Wearing my first Rolex again, the Air King

Feb 18, 2013,17:13 PM
 

I was inspired by the recent post by iim7v7im7 with his initial impressions of his newly acquired Rolex Yacht Master 116622 with a blue dial ( Please click here for the Yacht Master post)

 It's a beautiful looking watch and the blue dial reminded me of my very first Rolex: the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air King.  This is actually my one and only Rolex in my small watch collection.  It was back in 1998 when I first started getting into watches and my AD had a large variety of Rolex's on display.  I still remember how I was captivated by the stunning blue dial.  It had a iridescent dark bluish color that changed between shades of dark blue and bright metallic blue depending on the viewing angle.  The blue dial had a soleil sunburst pattern which really made the dial stand out. 





The dial is very simple and that's one of the other features that I really liked about the Air King.  It has a simple display of hours minutes and center sweep sends.  The hour and minute hands have a thin stripe of luminous material.  The hour markers on the dial are white gold with both polished and brushed faceted angles.  Near the edge of the dial are small luminous dots that glows fairly bright and makes it easy to tell time at night.  These luminous dots are tritium but they haven't really yellowed and have stayed a whitish color.
At 12 o'clock there is the famous Rolex crown marker.  There's not much writing on the dial itself, just the ROLEX logo with Oyster Perpetual, Air-King on the upper half of the dial; and the words 'precision' on the bottom half.




At the time I purchased the Air King, I was also considering the Rolex Explorer which had a date display.  But I didn't like the cyclops magnifier on the crystal because it seemed to distort the date when I viewed it other than straight on. 






The sapphire glass is fairly thick and has a slight bezel around the outer edge.  It sticks up a few millimeters above the bezel.  Even with all the things I've done with the watch during daily wear, the crystal is still in great shape without any major chips or cracks.  It's held up very well.





The movement inside the Air King is the Rolex Caliber 3130 which is also used in other Rolex watches.  Power reserve is good for nearly 55 hours and water resistance is 100m.  I've taken it to several trips to Hawaii and it survived my kayaking adventures with no problems.
I have to admit that having owned this watch for over 15 years, I've never had it serviced.  It's been used extensively as a daily wear tool watch.  And impressively enough my Air King has been absolutely bulletproof.  It just keeps running fine and keeping perfect time even though the past few years it's been rarely worn on my wrist and  now spends time on a Swiss Cubic winder in the safe.  

 






The diameter of the Air King is 34mm which is considered small these days.  I tend to prefer 39-42mm watches now but even wearing the 34mm it still fits and looks good on my small wrist.  The Air King is somewhat thin at approx 11mm in thickness and it fits easily under my long sleeve shirts.

 






One of the things that I didn't quite like about my Air King is the bracelet.  Even though the links themselves are solid stainless steel it still wiggles around a bit.  The oyster bracelet has a brushed finish and comes with a folding deployant clasp.  It has been functioning well and I've never had it open unexpectedly. 











I'm going to wear my Air King for the next few days and then I'm going to send it in to Rolex Service Center for a good long deserved spa treatment.





Regards,
ED-209


More posts: 1166223130Air KingBubble BackExplorerOyster PerpetualYacht Master

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Thanks, I haven't wore it in quite some time....

 
 By: ED209 : February 18th, 2013-18:16
And it brings back fond memories. I'm enjoying wearing it again. Thanks for reading the post. Regards, ED-209

The Air King was my first higher end watch

 
 By: docsnov : February 18th, 2013-18:06
and I bought it 1998 as well. It is also my only Rolex, has a black dial and is 34mm as well. I don't know how many models there were at the time, but the indices and the bezel are different on my model. I pulled the watch out a few months ago and started... 

Your Air King

 
 By: ED209 : February 18th, 2013-18:19
Hi Stewart, Very cool to hear that the similarities between our Rolex experiences! I remember seeing other Air King models with the fluted and some in smooth bezels with different colored dials. I like the black dial too. Thanks for reading the post. Rega... 

Thanks for sharing these images

 
 By: iim7v7im7 : February 18th, 2013-18:35
My blue dial looks different depending on the lighting... ...  

The blue dial

 
 By: ED209 : February 18th, 2013-22:33
Hi iim7v7im7, Nic pics of your Rolex YM, I like how you captured the variances in the blue color. And I like the red text and red colored minute hand to contrast the blue dial and platinum bezel. Regards, ED-209

re: first

 
 By: DRMW : February 18th, 2013-20:48
Cool piece ED209! -MW

Thanks DRMW, for some strange reason I'm iching for another Rolex

 
 By: ED209 : February 18th, 2013-21:26
That Rolex Yacht Master II is pretty sweet! I'll keep you posted. Regards, ED-209

I like the blue dial and the bezel Ed...

 
 By: dreamer8 : February 18th, 2013-20:58
are you going to ask for a full case polish, partial light polish or keep the case as is ? A keeper IMHO ED. Cheers,dreamer

I've been thinking about that too

 
 By: ED209 : February 18th, 2013-21:25
Thanks dreamer8, I've been thinking about the service and asking myself if I want to do a full polish to make it look like new, or just have it serviced and cleaned up. I'm leaning towards just the movement service and clean up. I like the little scratche... 

Just a movement service ED if it's my watch

 
 By: dreamer8 : February 18th, 2013-21:35
Polishing would remove too much metal and the lugs are very slender on this model compared to eg. the subs. Cheers,dreamer

The Air King is certainly a nice " first " step in the Rolex World.

 
 By: amanico : February 18th, 2013-22:53
The problem is that, being a first step, you will undisputably have others... They are so addictive! Congratulations, my friend. Best, Nicolas

Then the next step is.... sub? YM II?

 
 By: ED209 : February 19th, 2013-17:44
Any suggestions Nicholas? Regards, ED-209

Modern or Vintage?

 
 By: amanico : February 19th, 2013-18:32
In the modern " possibilities ", I would suggest the YM, which is a very original choice, a Milgauss, for its touch of madness, or some classic choices such as the Sub, or the GMT, or... Both. Or... Why not, an Explorer II 16 570. ;) In the Vintage world,... 

Definitely modern for the next one

 
 By: ED209 : February 19th, 2013-19:13
Leaning towards the YM. Will have to stop by the local AD to check out the offerings. Will let you know :) Regards, ED-209

I am more and more convinced by the Blue YM.

 
 By: amanico : February 19th, 2013-19:20
Not that I will change my Pt dialed YM for it, but I would gladly add the blue... Best, Nicolas

Made my day

 
 By: speedbird : February 20th, 2013-08:52
This post made my day. Thanks so much! I wear a 5500 AK and while my Subs and GMTs tend to be sold on, the AK is my keeper. My 5500 is a birth year watch and the AD who originally sold it, serviced it for its entire life. Never polished but always lovingl... 

I would like to see your 5500 Air King

 
 By: ED209 : February 21st, 2013-23:19
Hi speedbird, Thanks for the response. Very cool that your your 5500 Air King was your birth year and month watch! That is a fantastic story and definitely a keeper. Would like to see pics and wristshots of your watch. Regards, ED-209