Rolex air king 5500 vintage questions/ help.

[Ike13lol]

I recently bought a rolex 5500 1972 model with a gorgeous tropic dial. Everything is original to my knowledge. Braclete says it's a 1/72 and serial shows it's a 1972. Still has non hacking movement. I was told the original owner has recently serviced it but no paperwork. My issues are, is 10 seconds slow a day a cause for a concern on a vintage watch? When I go to wild the watch the crown feels a bit gritty and stiff but I let the wat run for a day before I tried to wind it. I'm not sure if they grtty tight feeling is normal or not? The crown screws down fine. Also when I shake the movement I hear a faint ping noise. Not sure if that is normal? I cant feel the vibrate when it's on the wrist so idk if it's a bad axle or just me. I dont want to get the watch serviced if this is normal and it was just serviced. If I do get it serviced who do you reccomend? I do not want the dial or hands changed or anything polished. Also, should I try to source a more modern bracelet and store the original? There isnt much bend to it but it's the old folded link bracelet. If I do want a modern bracelet how do I go about getting one that isnt insanely expensive. Sorry I am new to rolex and vkntsge watches. I bought it from ebay from oliverandclarke and they had good reviews and even their own website selling vintage watches. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Paul]

Hi Ike and welcome to TRF and to vintage Rolex ownership. Looks to be a nice correct Rolex 5500 AirKing you have there. Your questions ...

Gritty and stiff: Winding and setting should be buttery smooth, it's a Rolex thing Gritty and stiff is not a Rolex thing. It needs a service.

Time-keeping: 10 seconds +/- per day is too much IMHO. A competent watchmaker can regulate the timing when they are turning gritty and stiff into buttery smooth

Bracelet: Nice that you have the original bracelet (or date-correct anyway). Incidentally, it looks very dirty in the pics. Your endlinks could be tweaked to fit the case a lot better too. A spring-bar checkis always a good idea too, are they good condition and the correct style and gauge ? Would be a shame to lose your nice watch cos a spring-bar failed.

Changing to a modern bracelet: The correct-dated bracelet is a real value-add on a vintage Rolex and IMHO folded link bracelets are nice to wear and relatively low maintenance. If it needs a freshen up in the future, Michael Young in Hong Kong is the go-to guy. He's very fair with his pricing and good at his craft.

Faint ping noise .... Might be a bit of rotor slack. Once again, a service will catch whatever it is. Research a bit to see who's good in your part of the world. Any competent watchmaker can service a 1520 Rolex movement.

And I checked in on the listing on OliverandClarke's website. Their claim on 'unpolished' might be stretching things a bit (5 o'clock lug ?) . Might just be the pics and no big deal at all, most old Rolex'es we see have been polished

[Dan S]

I think you're right about the 5 o'clock lug.

[Verdi]

Congrats! Certainly an exotic dial. I would love to see a clear photo of it.

All the signs and symptoms are saying “service me”.
Give it a good overhaul and the watch is gonna be good to go for another at least 10yrs.

Also, the watch looks like it needs a good exterior clean. Lots of dirt on it and that doesn't help with the bracelet wear.
Warm water, soap and a soft brush will do wonders.

If you service it I would suggest to not polish it. The lugs have been thinned from previous polishes....rolliworks can restore it but I do not know if that makes sense financially.
It is an option you have at least.

[77T]

As many have said, a full overhaul will restore accuracy and correct the stiff winding issue.

Be prepared to pay for a few extra replacement components. The auto wind mechanism has a rotor axle that is simply bushed into the oscillating weight and it might be deteriorating.

Example*:


* [Photo courtesy of Jocke from a 10-year old post]


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[Ike13lol]

Thank you everyone! I plan on sending the bracelet to MY and wearing it on a colareb leather strap for the time being. I heard that Riki is a good person to send it to? Everything I read tells me not to send it to RSC. Yeah I figured it had been polished like almost every rolex this age. Not a big deal, still will last my lifetime. I'm just glad everything looks correct because it's the tropic dial that I fell in love with. Off for a service e and appraisal it goes for insurance purposes.