Rolex Rolex - 224270-0001 Explorer 40 Stainless Steel

Explorer 40 Stainless Steel

REF. 224270-0001

1/10

Widely produced

Case

MaterialStainless Steel

Diameter40 mm

ShapeRound

CrystalSapphire

Case backClosed

Water resistance100 m

Dial

ColourBlack

IndexesMixed Hands: Stick

HandsStick

Movement

Caliber3230

Typeautomatic

Reserve70 h

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In Context

At 40 mm it is sized to the current mainstream: 40 mm is the median across every watch measured in this catalogue. The case back is closed, so the movement stays out of sight, and the sapphire crystal will resist everything short of deliberate abuse. 100 m is genuine swimming resistance — more than the shape of this watch suggests it would need.

The movement winds itself from the motion of your wrist. 70 hours of reserve is enough to set it down on Friday evening and find it still running on Monday. At 28,800 vph the seconds hand advances 8 times a second.

224270-0001 stands on its own in this catalogue — no other reference here shares its base number. It pairs a black dial with a stainless steel case. Introduced in 2023.

Inside: Caliber 3230

Explore this caliber →

The 3230 is the no-date version of Rolex's current three-hand movement, introduced in 2020 for the Oyster Perpetual, the Submariner and the Air-King. It powers 37 watches in this library. It is the [3235](/calibers/rolex-3235) without its calendar: the Chronergy escapement, the blue Parachrom hairspring, Paraflex shock absorbers, a 70-hour reserve from a redesigned barrel, 31 jewels and a beat of 28,800 vph at 28.5 mm across, tested after casing to the Superlative Chronometer standard of two seconds a day. The [3135-to-3235 piece](/blog/rolex-3135-to-3235-what-changed) explains the generation. In the library it powers 16 references of the 41 mm [Oyster Perpetual](/brands/rolex/oyster-perpetual), 14 of the [Oyster Perpetual 36](/brands/rolex/oyster-perpetual-36) with its coloured dials, 3 Explorers, 2 [Sea-Dweller](/brands/rolex/sea-dweller) Deepsea Challenges at 50 mm, one no-date [Submariner](/brands/rolex/submariner) and one Air-King. The 41 mm case accounts for 17 references and the 36 mm for 16. The [3130](/calibers/rolex-3130) is the 48-hour no-date movement it replaced, and the [2232](/calibers/rolex-2232) its counterpart in the 28 mm to 34 mm Oyster Perpetuals.

36 other watches in the library run the Rolex 3230.