I bought this watch in late 2010. At the time, I had just took over a wonderful British menswear business called Drake's and I had also launched another business called The Armoury. Michael Drake, the founder of Drake's, and I would chat often and one day the topic of watches came up. He told me he was very excited because he always loved the Rolex Explorer and they were finally making a larger one in 39mm that would fit his considerable frame. Prior to this conversation, I never really had much interest in Rolex but I took Michael's opinions, aesthetic and otherwise, very seriously and so I said I would try and find him a Rolex Explorer 39mm next time I was back in Hong Kong. As I was leaving London to return to Hong Kong, I decided to have a poke around the watch shop at Heathrow and although I couldn't find Michael's 39mm Explorer, I did see this Rolex 114270 Explorer 36mm. It was about 2,800 Pounds duty free and I had never spent that much money on a watch before. Since Michael spoke so positively about the Rolex Explorer, I bought it on the spot.

As for Michael's watch, I did eventually managed to find him one through a friend's dealer in Hong Kong. Back then, you could still get Rolexes a discount and I got him 10% off. Unfortunately when I presented him with the watch in London, we realized the bracelet did not have enough links! The watch was so new that Rolex was not yet selling loose links for this new model of Explorer. Michael dutifully kept it in his drawer and six months later, having eventually purchased the links, he strapped his on, too.

Looking back on this little tale, I think about how much I have benefitted from the wisdom and good taste of others. Had Michael never pointed me towards the Explorer, my life would probably be much different. I encourage everyone to keep your eyes and ears open, especially to those who might know more than you.

This watch accompanied me as I built my businesses and I hope it serves the next owner as well it served me.