Another Friday, another list. This week, we follow up on last week’s list of the top five Rolex GMT-Master II alternatives with the best alternatives to the Rolex Explorer II. It’s a logical step since the two models offer much of the same functionality. But they are inherently different watches in terms of presence and character. The GMT-Master tells the story of Pan Am’s pioneering aviation history. The Explorer II story is much more niche, focusing on spelunking, or cave exploration. Despite that, the watch has become another defining timepiece in the brand’s collection. But what if you are not a fan of the current Rolex Explorer II? We have created a list of our top five alternatives. Check it out.
In last week’s article on GMT-Master II alternatives, some people mentioned that they don’t love the rotating bezel with two colors for night and day. I completely understand. While I love that aesthetic when executed well, I also love the more stripped-down look of an Explorer II-type GMT with a fixed stainless steel bezel. That’s why I was more than happy to write up our list of five great alternatives to the Rolex Explorer II. Without further ado, let’s find out what our five picks are.
Grand Seiko SBGE285 “Mist Flake”
Our first pick was a no-brainer. The Grand Seiko SBGE285 “Mist Flake” made an immediate impact when it debuted in 2022. I adore this watch, but so does Lex, and he even wrote a love letter explaining why. The Mist Flake actually beat the Explorer II in one of our Sunday Morning Showdown installments. It features a 41mm by 48.3mm case with a 13.9mm profile. While the substantial thickness might imply a chunky watch, it certainly doesn’t wear like one.
There are two main reasons. First, Grand Seiko uses lightweight titanium for the Mist Flake, which makes it super easy to wear. Additionally, the watch is part of the brand’s Evolution 9 series, which features modern, beautifully sculpted cases that sit remarkably well on the wrist. As a result, the SBGE285 is a wonderful modern GMT.
The lovely, sculpted case is combined with an equally nice dial. The Mist Flake dial is a poetic grayish white that makes it look almost mystical. Its combination of shade and texture is simply wonderful, adding great depth and presence to the watch. Additionally, it is the perfect backdrop for the hands and indexes. I love those sharp and nicely sculpted lume-filled hour markers. The double marker at noon, in particular, is a design statement.
The Mist Flake dial looks almost mystical
Hovering over the dial are a wonderful cut-off hour hand, a razor-sharp minute hand, a super-thin seconds hand, and an arrow-shaped GMT hand. If you look closely, you will see the arrow-shaped tip is also cut off. It helps create a handset that matches the indexes perfectly and gives the watch great character. Rounding out the dial is the power reserve indicator. While its inclusion and placement are often debated, I think it is integrated well and doesn’t stand out too much.
The discontinued SBGE283
Powering this watch is Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive caliber 9R66. It has a smoothly sweeping seconds hand that is a joy to see hovering over the dial. The flyer-style GMT caliber offers a 72-hour power reserve with an impressive accuracy of ±15 seconds per month. It is the perfect powertrain for this modern GMT that costs €9,500. Grand Seiko also offered the black-dial SBGE283, but unfortunately, it has been discontinued. It has left us with only the SBGE285, but I would not call that punishment, as it is one of the most impressive GMT watches currently out there.
Tudor Black Bay Pro
An obvious choice for this list is the Tudor Black Bay Pro. If you are a regular Fratello reader, you will know that I have a soft spot for this watch. When it first came out in 2022, I wasn’t sure what to make of the Black Bay Pro. Its aesthetic clearly shows inspiration from the Explorer II ref. 1655, one of my three favorite Rolex models of all time. That meant I had to come to grips with the fact that Tudor had used the “Freccione” to create a new GMT. However, a short hands-on experience immediately changed my perspective. As it turns out, the designers did a great job of injecting the design with enough modern Tudor cues to make it feel like more than a copy.
While I was a bit skeptical at first, the Black Bay Pro was an instant hit for Tudor. That’s why the brand also added the white opaline version in 2025. When that came out, I wrote a lengthy piece expressing my love for the Black Bay Pro and addressing the one gripe that people have with it. The watch has a 39mm stainless steel case with a 47mm lug-to-lug and, crucially for some, a 14.6mm total thickness. Because of this, it is rather chunky, which holds a lot of people back from buying one. Furthermore, Tudor has proven with the Black Bay 58 GMT that it has the caliber and the chops to design a thinner Black Bay Pro.
Wearing it makes all the difference
That said, I spent a large portion of 2024 wearing the Black Bay Pro, and its chunky presence never fazed me. Granted, I am a big guy, and the watch fits my 18.5cm (7.3″) wrist well. So while I would also prefer a thinner Black Bay Pro, it is still a great watch as it is. I love the job the Tudor designers did with the dial. By using 3D lume blocks as indexes and fitting the watch with Tudor’s signature Snowflake handset, the Black Bay Pro becomes inherently different from the Rolex Explorer II. A detail I have always loved about the Black Bay Pro is the dark yellow color of the GMT hand, which complements the hue of the lume markers.
In both Black Bay Pro models, Tudor uses its MT5652 caliber. This is a COSC-certified chronometer movement with a silicon balance spring and a 70-hour power reserve. It is a fitting flyer-style caliber for the Black Bay Pro. As mentioned, though, if Tudor decides to create a follow-up, the METAS Master Chronometer caliber MT5450-U seems like a logical upgrade that would allow for a thinner case. Until that happens, the Tudor Black Bay Pro, at €4,600 on a bracelet, is still a great pick if you are looking for a GMT with a fixed stainless steel bezel.
Christopher Ward C63 Sealander GMT
Christopher Ward offers multiple great, affordable alternatives to the Rolex Explorer II. We could have picked the recently introduced C63 Sealander Extreme GMT, which falls into the same category. But as I stated in my review of that watch, on a strap, it looks more like the Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT, while the likeness to the Explorer II becomes more apparent on the stainless steel bracelet. That’s why we picked a different duo from the same collection that does have that typical Explorer II aesthetic. It makes both the 36mm and 39mm Christopher Ward C63 Sealander GMT the perfect next picks for this list.
