Question for Old Timers

[ShoreGuy]

I seem to remember maybe 50 or 60 years ago that the Rolex Air King was considered to be a "lesser" Rolex because it was made from parts which did not meet the quality control standards to be used in a regular Rolex. Am I mistaken or is my memory correct? I am not casting aspersions on the current day Air King but what was going on in the 1950's.

[Dan Pierce]

No truth whatsoever.
dP

[GradyPhilpott]

I don't have any experience going back to the 50s with Rolex, but I think that it can be safely said that the Air King has never been an inferior watch.

There are many who have tended to relegate the Air King to "starter" status based on price, but even that is fallacious.

[MorningTundra]

What's the story behind the "Canadian Rolex" of the 50s? Is this what the OP might be referring to?


Sent from my cracked, broken, hand wound Phone

[GradyPhilpott]

Originally Posted by MorningTundra

What's the story behind the "Canadian Rolex" of the 50s? Is this what the OP might be referring to?


Sent from my cracked, broken, hand wound Phone

This may be what you're speaking of.

http://www.horologist.com/canadianrolex.htm

[ShoreGuy]

Originally Posted by MorningTundra

What's the story behind the "Canadian Rolex" of the 50s? Is this what the OP might be referring to?


Sent from my cracked, broken, hand wound Phone

No, never heard of a "Canadian" Rolex. Air King is what I remember.

[madmax21]

Originally Posted by MorningTundra

What's the story behind the "Canadian Rolex" of the 50s? Is this what the OP might be referring to?


Sent from my cracked, broken, hand wound Phone

The Canadian Rolex, interesting I had no idea

[vukotab]

Well, I really don't think that there was ever something we could call a "lesser Rolex" or whatsoever...
Heck, I don't even think of Tudor as of a lesser anything, Rolex aside...

It's really best just to enjoy these great watches we all seems to adore and not get obsessed with prices, prestige and such nonsense...

Air King was always a great watch, just as it is now. And "entry level" Oyster Perpetual watches are as good as any stainless steel Rolex watches out there, so, like I already said, it's best just to relax and enjoy these awesome timepieces to the max!

[Birky101]

I find it strange that the Air King is classed as an "entry level Rolex"
I have owned two datejust, three subs many years ago a 6263 but like an IDIOT flipped it and a 5500 Explorer
Now I have a 1997 14000 Air King and now I've had Explorer hour and minute hands fitted it's the best Rolex I've owned so the term "entry level Rolex" is not the case
A Rolex is a Rolex regardless !


Sent from my Harrier Tab from EE using Tapatalk

[Quailhunter]

The 50s... Annette Funicello, Pogo, I Like Ike, Elvis, flat top haircuts, and fall out shelters. Rolex?

[padi56]

Originally Posted by ShoreGuy

I seem to remember maybe 50 or 60 years ago that the Rolex Air King was considered to be a "lesser" Rolex because it was made from parts which did not meet the quality control standards to be used in a regular Rolex. Am I mistaken or is my memory correct? I am not casting aspersions on the current day Air King but what was going on in the 1950's.

Complete and utter boswellocks the only difference in the Airking over the other Rolex watches is that they were not COSC tested at one time,but had exactly the same movement as the ones that were tested.Same for the non date Rolex Sub at one time not COSC tested,but exactly the same movement as the explorer that was COSC tested.And at one the vintage Daytona with the Valjoux 72 movement the SS models were not COSC tested but the gold ones were, but exactly the same movement, it's quite expensive to test every single movement at the COSC.But today all Rolex movements are COSC tested but its mainly for marketing.And today the only difference between most all of the Rolex models is the price, difference in W/R,whether SS or precious metal/precious stones.

The first Airkings were made many decades ago some say the first Airkings were particularly designed for pilots as such but IMHO they were definitely not, but world war 11 did have a part to play with the Airkings development.Today many models are now becoming collectible especially the Airking dates and especially the red date roulette ones.Now before World War 11 Rolex was always popular with many in the armed forces in the UK and commonwealth.Now old Hans being a good business man saw there was a market for a slightly larger watch.Now watches at these times were quite small 30m was the average size.Now Rolex started producing 33m models under the names of Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air Giant and the Airking.They all used then a 15 jewel manual wind movement,then came in steel even a TT plus all gold but mainly in those days 9ct gold.And they were in production from the mid 1940s to early 1950s when they were all suddenly dropped,except for the Airking.Now over the next few years the Air king gained a auto movement and now the same size as OP,and today some of the most sort after Airkings are models like the 1960s 5504 with the honeycombed dial this was a Rolex first.Now the very first Airking date arrived on the scene late 1960s Ref 5700 and then were only sold in Commonwealth countries like Canada and the UK.Now they made a 5700n Explorer Date but that was only sold in the USA.Later 1970s 5701 Airking dates had the cal 1525/35 movements,and they made a TT version of the 5701 quite rare today, but again for the Canadian only market, but the Airking date faded out of production in the 1980s. IMO a shame the Airking has quite a lot of real Rolex watch history, and IMHO is now a very very underrated watch and most certainly not a entry level Rolex.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by padi56

