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Old 2 February 2010, 12:17 AM   #1
jon84gt
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The Rolex Air King (Past and present)

Lets get a thread going on these guys and gals! I would like to see some pics with some reference to production years on all the models as well as some variations on the bezel and different band combination's ie the 5501,5500,14010,14000,14000M, 114234,114210 and the 114200, Thanks, Jon
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Old 12 February 2010, 10:29 PM   #2
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My Air King

Mine is a 1995 model 14000.
Purchased in Feb'95 from Alexanders Jewelers in Farnham England.
I wore it daily for about 9 years then it started to loose quite a bit of time and stopped regularly. I did a bit of shallow'ish scuba diving in it wihich I dont think helped either - some condenstation appear under the crysal for a few days after that event - which I bearly recall I was so drunk!
It was well due a service, but I never got round to it - until now!
Just done last week - pretty hefty cost of Ł295 via a high end Jewelers in Glasgow but it went to 'Rolex' in London for the work.
It had a couple of wheels replaced. You could hear it 'whirring' when you gave it a good shake and there was plenty of internal wear.
It's now as good as new and is looking fine !
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Old 13 February 2010, 12:09 AM   #3
dieseldragon
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Airking 5500

This is one of mine, part stripped for restoration. Its from 3rd quarter 1958 and has a butterfly rotor. I think the 3-6-9 dial is quite unusual.

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Old 13 February 2010, 05:02 AM   #4
Widows Son
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quarterblood View Post
Mine is a 1995 model 14000.
Purchased in Feb'95 from Alexanders Jewelers in Farnham England.
I wore it daily for about 9 years then it started to loose quite a bit of time and stopped regularly. I did a bit of shallow'ish scuba diving in it wihich I dont think helped either - some condenstation appear under the crysal for a few days after that event - which I bearly recall I was so drunk!
It was well due a service, but I never got round to it - until now!
Just done last week - pretty hefty cost of Ł295 via a high end Jewelers in Glasgow but it went to 'Rolex' in London for the work.
It had a couple of wheels replaced. You could hear it 'whirring' when you gave it a good shake and there was plenty of internal wear.
It's now as good as new and is looking fine !
Beautiful overhaul!!! No more scuba diving with her, that's an order!! Mine looks similar to yours except mine has a silver dial. The Airkings are a very underrated watch IMHO.
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Old 14 February 2010, 10:25 AM   #5
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Air King 14010 Engine Turned Bezel

Hi Jon,

The Air King has always been one of my favorite Rolex models. I'm not sure if you've read through this excellent link in the Rolex Watch Reviews which pretty much shows all variations of the Air King. I've attached the link nevertheless.

http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=67230

Just some pictures of my 14010 with the engine turned bezel. Acquired locally (Philippines) in 2001 but U serial number dates production around 1997.


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Old 17 February 2010, 01:04 AM   #6
Deyn Man
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quarterblood View Post
Mine is a 1995 model 14000.
Purchased in Feb'95 from Alexanders Jewelers in Farnham England.
I wore it daily for about 9 years then it started to loose quite a bit of time and stopped regularly. I did a bit of shallow'ish scuba diving in it wihich I dont think helped either - some condenstation appear under the crysal for a few days after that event - which I bearly recall I was so drunk!
It was well due a service, but I never got round to it - until now!
Just done last week - pretty hefty cost of Ł295 via a high end Jewelers in Glasgow but it went to 'Rolex' in London for the work.
It had a couple of wheels replaced. You could hear it 'whirring' when you gave it a good shake and there was plenty of internal wear.
It's now as good as new and is looking fine !
this looks like mine too! black face with stick hands and smooth "bezel"...
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Old 15 February 2010, 01:11 AM   #7
padi56
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Some say the first Airkings were particularly designed for pilots as such but IMHO they were not, but world war 11 did have a part to play with the Airking. And many models now becoming collectable especially the Airking dates especially the red date roulette.Now before WW11 Rolex was always popular with the armed forces in the UK.Now old Hans being a good business man saw there was a market for a slightly bigger 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 Air king.They all used a 15 jewel manual wind movement,then came in steel even TT plus all gold but then mainly 9ct.And were in production from the mid 1940s to early 1950s when they were all 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 some of the most sort after Airkings now are models like the 1960s 5504 with the honeycombed dial.Now the first Airking date arrived on the scene late 1960s Ref 5700 were only sold in the then 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, 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 history, and IMHO now a very underrated watch.


