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Reference:air-king: Difference between revisions

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Air-King}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Air-King}}
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|title=Rolex Air-King — Reference Guide to Every Model & Year | Rolexopedia
|title=Rolex Air-King — Reference Guide to Models and Years | Rolexopedia
|description=The Rolex Air-King has been in the catalogue since 1945 — the post-Battle-of-Britain piece that became Rolex's longest-running line. From the 4925 Bubbleback through the 5500 mainstay to the 14000 / 114200 sapphire era. Family hub for every published Air-King reference.
|description=Reference guide to the Rolex Air-King from the 4925 and 5500 through the 14000 and 114200 sapphire-era models, with movement, case and dial notes.
|keywords=Rolex, Air-King, family, history, references
|keywords=Rolex, Air-King, family, history, references
|image=Air-King family hero.webp
|image=Air-King family hero.webp
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|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}
}}
<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Air-King family hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Air-King family|Rolex Air-King family]]
</div>


This index follows the early hand-wound Air-Kings, the long-running automatic 5500 and the later 34mm sapphire-crystal references. Case size, bezel and movement specification vary within the family; the 1142xx generation added chronometer certification.
This index follows the early hand-wound Air-Kings, the long-running automatic 5500 and the later 34mm sapphire-crystal references. Case size, bezel and movement specification vary within the family; the 1142xx generation added chronometer certification.
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! Reference !! Production !! Movement !! Notes
! Reference !! Production !! Movement !! Notes
|-
|-
| [[Reference:4925|4925]] / [[Reference:4365|4365]] / [[Reference:4499|4499]] || 1945–1953 || cal 10½ Hunter hand-wound || Originating Air-King generation — the four-name Battle of Britain commemoration. 4925 = centre-seconds Air-King-only. 4365 = sub-seconds with four-name shared-case dial map (Air-King / Air-Lion / Air-Tiger / Air-Giant). 4499 = 1946+ centre-seconds running mate to 4925, 15j→17j running update (Bonhams 2012 documents 1946 15j sub-seconds variant)
| [[Reference:4925|4925]] / [[Reference:4365|4365]] / [[Reference:4499|4499]] || 1945–1953 || cal 10½ Hunter hand-wound || Originating Air-King generation, associated in secondary histories with a four-name Battle of Britain commemoration. 4925 = centre-seconds Air-King-only. 4365 = sub-seconds with four-name shared-case dial map (Air-King / Air-Lion / Air-Tiger / Air-Giant). 4499 = 1946+ centre-seconds running mate to 4925, 15j→17j running update (Bonhams 2012 documents 1946 15j sub-seconds variant)
|-
|-
| [[Reference:6552|6552]] || 1953–1957 || cal 1030 automatic || First automatic Air-King; Cal 1030 butterfly rotor stamped ROLEX PERPETUAL PATENTED. Caseback duality (6552 between lugs / 6565 inside) period-correct. "Super Precision" dial despite chronometer-grade movement adjustment
| [[Reference:6552|6552]] || 1953–1957 || cal 1030 automatic || First automatic Air-King; Cal 1030 butterfly rotor stamped ROLEX PERPETUAL PATENTED. Caseback duality (6552 between lugs / 6565 inside) period-correct. "Super Precision" dial despite chronometer-grade movement adjustment
|-
|-
| [[Reference:5501|5501]] || 1959–1986 (late stock to 1987) || cal 1530 / 1520 || The only true Rolesor Air-King — steel case with solid 18k yellow gold fluted bezel and gold crown. Distinct from gold-capped 5502/5506/5520 (40-micron plated). Cotton Bowl Classic 1967-1970 + Tiffany champagne marquee branches. Caseback 5501/1102
| [[Reference:5501|5501]] || 1959–1986 (late stock to 1987) || cal 1530 / 1520 || A documented Rolesor Air-King, with a steel case, solid 18k yellow-gold fluted bezel and gold crown. Distinct from gold-capped 5502/5506/5520 (40-micron plated). Cotton Bowl Classic 1967-1970 + Tiffany champagne marquee branches. Caseback 5501/1102
|-
|-
| [[Reference:5502|5502]] || 1958–1965 || cal 1530 || Gold-capped 40-micron Super Precision Air-King — US-market distribution channel. Alpha hands. Sister to 5506 (parallel-production Commonwealth-market). Distinct from solid-gold 5501 (5502 = electroplated, 5501 = solid 18k gold) and from later 5520 (5502 = Cal 1530 Super Precision alpha hands; 5520 = Cal 1520 Precision baton hands)
| [[Reference:5502|5502]] || 1958–1965 || cal 1530 || Gold-capped 40-micron Super Precision Air-King — US-market distribution channel. Alpha hands. Sister to 5506 (parallel-production Commonwealth-market). Distinct from solid-gold 5501 (5502 = electroplated, 5501 = solid 18k gold) and from later 5520 (5502 = Cal 1530 Super Precision alpha hands; 5520 = Cal 1520 Precision baton hands)
|-
|-
| [[Reference:5504|5504]] || 1957/58–1963/64 || cal 1530 || 36mm Explorer-case Super Precision; the connective tissue between 5500 (34mm Air-King) and 1016 Explorer (36mm EXPLORER text + COSC). Wears 1016 case but AIR-KING dial text and non-COSC Cal 1530. 3-6-9 Explorer-dial-with-AIR-KING-text is the marquee collector branch
| [[Reference:5504|5504]] || 1957/58–1963/64 || cal 1530 || 36mm Explorer-case Super Precision, distinct from the 34mm 5500 and the chronometer 1016. Documented examples retain AIR-KING dial text with non-COSC Cal. 1530; 3-6-9 Explorer-style dials are a documented branch.
|-
|-
| [[Reference:5506|5506]] || 1958–1964 || cal 1530 || Gold-capped 40-micron Super Precision Air-King — UK/Commonwealth-market distribution channel. Alpha hands. Sister to 5502 (parallel-production US-market). Bonhams 2023 lot 51 (USD 2,550) is the strongest standalone hammer record. Same Kessi Frères case + 78351 bracelet as 5502
| [[Reference:5506|5506]] || 1958–1964 || cal 1530 || Gold-capped 40-micron Super Precision Air-King — UK/Commonwealth-market distribution channel. Alpha hands. Sister to 5502 (parallel-production US-market). Bonhams 2023 lot 51 records a 78351 bracelet on one example. The same Kessi Frères case family appears in 5502 records.
|-
|-
| [[Reference:5500|5500]] || 1957–1989 || cal 1530 then 1520 || The mainstay. 32-year run. Broadest documented dial map of any Air-King
| [[Reference:5500|5500]] || 1957–1989 || cal 1530 then 1520 || The mainstay. 32-year run. Broadest documented dial map of any Air-King
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=== Battle of Britain origins (1945) ===
=== Battle of Britain origins (1945) ===


