Reference:6552

Air-King → 6552

Rolex Air-King 6552, catalogued circa 1958

Reference histories date the 6552 to 1953–1957 and identify it as the first automatic Air-King, fitted with Cal. 1030. Auction catalogues also describe individual 6552s made or dated in 1958 and 1959. They document a 34mm steel Oyster with several dial layouts, including a two-tone silver dial and an Explorer-style 3-6-9 layout.

Core facts

detail	documented information
reference	6552; Antiquorum also gives the paired designation 6552/6565
family	Air-King
dates	Reference histories: 1953–1957. Auction catalogues date individual examples to 1958 and 1959.
case	Stainless steel; 34mm in the Antiquorum and Christie’s descriptions. Antiquorum gives 12.5mm thickness for its lot.
movement	Cal. 1030. Antiquorum records 25 jewels and adjustment to five positions and temperature on its 1959 example.
dial text	Monochrome describes AIR-KING in script and SUPER PRECISION on the 6552; Antiquorum notes its 1959 lot lacks “Officially Certified Chronometer” text.
caseback marks	On the Antiquorum watch, 6565 appears on the caseback and 6552 between the lugs. Christie’s records an inside caseback stamp of 6565 and 1.1958 on another watch.

Where it sits in the line

The 6552 followed the hand-wound Air-King references 4925 and 4499. It brought automatic winding to the Air-King line with Cal. 1030. The 5500 followed in 1957, according to the reference chronologies in Monochrome and Watch-Wiki. That sequence places the 6552 between the earlier Hunter-based watches and the long-running 5500; it does not mean every surviving 6552 was assembled or sold before 1958.

The caliber also appeared in other Rolex families. The Movement guide lists the 6552 among documented Cal. 1030 fitments, alongside contemporary Explorers and Submariners. Those models shared a movement, but their cases, dials and certification records varied.

Production outline

Monochrome dates the 6552 to 1953–1957; Watch-Wiki lists 1953 as its introduction and 1957 for the 5500’s arrival. These are the published model chronologies. Auction records place later-dated examples in circulation: Christie’s describes a 6552 with an inside caseback code of 1.1958; Dorotheum and Monaco Legend Group catalogued examples as circa 1958; Antiquorum dates its example to 1959. The lot dates establish when those watches were made or catalogued, not when Rolex ended production of the reference.

Antiquorum’s 1959 example is listed as ref. 6552/6565, case 437255. The house describes 6565 as the broader case-series reference and 6552 as the model number between the lugs. Christie’s independently records 6565 and a first-quarter 1958 date stamp inside the caseback of its circa-1958 watch. Those markings are documented on these lots; the catalogues do not support turning them into a universal authentication test.

Movement notes

The auction catalogues identify Cal. 1030 in the 6552. Antiquorum gives the fullest description for its 1959 watch: 25 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to five positions and temperature, and a Breguet balance spring. Christie’s also identifies Cal. 1030 in its circa-1958 example. The Movement guide describes the caliber’s bidirectional winding and butterfly rotor.

A movement’s adjustment and a watch’s certification are separate details. Antiquorum records five-position and temperature adjustment while noting that its lot’s dial lacks the “Officially Certified Chronometer” wording. Read that as the description of this watch; it does not establish the certification status of every 6552.

Dial map

The documented examples show more than one 6552 dial. The descriptions below stay attached to the watches or published accounts that identify them.

Silvered dials with applied markers

Silvered ref. 6552 dial with applied baton markers, catalogued by Monaco Legend Group in 2024

Antiquorum’s 1959 lot has a two-tone silver dial, applied faceted baton markers, luminous dots and Alpha hands. Monaco Legend Group’s 1958 lot is described with a silver dial and applied markers. Christie’s also catalogued a circa-1958 silvered dial; its condition report says the dial had been reprinted and relumed. These records describe individual watches and include different dial conditions.

Explorer-style 3-6-9 dial

Erik Slaven’s Monochrome history describes an early 6552 layout with faceted spear markers and Arabic numerals at 3, 6 and 9. Slaven contrasts it with later 6552 examples using stick markers. This is a published account of the variant; the auction records cited here do not include a 3-6-9 example.

