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Old 19 November 2007, 06:59 AM   #1
entropydave
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1973 Air king

hi folks,
well, coincidently enough the only other person I know who has a Rolex is my mate, who inherited from his dad. It is a 1973 Air king, cost £70 then (is this the right price for this era?), but is subletly different from my new one. Firstly, it has "Precision" on it instead of "superlative chronometer officially certified" on the dial. Also,the crown is larger than mine - but for me the most noticable thing was how much heavier my one is than his - this may be the strap - whereas my strap, although they have the same link shape as mine, the Z-clip is just pressed & stamped pieces of metal - with Rolex stamped on it whereas mine is nicely tooled metal, Rolex engraved and blackened on it, and the components of the Z-clip mate really nicely together - the question I am asking is that would he have the original bracelet on it? Anyone got any pics of the Z-clip on a 70s Z-clip?
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Old 19 November 2007, 08:56 AM   #2
SPACE-DWELLER
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Welcome to TRF, Dave!

Your friends AK sounds like it is just as it should be. The predecessor to the CURRENT AK that you have were marked "Precision" (not COSC - chronometer - rated).

Also, the bracelet style of the old AK was lighter in construction, having NON SEL's (Solid End Links) and bent sheet steel blades in the clasp.

The CURRENT AK (introduced this year) is COSC rated, has SEL's and solid centre links and - as you say - a heavier constructed clasp.

OLD-style AK example:



NEW-style AK example (note also the DOMED bezel style as compared to the "sharp" bezel style of the old AK):





Now, about the price back then, check this list of old prices during the last 50 years:

Rolex Price Evolution! CLICK!

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Old 19 November 2007, 09:01 AM   #3
Thani
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all old models didnt have solid links... they feel very light and nice in my opinion.. ive seen an old rootbeer once and it had the old bracelet.. i thought it was really nice.. plus my soon to be black face self winding SS percision date is like that to (my grandfathers old watch which is at service now)
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Old 19 November 2007, 05:54 PM   #4
entropydave
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Wow fantastic! That's great news as I thought he'd had some non-authorised parts fitted after it took one heckuva pummelling after cascading off a mountain bike which entailed some serious damage to the crown (which was replaced, he said) and the strap was damaged someway - the watch, of course, was fine! Was the crystal acrylic/polycarbonate or sapphire back in those days? He didn't send it Rolex for a fix but to a good jeweller I believe.
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Old 19 November 2007, 07:04 PM   #5
1976
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Sounds fine to me

Based on your description, the bracelet would be a 'folded' one. My 1971 date has the same 'folded' strap:

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Old 19 November 2007, 07:07 PM   #6
Thani
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not really sure but i think the glass was plastic in those days
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Old 19 November 2007, 09:16 PM   #7
1976
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thani View Post
not really sure but i think the glass was plastic in those days
That's right: sapphire crystal was introduced on the Air-King in 1991. Sapphire crystal was first introduced on the Oysterquartz (Beta model) in 1970, after 21 years the Air-King got it.....
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