Complete and utter boswellocks the only difference in the Airking over the other Rolex watches is that they were not COSC tested at one time,but had exactly the same movement as the ones that were tested.Same for the non date Rolex Sub at one time not COSC tested,but exactly the same movement as the explorer that was COSC tested.And at one the vintage Daytona with the Valjoux 72 movement the SS models were not COSC tested but the gold ones were, but exactly the same movement, it's quite expensive to test every single movement at the COSC.But today all Rolex movements are COSC tested but its mainly for marketing.And today the only difference between most all of the Rolex models is the price, difference in W/R,whether SS or precious metal/precious stones.

The first Airkings were made many decades ago some say the first Airkings were particularly designed for pilots as such but IMHO they were definitely not, but world war 11 did have a part to play with the Airkings development.Today many models are now becoming collectible especially the Airking dates and especially the red date roulette ones.Now before World War 11 Rolex was always popular with many in the armed forces in the UK and commonwealth.Now old Hans being a good business man saw there was a market for a slightly larger watch.Now watches at these times were quite small 30m was the average size.Now Rolex started producing 33m models under the names of Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air Giant and the Airking.They all used then a 15 jewel manual wind movement,then came in steel even a TT plus all gold but mainly in those days 9ct gold.And they were in production from the mid 1940s to early 1950s when they were all suddenly dropped,except for the Airking.Now over the next few years the Air king gained a auto movement and now the same size as OP,and today some of the most sort after Airkings are models like the 1960s 5504 with the honeycombed dial this was a Rolex first.Now the very first Airking date arrived on the scene late 1960s Ref 5700 and then were only sold in Commonwealth countries like Canada and the UK.Now they made a 5700n Explorer Date but that was only sold in the USA.Later 1970s 5701 Airking dates had the cal 1525/35 movements,and they made a TT version of the 5701 quite rare today, but again for the Canadian only market, but the Airking date faded out of production in the 1980s. IMO a shame the Airking has quite a lot of real Rolex watch history, and IMHO is now a very very underrated watch and most certainly not a entry level Rolex.

Impressive. That's why I joined the forum. Thanks a lot Peter.

[HogwldFLTR]

I agree, great write-up, Peter.

[oldman2005]

Amazing knowledge in Rolex history!

[Mick P]

Originally Posted by ShoreGuy

I seem to remember maybe 50 or 60 years ago that the Rolex Air King was considered to be a "lesser" Rolex because it was made from parts which did not meet the quality control standards to be used in a regular Rolex. Am I mistaken or is my memory correct? I am not casting aspersions on the current day Air King but what was going on in the 1950's.

I have never heard that before and I am 68.

[Gecko10]

Thanks Peter. I have several "commonwealth" PX sold WWE II Era Rolex and a Air King Date I got in Canada. I am 75 and well traveled and have never heard this rumors.



P

[The Joker]

Peter

[Boothroyd]

Peter, your write-ups to questions are always appreciated and one of the very best parts of TRF, IMHO.

[173rdabn]

I had one, really liked it. Certainly wasn't a starter except in the minds of yahoos who wear a Rolex to impress other yahoos

[BristolCavendish]

At $4-5K an Air King can hardly be considered an 'entry-level' watch regardless of its comparative pricing to other more expensive timepieces (Rolex or non-Rolex).

The Air King is essentially a straightforward/no-frills Rolex model (along the lines of an Explorer). The SS/blue-dialed model is especially attractive and though the watch lacks a cyclops/date feature, it's not all that difficult to figure out what day it is on the calendar.

[Blue_Lume]

There was the Earth King, Wind King, Fire King and Air King.

People got confused when going to the store for an R&B album and coming home with a watch - and vise versa -

Rolex agreed to divest the Earth, Wind & Fire trademark and keep Air King for the watch.
Earth, Wind & Fire King didn't have that same pop so they dropped king and the rest is history.

How's your watch?

[HankScorpio]

Like how Keystone Light is just Coors Light that isn't quite up to snuff?

[LuminousMaximus]

Originally Posted by padi56

Complete and utter boswellocks the only difference in the Airking over the other Rolex watches is that they were not COSC tested at one time,but had exactly the same movement as the ones that were tested.Same for the non date Rolex Sub at one time not COSC tested,but exactly the same movement as the explorer that was COSC tested.And at one the vintage Daytona with the Valjoux 72 movement the SS models were not COSC tested but the gold ones were, but exactly the same movement, it's quite expensive to test every single movement at the COSC.But today all Rolex movements are COSC tested but its mainly for marketing.And today the only difference between most all of the Rolex models is the price, difference in W/R,whether SS or precious metal/precious stones.