The Air King is a classic and the one of the longest continuously produced models in the whole Rolex line

Air-King models though the years.
4365,4499, 4925, 5500, 5501, 5506, 5520, 6500, 6552, 7784,14000, 14000M, 14010, 14010M
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Old 12 September 2013, 04:40 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by padi56 View Post
...IMO a shame the Airking has quite a lot of history, and IMHO now a very underrated watch.


The Air King is a classic and the one of the longest continuously produced models in the whole Rolex line
Agreed, here is my Air King with marking from the 60's. It took me a while to find a blue dial version with no numbers.

I researched quite a bit before I started looking for vintage watches, this lead me to Rolex and more research brought me to Air King which is just a beautiful watch.



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Old 25 July 2017, 07:57 AM   #9
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Ham

Quote:
Originally Posted by padi56 View Post
Some say the first Airkings were particularly designed for pilots as such but IMHO they were not, but world war 11 did have a part to play with the Airking. And many models now becoming collectable especially the Airking dates especially the red date roulette.Now before WW11 Rolex was always popular with the armed forces in the UK.Now old Hans being a good business man saw there was a market for a slightly bigger 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 Air king.They all used a 15 jewel manual wind movement,then came in steel even TT plus all gold but then mainly 9ct.And were in production from the mid 1940s to early 1950s when they were all 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 some of the most sort after Airkings now are models like the 1960s 5504 with the honeycombed dial.Now the first Airking date arrived on the scene late 1960s Ref 5700 were only sold in the then 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, 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 history, and IMHO now a very underrated watch.


The Air King is a classic and the one of the longest continuously produced models in the whole Rolex line

Air-King models though the years.
4365,4499, 4925, 5500, 5501, 5506, 5520, 6500, 6552, 7784,14000, 14000M, 14010, 14010M

KD9GNS. 72's!
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Old 16 February 2010, 03:53 AM   #10
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Here's my 5700... Sweet little watch.
All original and bought right here on TRF.

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Old 17 February 2010, 02:15 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deyn Man View Post
saw the papers already.. I own an X series 14000! hehehe those references are easy to use! thanks trf!
You really don't need to look for the papers to tell what the modle number and series is, Dean. If you remove the bracelet, you can check between the lugs. On the 12 o'clock side it should say the model number, and the 6 o'clock side should have the serial numbers.

Now you need to decide which is easier: fishing out the papers, or removing the bracelet!

BTW, here's mine
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Old 23 February 2010, 01:34 AM   #12
Deyn Man
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sakuraba View Post
You really don't need to look for the papers to tell what the modle number and series is, Dean. If you remove the bracelet, you can check between the lugs. On the 12 o'clock side it should say the model number, and the 6 o'clock side should have the serial numbers.

Now you need to decide which is easier: fishing out the papers, or removing the bracelet!

BTW, here's mine

hahahha! thanks for the tip!

i think we have the same AK!
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Old 24 March 2010, 06:11 AM   #13
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non-precision 5500?

Hello-
I am a new user to the forum, and just bought my first [hopefully genuine] Rolex, a 1981 5500. it came with the original papers, boxes, and polishing cloth. I took it to an authorized dealer, and they said it was real, but did not take off the back. They removed the oyster bracelet, and it had the correct markings, and the numbers matched the paperwork. (cut out with a bunch of holes like my passport number.)

