Why Air King is such an unpopular reference?

[MinMay]

no numeric dial for me...i think it's ugly.

[Fat_ninja]

If the airKing starts becoming hard to get...im quiting this hobby

[jlovda]

Originally Posted by Zakalwe

If only they replaced the “3”, “6” and “9” with “15”, “30” and “45” - it’d still be a niche watch with limited appeal, but I think it’d look cool and the design would be coherent. As it is, it’s a bit odd. Neither fish nor fowl as far as the dial goes.

I agree. The three big silver numbers kill it. And they didn't even fill these big numbers with lume.

[Krash]

2 strikes. The 3, 6, 9 digits are an issue for me. Plus, I think minute digits like 5, 55, etc. belong on the bezel. My first impression when I saw this watch was WTF is going on here, and I just can’t get over it.


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[jackcarls0n]

Give it a bit of time and soon it will be popular. This one as per few ADs is getting hard to get too. Or maybe the ADs are just banking on any Rolex and want to just go by the Rolex ways of doing things.

[Roy7]

Love it. I got one for my father in law, and super happy with it.

Pictures don’t do it justice.




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[111forza]

Great watch and yes the dial is so NOT Rolex. Exactly the reason I like it so much.




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[6scape]

Not being popular is exactly the reason why I like this piece. It's not boring, it's dynamic and it has a youthful heart.

Regards.

[Monty22]

I love it as well. Much better looking in person


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[Tqmb79]

I was looking at this but ended up with the new explorer 1. Classic. But I agree this is non conventional for Rolex and could hold value down the line due to that.


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[Maxy]

Air King wears so better than 214270. 1mm difference and being thicker gives it lot of wrist presence! Explorer should have been in this case!

[jsausley]

If the 3/6/9 said 15/30/45 I'd be all about it, but all of the different typefaces on one dial turns me off.

[Tqmb79]

Originally Posted by jsausley

If the 3/6/9 said 15/30/45 I'd be all about it, but all of the different typefaces on one dial turns me off.

Exactly. Very confusing watch. The numbers on the dial are just odd


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[wisguy]

Too much going on, it can't decide what it wants to be.

[Pauln]

Don’t care for the dial. Very busy and less aesthetically pleasing than Explorer or OP.

[Calatrava r]

Was any Air King popular? Perhaps the name is off.

[BlackRose]

Three Rolex in collection already? Wouldn’t waste time/$ on Air King. It can’t compare to the three you already have.


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[JMtimes5]

It really is in the eye of the beholder. I love the classic Air-King text, the yellow coronet and the green Rolex text.
YMMV :)
Peace!






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[alphasports]

Originally Posted by Zakalwe

If only they replaced the “3”, “6” and “9” with “15”, “30” and “45” - it’d still be a niche watch with limited appeal, but I think it’d look cool and the design would be coherent. As it is, it’s a bit odd. Neither fish nor fowl as far as the dial goes.

Exactly my comment in another thread somewhere, might make all the difference but all numbers would have to be lumed. I had one for a couple of weeks but fell out of love pretty fast. Between the incoherent markers and almost zero lume it's an odd duck. Plus it's a thick, heavy beast.

[Mwilsey103]

Recently sold my AK to purchase a Sub with date my dream watch. I was lucky enough to find the Sub at an AD who received it that morning. Have to admit I miss the Air-King. It was very comfortable on wrist and it didn’t scream Rolex. Yes the dial is busy and yes the lum is minimal, but it was a great daily wearer. If funds permit I may pick up another one

[blue997]

The old Air King is so gorgeous. The modern one is way too busy

[chloebear]

If you are driving through Fort Smith, Arkansas, my local AD here has two of them in the case. I tried it on and liked it quite a bit.

[RobearH]

Originally Posted by chloebear

If you are driving through Fort Smith, Arkansas, my local AD here has two of them in the case. I tried it on and liked it quite a bit.

I believe most AD's have one of these in the case and the TRF disdain for the watch I can see why!

I generally like the originality of watch dial but agree with those 3,6,9, non lume #'s comments.

[Scholar]

I don't mind the busy dial; it's fun in a way (and it's not busy at all compared to the hideous dials that say ROLEX all over them), however the almost complete lack of lume kills it. They could have used luminous paint for the minute markers, for instance, like they do on the Tudor Ranger and that would have solved the problem.

[Cabaiguan]

A lot of fonts, colors and busy dial to name a few. I think the AK would look a lot better with a monochromatic theme.


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[georgekart]

I don't like how it looks personally, whole using base 12 mixed with base 60 numerals, green and yellow accents. I think if they got rid of green it could actually look nice with yellow crown and some mixed numerals.

But that shouldn't matter if you like it, after all we all have different tastes.

[torifile]

There are 5 different fonts on that dial. And, for me, the green is too much. I could handle the great Airking text if the second hand weren’t also green.

What does it do better than any other watch? Nothing at all, to my eye. Let’s run through the models it competes with:

OP - nice sport/dress watch. No compromises movement and classic looks
Exp I - stellar lume, incredibly legible and minimalistic
Exp II - GMT hand. Really fun design, also incredibly legible
Sub - icon. Nothing else needed
DJ - it’s got a date. Good “entry level” watch with date and scales well

Where does the Airking fit? Nowhere well. It’s just a mishmash of some of the othe sport models with my least favorite green (I know it’s “Rolex” green but I still don’t like it)

[chrome168]

Air King for me is a very cool watch.

- 40mm
- under the radar piece
- splash of colors give it a funky feel
- value for money since it's housed in a Milgauss anti magnetic case.

[Dr Watches]

This watch has all the ingredients of a desirable watch - it's effectively a fully brushed Milgauss with normal hands. That dial though... uh.

The last Air King had a huge selection of really nice dials. This watch with the old white or blue 369 Explorer dial would be killer.

[chloebear]

Originally Posted by Wizardly

Eye of the beholder, I guess. I like it, especially when I found out that it was modeled after a cockpit stopwatch. I dislike some very popular models that are well-loved here, so go figure.

I'm with you Ernie. I love the Air-King, as well as the Milgauss and Explorer II. All watches that are not uniformly loved. Nice that there are options.

The AK is far nicer looking on the wrist than it is in blown up photos. Amazing value really.