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Several early references will be made – 4925, 4499 or 6652 – but it’s mostly the subsequent reference 5500, a watch launched in 1957 and produced for more than 30 years, that will give the watch its popularity. A 34mm Oyster case, an automatic calibre 1520 or 1530, a classic look with a clean dial, baton markers and no-nonsense design… The Rolex Air-King 5500 is often considered the little brother to the slightly larger and even more instrumental Explorer 1016. A Rolex Air-King 4925 – image by Sotheby’s Measuring 34mm in diameter, it was rather large back in the days – hence the “King” in the name – but also was a fairly simple time-only watch. One of the brand’s most long-lasting collections, the Air-King was launched in 1945 and intended as an entry-level model, following multiple “Air” watches produced by Rolex during WWII for pilots. The Air-King over the yearsĮven more than the Explorer, the Rolex Air-King tends to be overlooked and less considered than models such as the Submariner, the GMT-Master or the Datejust. Today, we’ll be looking closely at the new Rolex Air-King 126900, a watch that remains sort of an exception within the collection, a watch that retains its overall look, but a watch that has changed more than you might think at first.
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A Destro GMT on one side and a revamp of the most controversial model on the other. This year, however, I personally found the Crown to be a bit more creative than usual – relatively speaking, of course. All in all, typical Rolex way to do things, with a rather conservative evolution of the collection rather than something entirely new. As usual, the Crown split its launches between two highlights (the Air-King and the Lefty GMT-Master II) and some evolutions on existing models. Two weeks ago, during Watches and Wonders, Rolex released its new collection for 2022… Something you hardly have missed, I imagined.