So, here's my question: it is not marked "precision" or "suer precision". is this an indication of a fake, or does this imply something esle? it beats 5.5x per second (19,800), so i think it is a calibre 1520?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

How do you post pictures on this thing?

Last edited by PandaScout; 24 March 2010 at 06:25 AM.. Reason: adding picture
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Old 13 April 2010, 10:26 AM   #14
uta
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hi all I'm new in this forum and this is my first post. This is my 14010 ca. 2002.


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Old 19 April 2010, 04:41 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uta View Post
hi all I'm new in this forum and this is my first post. This is my 14010 ca. 2002.
Woo Hoo we have the same watch! Here's mine:
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Old 20 May 2011, 05:41 AM   #16
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hi all I'm new in this forum and this is my first post. This is my 14010 ca. 2002.


This is my favorite model AK
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Old 27 December 2014, 03:19 PM   #17
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AK 5500's with 1002 caseback?

I have seen several 5500's for sale lately with 1002 casebacks. Any idea why that might be?

Regards,
Rick



[QUOTE=sakuraba;1655435]You really don't need to look for the papers to tell what the modle number and series is, Dean. If you remove the bracelet, you can check between the lugs. On the 12 o'clock side it should say the model number, and the 6 o'clock side should have the serial numbers.

Now you need to decide which is easier: fishing out the papers, or removing the bracelet!
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Old 28 December 2014, 12:04 AM   #18
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I have seen several 5500's for sale lately with 1002 casebacks. Any idea why
Totally normal. The caseback number doesn't always need to match the model number. Lots of 5500's came with 1002 casebacks etc.
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Old 28 December 2014, 12:42 AM   #19
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Thanks!!



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Totally normal. The caseback number doesn't always need to match the model number. Lots of 5500's came with 1002 casebacks etc.
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Old 29 December 2014, 08:27 PM   #20
darwen
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Here's my 14000 :
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Old 17 February 2010, 02:40 AM   #21
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Here is my Rolex Air-King as requested!

Dan
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Old 22 February 2010, 03:50 PM   #22
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Latest of (one of) the greatest!

Great thread! Thanks for kick starting this. My latest arrival:

Model# 114200
34mm
COSC
Domed Bezel
Sapphire Crystal
Self Winding
Water resistance 100m/330ft



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Old 17 April 2010, 02:15 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ayecarumba View Post
Great thread! Thanks for kick starting this. My latest arrival:

Model# 114200
34mm
COSC
Domed Bezel
Sapphire Crystal
Self Winding
Water resistance 100m/330ft



--Paul
WOW, very informative!!


I suggest all of you come across this link, you can know more about the "AIR-KING STORY"
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Old 21 February 2013, 11:43 AM   #24
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A very cute black Air-King!

Quote:
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Here is my Rolex Air-King as requested!

Dan
Beautiful example of a 5500? You must be very pleased with it, black is a great dial color, steel work and band look great!
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Old 23 February 2010, 01:09 AM   #25
jon84gt
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Wow Paul!! What a beauty! I love those orange numbers, Jon
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Old 13 May 2010, 12:47 PM   #26
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My 1957/58 Dress Explorer

Here is a pic of my 57/58 Explorer 5500 and bracelet. Still keeps excellent time.
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Old 17 June 2010, 01:35 AM   #27
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My 2002 Air-King

Love my Air-King!
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Old 6 October 2010, 09:24 AM   #28
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Did any mid 60's air king precision come with a plain blue dial with no markers or numbers?
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Old 19 November 2010, 05:34 AM   #29
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I just received this back from Michael Young at Classic Watch Parts. I had the bracelet tightened. These are Iphone pics, so they are not the greatest. The Model is 5501 and the movement is 1570. I know they used this movement for the Rolex Sub back in the late 60s or early 70s and I am guessing that this watch is from 1970, give or take a couple of years.
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Old 9 January 2011, 02:41 PM   #30
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What's the largest mm size these come in?
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