A mainstay of the Rolex catalog since the early 1950s, the Explorer is both the brand's oldest sports watch still in production, along with being its most understated. As is the norm for long-running models from the brand's catalog, the Rolex Explorer has undergone some notable modifications over its almost seven-decade history while still retaining its fundamental design characteristics. The introduction of the 14270 in the late-1980s ushered in the modern era of the Explorer, succeeded by the 114270 at the start of the new millennium. 2010 marked a major shift for the Rolex Explorer as the newest model sported a noticeably larger 39mm case rather than the once-standard 36mm case diameter.