They say you never forget your first love, and for me, that’s the Rolex Explorer I. More specifically, the Explorer reference 1016, which solidified the design language for the line when it debuted in 1959.
It is the watch that made me fall in love with watches and will always be my vintage grail. But Rolex’s not-so-little brother just released the best modern alternative with an update to its own explorer’s watch.
To be fair, Tudor’s new 36mm Ranger is really a return to its original form. The Rolex imprint introduced the Ranger in 1967 as part of the Oyster Prince collection, and it eventually became its own collection in the 1980s.
The Ranger was offered as a more affordable alternative to the Rolex Explorer, mimicking many of its design elements. It had the same steel Oyster case and bracelet, a black dial with beige printed hour markers and a simple dash minutes track.
Tudor’s mountaineering watch differentiated itself by replacing the Mercedes hour hand with the now-signature arrow hand, and the circle lume dot on the lollipop seconds hand with a rectangle. Additionally, a numeral hour marker matching the 3, 6 and 9 replaced the triangle hour marker at 12 o’clock.
The Ranger line was discontinued in 1988 and went on to develop its own mythos and fan base parallel to Rolex’s Explorer I. And even though Tudor revived the collection briefly in 2014 and premaritally in 2022, it hasn’t matched the original dimensions and feel until now.