As of July 2026, a pre-owned Rolex Explorer 36 starts around £5,400–£5,475 for a steel 114270 bought privately and about £6,200 for the current 124270; the two-tone 124273 sits near £8,350 and the vintage 1016 around £10,500. The Explorer II runs from roughly £5,750 for an older 16570 to about £11,450 for the current 226570, with the vintage 1655 “Steve McQueen” a collector piece at £15,350–£26,995.
These are typical UK market asking prices (dealers such as Watchfinder and Chrono24, box and papers), gathered late July 2026. They are the wider open market — Chrono6538 sells fully authenticated, checked and guaranteed examples, which sit at a premium to a bare private-sale floor. Treat them as market context, not our price list. The Explorer and Explorer II are two different watches, so the figures below are split by model and reference.
What does a steel Explorer 36 cost?
| Model / reference | Entry / floor (older, honest condition) | Sought-after / current example |
|---|---|---|
| Explorer 36 steel (114270) | from ~£5,475 | Current 124270 ~£6,200 |
| Explorer 36 two-tone (124273) | ~£8,350 | Steel + yellow gold, 2021– |
| Explorer 36 vintage (1016) | ~£10,500 | Condition- and dial-driven |
| Explorer II steel (16570 / 216570) | ~£5,750–11,450 | Current 226570 top of range |
| Explorer II vintage “Steve McQueen” (1655) | £15,350–26,995 | Collector tier |
The steel Explorer 36 is the purest Rolex there is — no date, no bezel, just a black dial. An older 114270 sits around £5,400–£5,475, and the current 124270 near £6,200. The 2021 two-tone 124273, in steel and yellow gold, was a genuine surprise from Rolex and sits higher at about £8,350; clean vintage 1016 references reach around £10,500.
What about the Explorer II?
The Explorer II is the larger 40–42 mm watch with a fixed 24-hour bezel and an orange (or black) GMT hand. Older references such as the 16570 begin around £5,750, the current 226570 — in black or the “Polar” white dial — reaches about £11,450, and the vintage 1655 “Steve McQueen” is a collector market of its own at £15,350–£26,995.
Why is there such a range?
Model, reference, size and dial. The plain Explorer 36 sits at the floor; two-tone and current Explorer II references sit higher; and the sought-after vintage 1016 and 1655 references are priced on condition, originality and dial variant rather than spec. Box and papers add a few hundred pounds on any of them.
Has the Explorer held its value?
The Explorer has been a quiet, steady value-holder — less hyped than the Submariner or GMT, which has kept it stable rather than volatile. The Explorer II Polar and the vintage references have the most collector interest. That is descriptive, not a promise; values can fall as well as rise. This is not investment advice; buy the one you want to wear and pay a fair price against the ranges above.
Where to buy
Browse authenticated pre-owned Rolex Explorer and Explorer II models at Chrono6538. Every piece is checked and guaranteed before it is offered.