Hans Wilsdorf was in London during the Battle of Britain in the autumn of 1940 and the years that followed. The Air-King and its three sister names — Air-Lion, Air-Tiger, Air-Giant — emerged in 1945 as a commemorative gesture toward RAF pilots, who were already wearing Rolex Oysters as personal purchases (the official-issue military watches went elsewhere). The four names ran on different reference numbers across the late-1940s 4925 / 4365 / 4499 / 4499/2 hand-wound Bubbleback series. The commemoration story runs through every published account of the line, though no primary Rolex document confirming it has surfaced.
Hans Wilsdorf was in London during the Battle of Britain in the autumn of 1940 and the years that followed. The Air-King and its three sister names — Air-Lion, Air-Tiger, Air-Giant — emerged in 1945 as a commemorative gesture toward RAF pilots, who were already wearing Rolex Oysters as personal purchases (the official-issue military watches went elsewhere). The four names ran on different reference numbers across the late-1940s 4925 / 4365 / 4499 / 4499/2 hand-wound Bubbleback series. Secondary histories repeat the commemoration story, but no primary Rolex document confirming it has surfaced.


The names did not all survive. Air-Lion, Air-Tiger, and Air-Giant were retired by the early 1950s. Air-King continued, settling onto the 6552 (the first automatic Air-King, 1953–1957) and then onto the 5500 mainstay (1957–1989).
The names did not all survive. Air-Lion, Air-Tiger, and Air-Giant were retired by the early 1950s. Air-King continued, settling onto the 6552 (the first automatic Air-King, 1953–1957) and then onto the 5500 mainstay (1957–1989).
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Across 32 years the 5500 carried the line, a long production span covering several movement and dial changes. Cal 1530 (1957–c.1963) gave way to Cal 1520 (c.1963–1989); both are non-chronometer 1500-family movements. The dial text alternates between AIR-KING / SUPER PRECISION (Cal 1530 era) and AIR-KING / PRECISION (Cal 1520 era), and a minority of 5500s left the factory without AIR-KING text at all. The 5500 shared its case middle with the 1002 Oyster Perpetual, so casebacks across the 1970s-onward run carry an inside "1002" stamp that is period-correct rather than a service replacement.
Across 32 years the 5500 carried the line, a long production span covering several movement and dial changes. Cal 1530 (1957–c.1963) gave way to Cal 1520 (c.1963–1989); both are non-chronometer 1500-family movements. The dial text alternates between AIR-KING / SUPER PRECISION (Cal 1530 era) and AIR-KING / PRECISION (Cal 1520 era), and a minority of 5500s left the factory without AIR-KING text at all. The 5500 shared its case middle with the 1002 Oyster Perpetual, so casebacks across the 1970s-onward run carry an inside "1002" stamp that is period-correct rather than a service replacement.


The 5500 appeared in corporate-gift programs (Domino's Pizza, Pool Intairdril, Circle Bar Drilling, Winn-Dixie, Levi's) and for Middle-East government-crest commissions (Saudi Armed Forces, UAE, Bahrain Al Khalifa, Kuwait Al-Sabah). The Joyería Riviera retailer-signed gilt Explorer 3-6-9 5500 sits at the top of the auction record (Phillips Geneva FIVE 2017 lot 76 at CHF 32,500; Phillips Double Signed Geneva 2019 lot 49 at CHF 37,500).
The 5500 appeared in corporate-gift programs (Domino's Pizza, Pool Intairdril, Circle Bar Drilling, Winn-Dixie, Levi's) and for Middle-East government-crest commissions (Saudi Armed Forces, UAE, Bahrain Al Khalifa, Kuwait Al-Sabah). Phillips catalogued Joyería Riviera retailer-signed gilt Explorer 3-6-9 5500 examples in 2017 and 2019; those lot records are examples of the branch, not a general production or value rule.


=== The sapphire era (1989+) ===
=== The sapphire era (1989+) ===
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