Air King Pool Intairdrill logo

[brand_c]

Hey guys, I've been searching for a pool dial Air King 5500 for a long time now and finally found one.

First 2 images are the ones that I'm looking to purchase. The logo is slightly crooked to the right. Does it look like a repainted logo to you guys?


I've also attached two images that I found with a 'perfect logo'.

[Charles Underwood]

Well it looks at least to say "different".
I like the "original" logo better.

[brand_c]

Originally Posted by Charles Underwood

Well it looks at least to say "different".
I like the "original" logo better.

Cant find too much history about it :(

No idea whether it was painted or printed

[Richard Carver]

What would be the motivation for faking an obscure company dial?

[brand_c]

Originally Posted by Richard Carver

What would be the motivation for faking an obscure company dial?

You're probably right. Its my OCD fighting against my rationale since I've been searching high and low for this watch with this logo.

[Richard Carver]

I collect Cotton Bowl Rolex and Tudor, they were used between 1967 and 1976. In studying these watches I've found a very few dials that were obviously not made by Rolex. In thinking it through I believe there were situations where there were not enough watches delivered from Rolex and the logos were applied to locally purchased watches by redialers to make up the shortage.

The dial you show may very well be in the same situation. You can't call it fake, it's just what happened to that watch, it's part of it's history. That dial actually becomes more interesting to me, I love tracking down the stories on these old troopers.

I know OCD can be cruel but think seriously about that one!

[janice&fred]

logo-wise i think you're safe. while it's commonplace to see some Arab logos added to inflate the value and now they even make completely fake tudor Philippine logo watches, i agree that the "P" logo is not anywhere near as sought after as the examples Richard and i mentioned so faking one would not be logical. also, the original rolex script found above the 6:00 position on non-logo dials shows no signs of being erased which would indicate your example is legit.

[brand_c]

Thank you guys for the insights

[Lamone]

Lovely Pool Intaidrill watch.
Richard is spot-on. Many logo dials have imperfections, 60s and 70s technologies were still 'rudimentary' compared to today's.
Worn out 'tampons' (a pad that depends upon the dial to "stamp" a logo) among other factors were the cause for not-so-perfect logos.

Some genuine dials were not stamped by Rolex. Rolex would send out dials without the lower half markings, so that official Rolex representative(s) would later affix logos. From what I have gathered, it was seen/done in the UAE and OMAN, because they were not enough logo watches coming out of Rolex's dial manufacturers (Singer, Beyeler, Stern).

[brand_c]

Originally Posted by Lamone

Lovely Pool Intaidrill watch.
Richard is spot-on. Many logo dials have imperfections, 60s and 70s technologies were still 'rudimentary' compared to today's.
Worn out 'tampons' (a pad that depends upon the dial to "stamp" a logo) among other factors were the cause for not-so-perfect logos.

Some genuine dials were not stamped by Rolex. Rolex would send out dials without the lower half markings, so that official Rolex representative(s) would later affix logos. From what I have gathered, it was seen/done in the UAE and OMAN, because they were not enough logo watches coming out of Rolex's dial manufacturers (Singer, Beyeler, Stern).

Thank you! I guess I just needed some extra set of eyes! Purchased from Cam at Craft and Tailored :)

[joe100]

I read an article on a long-extinct blog about the PI dial. The author tracked down the lady at PI's Texas office who ordered the watches. Not much to say really other than they were award watches and she contacted rolex and they'd send her what she needed. The author had a nice photo the lady sent over of her in her office in the early 80s. The article mostly talked about PI's work in the oil industry. Interesting stuff but the rolex aspect doesn't go much beyond a nice lady in Texas.

[watchcrank]

I see these pop up on the bay and elsewhere time to time. Had one last month in a batch
of parts I bought and sent it down the road. Interesting bits of history on these dials.

[brand_c]

Originally Posted by joe100

I read an article on a long-extinct blog about the PI dial. The author tracked down the lady at PI's Texas office who ordered the watches. Not much to say really other than they were award watches and she contacted rolex and they'd send her what she needed. The author had a nice photo the lady sent over of her in her office in the early 80s. The article mostly talked about PI's work in the oil industry. Interesting stuff but the rolex aspect doesn't go much beyond a nice lady in Texas.

Think I stumbled upon that article when I did my research. Link below:
http://www.watchesandart.com/rolex-l...l-intairdrill/

I find myself very fascinated with these logo dial Rolexes. It works well with my budget and my small wrists as well since these 34mm watches arent that astronomically priced.

My crazy foolish mind is prompting me to buy spare dials for my 5500 AK in preparation for parts scarcity, moisture damage...etc

[uncleluck]

Well I'll go against the grain and say it looks wrong.

It's very wonky, edges all over the place and looking at the globe even that's a mess.

[brand_c]

Yep, I know. I bought it anyways cause I was so fascinated by these corporate dials Air Kings.

Have been enjoying it so far although I suspect that the hands might be newer tritium replacement hands since its so much lighter compared to the tiny lume plots.

The logo honestly does not look that bad in real life.