Two-tone dial recorded in Patrizzi

The Relojes Vintage Mexico listing describes a 6552 with a cream outer ring and sunburst silver center, and says the watch appears in Osvaldo Patrizzi’s Rolex, Collecting Wristwatches (2001), page 184. Antiquorum also says its 1959 lot is illustrated on that page and describes its dial as two-tone silver. The dealer calls its example 1958; Antiquorum dates its lot 1959. The catalogues differ on the date assigned to the illustrated watch.

Brown dial example

Vision Vintage Watches archived a 1958 6552 with a glossy dark-brown dial, gilt text and Cal. 1030. That listing documents one watch. It does not establish how the dial acquired its color or how common this configuration is.

Case and crown

Antiquorum describes its 34mm watch as a three-body steel case with a screwed-down back and crown, measuring 12.5mm thick. Christie’s independently gives a 34mm stainless-steel case for its circa-1958 6552. Monochrome describes the reference with an acrylic crystal and drilled lugs. The lot-specific dimensions and construction are the strongest direct records here; crystal and lug details follow Slaven’s reference overview.

Bracelet

Christie’s catalogued a 6552 with a riveted Oyster bracelet, end links marked 57 and bracelet marked 6635, with the bracelet itself marked 2, 65. Its condition report dates the bracelet to the second quarter of 1965 and calls it a later replacement on the circa-1958 watch. This is a useful example of why a bracelet code dates the bracelet, not the watch head. A separate 1958 dealer listing pairs a 6552 with a 7205 bracelet and 57 end pieces, but describes that bracelet as later and sourced onto the watch.

Auction record

sale	catalogue description	result
Antiquorum, The Mondani Collection, Geneva, 14 May 2006, lot 89	1959 ref. 6552/6565, case 437255; Cal. 1030, 25 jewels; two-tone silver dial	CHF 7,080
Dorotheum, Vienna, 22 December 2022, lot 145-051401/0001	Circa-1958 steel 6552, case 376310; Cal. 1030, movement N809993	EUR 4,096
Monaco Legend Group, July 2024 online sale, lot 72	Catalogued as a 1958 steel 6552, case 376058; Cal. 1030	USD 1,478, as reported by EveryWatch
Christie’s Watches Online, lot 72	Circa-1958 steel 6552, silvered dial; the accessible catalogue gives no result	Not shown

These are individual sale records in different years and currencies. They do not define a market range for the reference.

Related references

• Air-King 4925 and Air-King 4499, earlier hand-wound references
• Air-King 5500, the next long-running automatic reference
• Air-King family index
• Movement reference
• Serial numbers by year

• 
  Overall view of a 6552
• 
  Silvered dial with applied markers
• 
  Caseback and reference markings

Sources

• Erik Slaven, “In-Depth: The History of the Rolex Air-King,” Monochrome Watches — reference chronology, 3-6-9 and stick-marker dial descriptions, case overview.
• Colin A. White, *The Vintage Rolex Field Manual* — reference table listing 6552, Cal. 1030, 34mm stainless-steel case, and 1953 introduction.
• Antiquorum, The Mondani Collection, Geneva, lot 89 (2006) — 1959 example, case and dial, Cal. 1030 specification, caseback marks and result.
• Christie’s, Watches Online, lot 72 — circa-1958 example, caseback date code, movement and bracelet condition.
• Dorotheum, lot 145-051401/0001 (2022) — circa-1958 example, case number, movement and result.
• Monaco Legend Group, July 2024 online sale, lot 72, record via EveryWatch — 1958 example and result.
• Relojes Vintage Mexico, ref. 6552 two-tone dial — dealer description and Patrizzi page reference; its 1958 date differs from Antiquorum’s 1959 catalogue date for the watch illustrated at page 184.
• Vision Vintage Watches, 1958 ref. 6552 — one brown-dial example and its listed movement.
• Craft + Tailored, 1958 ref. 6552 — white-dial example; the listing describes the fitted 7205 bracelet as later and sourced onto the watch.