shown in this thread and a white one which is a negative of the Explorer Blackout mentioned above: modern font black 3-6-9 markers on white dial with lumed batons on 10-11-1-2-4-5-7-8 and big lumed triangle on 12. This has the wording Space-Ranger where the "regular" blackout homage continues under the name ExpIevo. The black ExpIevo version of the blackout comes with either white or blue hash markings and text - if there are other colors that I am not aware of.

For reference see the pictured watch on the background on the right lower corner - the actual watch in the pic is the ExpIevo "GYOSHE":





Now, based on the fact that the one that got MIA did not posses a noticeably shiny or glittery dial I gather it was a model with the "UPLITE" dial. Whether this is a fact or not can not be validated yet. So, what have we learnt from this update? Apparently not much - the series remains a mystery. I suspect that the series keeps further evolving and whilst it has been taken off the RXW´s website I further suspect they continue being both manufactured and sold in small quantities as we speak. - I cannot validate this but I strongly suspect it.

I have also seen a picture of a ExpIevo with modern font 3-6-9 which resembles an awful lot the last true Explorer before the horrid monster unveiled at BASEL 2010. It may however be that it is the aforementioned "BLACKOUT" model angled so on the pic that the 3-6-9 reflect ambient light. I simply do not know :?:

For reference, again please see the pictured watch on the background on the left lower corner - the actual watch in the pic is the ExpIevo "GYOSHE":





What else... Well, I now have two of these - the Space-Ranger with mineral crystal and the Gyosho with dome acrylic. The acrylic rocks, not only because of its better looks but also because it makes the dial "sunk" a bit making the markings and hands look smaller and blend in better with the overall design of the case etc. - I just like to looks better on it. See for yourself and compare to the pics of the Space-Ranger in the opening post. It really looks bigger than the "GYOSHE" because the dial appears to be closer and the markings appear bigger despite the fact that they share the same 36,8mm case.


Over lighted



Under lighted


About right...



Something in between :lol:



What else... There are variations on the markings of the crown and bracelets - the S-R has the regular RXW "Helmet" logo on both whereas the ExpIevo Gyosho has big crosses. The one that got MIA also portrayed the "helmet" design which I find much more adorable for two reasons. First because it kinda payes homage to the actual Rolex logo and makes the overall look of the watch appear more "explorer-like" on a good way. Second, whilst the logo is a tribute to the actual logo of the original maker of the watch the ExpIevo series gives tribute to, it is clearly distinguishable and can be linked to old Japanese "industrial design" as shown on the opening post. These watches are not Rolex Explorer copies. They command a flair of their own.

What´s not to like? Well, some may not like the movement much (ETA 2601) and I dislike the fact that the ExpIevo Gyoshos bacelet has a divers extension on the bracelet (unlike the one that got MIA and S-R). This I do not fancy on a "explorer" and will replace it with a riveted RXW bracelet once I can locate one. That is easier said than done, but, persistence is the key :bigsmurf:

Thanks,

[Huertecilla]

'OFFICIALLY CHRONOMEISTER SUPERLATIVE PRECISION' :lol: Watch is kinda cool though.

With a chunk of space-cake .....

[jwg663]

EDIT 30.3.2010:



2. the "GYOSHE" variant most likely means Guilloshe finish, which again, the one that got MIA did not have either


Thanks,

.
.
Didn't I post that on the 6th of March?
Yes, I did, bottom of page 1.
I am officially a smartass :wink: :wink: :wink:
.
.

[wildheart]

Post of the year so far Jussi, you ROCK and so does your watch! :lol:

Paul

[JCJM]

EDIT 30.3.2010:



2. the "GYOSHE" variant most likely means Guilloshe finish, which again, the one that got MIA did not have either


Thanks,

.
.
Didn't I post that on the 6th of March?
Yes, I did, bottom of page 1.
I am officially a smartass :wink: :wink: :wink:
.
.

Yup, you did. Sorry for not mentioning that I would not had made the connection myself.

Post of the year so far Jussi, you ROCK and so does your watch! :lol:

Paul

Man... what ever you are on do not stop taking it :D

Thanks,

[jwg663]

EDIT 30.3.2010:



2. the "GYOSHE" variant most likely means Guilloshe finish, which again, the one that got MIA did not have either


Thanks,

.
.
Didn't I post that on the 6th of March?
Yes, I did, bottom of page 1.
I am officially a smartass :wink: :wink: :wink:
.
.

Yup, you did. Sorry for not mentioning that I would not had made the connection myself.

.
.
That's alright, Jussi, you're obviously delirious with joy. Remember to take your tablets :wink: :wink: :wink:
.
.

[Karl]

8) 8) 8) thanks for the update Jussi appreciate you hunting down the info on these i'm facinated by it all. Please post pics of the new one if you can.

[JCJM]

8) 8) 8) thanks for the update Jussi appreciate you hunting down the info on these i'm facinated by it all. Please post pics of the new one if you can.

Check beginning of page 3.

[Daddelvirks]

Brilliant 8)
Thanks!

Cheers,

Daddel.

[Richierm257]

Just stumbled upon this thread and so glad i did , Thanks a great post. :)

[angeche]

Veeery interesting Jussi 8) . The more I see of the Ken Sato watches, the more I like them... :)

[Huertecilla]

Veeery interesting Jussi 8) . The more I see of the Ken Sato watches, the more I like them... :)

So do I.
I particularly like the parody game Mr.Sato plays.
Because they are so well made, his watches are one realy thick 'peseta'.
His space-cake branding is só relativating.
He materialises a wonderfully fresh flippant version of the realy rich one Seiko pulled on the Swiss with their certified chronometers.

[Ross Povey]

Great post. I'm intrigued by these watches, such a lot of dedication to quality. The Zerograph posted here earlier in the month was interesting too!

Ross

[Captain Morgan]

Thanks this is a really interesting thread, I've always been slightly indifferent to homage pieces. This has made me stop and question this, and I thank you for that.

I'm now pondering the posability of a high quality homage for myself.

[Finch]

What a wonderful thread,bad thing is that Jussis Expievo is gone,especially not to me :roll: ,
was skint as usual. :evil:

I do have some more nfos about the Space-Ranger line.
As always there have been 200 built,only 30 in white. :)
The Expievos are all black.

Here´s my Whitey! :D

[BruceS]

Fantastic post! Really enjoyed it.

Cheers,
Bruce