We had both sizes in the office to compare them side by side and find out which is better. In the end, though, it’s not about that because both are great competent GMTs. It’s all about personal preference when it comes to size. I will say that I thought that the smaller 36mm model has better proportions, on top of being slightly slimmer. Just for a quick comparison, the 36mm model has an 11.15mm thickness and a 43mm length, while the 39mm version has an 11.85mm profile and a 45.8mm lug-to-lug. Both come with a white dial, although Christopher Ward also offers them with a blue dial. If you ask us, though, the crisp white-dial version is the one to get.
It is hard to top these two GMTs
All the C63 Sealander GMT models house the Sellita SW330-2 caliber. This automatic movement operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offers a 56-hour power reserve. As it is a caller-style GMT, it doesn’t offer the practicality of adjusting the local time separately. Having said that, it is a reliable choice of movement for these two GMTs. Christopher Ward offers the watches on a leather strap, a rubber strap, or the brand’s five-row Consort or three-row Bader bracelets. Our favorite is the Oyster-style Bader bracelet, which is one of the best in the industry, especially at this watch’s price point.
And that is where things get really interesting. The 36mm C63 Sealander GMT and its 39mm brother each cost €1,350 on the Bader bracelet. At that price point, it is hard to find a better-made GMT that offers the same quality and comfort. It makes these two C63 Sealander GMTs great options if you are looking for an affordable alternative to the Rolex Explorer II.
Seiko 5 Sports SSK023
Going into the list, I expected Seiko to offer multiple options, including the Seiko Alpinist GMT series. To my surprise, though, that series was discontinued in 2025, despite it not even having remained in the collection for a full two years. That made choosing a watch for this list easier, though. Another affordable option that has gotten quite a bit of praise is the Seiko 5 Sports GMT series based on the brand’s field watch. Seiko released the stainless steel SSK023 and the fully black SSK025 in late 2023, much to fans’ delight. We picked the stainless steel SSK023 because it is more popular and suits this list better.
The SSK023 has a 39.4mm case with a 13.6mm thickness and a 47.9mm lug-to-lug, as Nacho explained. Its field-watch-style case gets the GMT treatment through a 24-hour scale on the fixed steel bezel. The black dial features large numerals for the hours and a smaller 13–24h scale, maintaining the style of a classic military field watch. Hovering over the dial are the regular hands for the hours, minutes, and seconds, as well as a large orange GMT hand.
The perfect affordable daily wearer
Inside the case, Seiko uses its in-house 4R34 caliber. This automatic movement runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour and offers a 41-hour power reserve. Finishing the watch’s look in style is a five-row stainless steel bracelet that makes the SSK023 an absolute joy to wear.
Coming in at €460, the Seiko 5 Sports SSK023 is the most affordable option on this list. But for the price, you get a competent two-time-zone watch that can take a beating while also looking handsome. That makes this the perfect, affordable daily wearer.
Nodus × Raven TrailTrekker Clay
If you are looking for the typical Explorer II look with a twist, the Nodus × Raven TrailTrekker Clay might be the right pick for you. I greatly enjoyed spending time with the TrailTrekker when we had it in the office. I must admit that I was somewhat skeptical because, at first glance, it looks a lot like a gray-green Explorer II.
As soon as the watch landed on my desk, I could see the inspiration from the Explorer II, but it also looked and felt distinct. The TrailTrekker is the result of a collaborative effort between Nodus and Raven, and it contains signature details from both brands that have merged very nicely.
It all starts with the 39.5mm by 46.6mm case with an 11.8mm profile. The case is made of stainless steel with a gunmetal-gray DLC coating. Its fixed stainless steel bezel has a slightly greener hue due to its Cerakote treatment, which adds a nice touch. The engraved numerals filled with black lacquer and the black crown keep things pretty stealthy. The dark gray dial, which almost looks green, also features black hour markers filled with sand-colored Super-LumiNova for proper contrast. The three main brushed stainless steel hands and the dark yellow GMT hand with its cut-off tip also help provide optimum legibility.
The TrailTrekker is a wonderful twist on the Explorer II
Inside the case, Nodus and Raven chose the Miyota 9075 caliber, which also powers the Nodus Contrail GMT. This movement has become the go-to option for microbrands that want to offer an affordable flyer-style GMT. It operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offers a 42-hour power reserve. It is an ideal powertrain for the TrailTrekker. Finishing the stealthy look in style is the stainless steel flat-link bracelet, which also features a gunmetal-gray DLC coating. The bracelet tapers nicely from 20mm to 16mm and features a micro-adjustable NodeX push-button clasp.
It is the perfect bracelet for this impressive Nodus × Raven TrailTrekker Clay. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the TrailTrekker because it proved that it’s more than just a green-gray Explorer II copy. All the details, like the dial design, the hands, the flat-link bracelet, the crown, and the date window at 6 o’clock, make this watch very different. And yes, the gunmetal-gray color also lets the watch show its inspiration from the Explorer II without being defined by it. At US$900, the Nodus × Raven TrailTrekker Clay is the perfect fifth and last entry for this list.
Final thoughts on our five alternatives for the Rolex Explorer II
There you have it — our five favorite Rolex Explorer II alternatives in 2026. Obviously, there are many more to choose from. But that is why I want to turn the question to you. What are some of your favorite alternatives to the Rolex Explorer II? Let us know in the comments below, and we will see you next week for next week’s list, where we will share our favorite releases from February 2026.
Jorg Weppelink
2026-02-27 10:00:00