Rolex collection
Rolex Air-King
6 references, 1 still in production. Open one for its full specification and dial versions.
- References
- 6
- In production
- 1
- Case sizes
- 34–40 mm
- Years made
- 1946–2026
About the collection
The Air-King dates back to the mid-1940s, when Rolex named a series of simple Oyster watches after aviation as a tribute to pilots of the Royal Air Force. For decades it was the entry point to the Oyster range: a plain, time-only watch, with the long-running ref. 5500 the best-known vintage version.
The modern Air-King is a different watch. The ref. 116900 of 2016 brought a 40 mm case, a black dial with large 3, 6 and 9 numerals, a minute track for flight timing and a green and yellow Rolex logo, with a magnetic shield around caliber 3131. The current ref. 126900 of 2022 adds crown guards, a zero before the 5 on the dial and caliber 3230. Dealers separate the two modern references quickly by the crown guards and the dial numerals.