The first Airkings were made many decades ago some say the first Airkings were particularly designed for pilots as such but IMHO they were definitely not, but world war 11 did have a part to play with the Airkings development.Today many models are now becoming collectible especially the Airking dates and especially the red date roulette ones.Now before World War 11 Rolex was always popular with many in the armed forces in the UK and commonwealth.Now old Hans being a good business man saw there was a market for a slightly larger watch.Now watches at these times were quite small 30m was the average size.Now Rolex started producing 33m models under the names of Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air Giant and the Airking.They all used then a 15 jewel manual wind movement,then came in steel even a TT plus all gold but mainly in those days 9ct gold.And they were in production from the mid 1940s to early 1950s when they were all suddenly dropped,except for the Airking.Now over the next few years the Air king gained a auto movement and now the same size as OP,and today some of the most sort after Airkings are models like the 1960s 5504 with the honeycombed dial this was a Rolex first.Now the very first Airking date arrived on the scene late 1960s Ref 5700 and then were only sold in Commonwealth countries like Canada and the UK.Now they made a 5700n Explorer Date but that was only sold in the USA.Later 1970s 5701 Airking dates had the cal 1525/35 movements,and they made a TT version of the 5701 quite rare today, but again for the Canadian only market, but the Airking date faded out of production in the 1980s. IMO a shame the Airking has quite a lot of real Rolex watch history, and IMHO is now a very very underrated watch and most certainly not a entry level Rolex.

It really is amazing the amount of Rolex info in that brain of yours! Thanks for being you...

[vintage69]

Originally Posted by padi56

Complete and utter boswellocks the only difference in the Airking over the other Rolex watches is that they were not COSC tested at one time,but had exactly the same movement as the ones that were tested.Same for the non date Rolex Sub at one time not COSC tested,but exactly the same movement as the explorer that was COSC tested.And at one the vintage Daytona with the Valjoux 72 movement the SS models were not COSC tested but the gold ones were, but exactly the same movement, it's quite expensive to test every single movement at the COSC.But today all Rolex movements are COSC tested but its mainly for marketing.And today the only difference between most all of the Rolex models is the price, difference in W/R,whether SS or precious metal/precious stones.

The first Airkings were made many decades ago some say the first Airkings were particularly designed for pilots as such but IMHO they were definitely not, but world war 11 did have a part to play with the Airkings development.Today many models are now becoming collectible especially the Airking dates and especially the red date roulette ones.Now before World War 11 Rolex was always popular with many in the armed forces in the UK and commonwealth.Now old Hans being a good business man saw there was a market for a slightly larger watch.Now watches at these times were quite small 30m was the average size.Now Rolex started producing 33m models under the names of Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air Giant and the Airking.They all used then a 15 jewel manual wind movement,then came in steel even a TT plus all gold but mainly in those days 9ct gold.And they were in production from the mid 1940s to early 1950s when they were all suddenly dropped,except for the Airking.Now over the next few years the Air king gained a auto movement and now the same size as OP,and today some of the most sort after Airkings are models like the 1960s 5504 with the honeycombed dial this was a Rolex first.Now the very first Airking date arrived on the scene late 1960s Ref 5700 and then were only sold in Commonwealth countries like Canada and the UK.Now they made a 5700n Explorer Date but that was only sold in the USA.Later 1970s 5701 Airking dates had the cal 1525/35 movements,and they made a TT version of the 5701 quite rare today, but again for the Canadian only market, but the Airking date faded out of production in the 1980s. IMO a shame the Airking has quite a lot of real Rolex watch history, and IMHO is now a very very underrated watch and most certainly not a entry level Rolex.

Hans would have a hissy cow if he discovered that lesser parts were in the Air King. I agree with you. Air Kings are some of the best value watches made.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by LuminousMaximus

It really is amazing the amount of Rolex info in that brain of yours! Thanks for being you...

Yes my brain is like a Rolex watch cupboard I know the knowledge is in there but now must admit it take longer to access it.

[Andad]

I know the feeling....Peter.

Thanks for your detailed post.

[Toivonen]

Originally Posted by ShoreGuy

I seem to remember maybe 50 or 60 years ago that the Rolex Air King was considered to be a "lesser" Rolex because it was made from parts which did not meet the quality control standards to be used in a regular Rolex. Am I mistaken or is my memory correct? I am not casting aspersions on the current day Air King but what was going on in the 1950's.

False
Air King were a choose, together with Air Lion, Air Tiger etc, for RAF pilots
http://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=68607586

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by ShoreGuy

I seem to remember maybe 50 or 60 years ago that the Rolex Air King was considered to be a "lesser" Rolex because it was made from parts which did not meet the quality control standards to be used in a regular Rolex. Am I mistaken or is my memory correct? I am not casting aspersions on the current day Air King but what was going on in the 1950's.

If anything it's the new one that's a bit of a parts bin monster... old explorer indexes, old Milgauss cases, etc...