Reference:5500: Difference between revisions
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<small>[[Reference:air-king|Air-King]] › '''5500'''</small> | <small>[[Reference:air-king|Air-King]] › '''5500'''</small> | ||
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[[File:Ref 5500 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Air-King 5500, silvered dial, c.1965|Rolex Air-King 5500, silvered dial, c.1965]] | |||
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The 5500 is the longest single Rolex reference run — 32 years on the catalogue from 1957 to 1989, replaced only by the sapphire-crystal 14000 at Baselworld 1989. The workhorse Air-King ran a 34mm steel Oyster case with a smooth bezel, acrylic crystal and Twinlock crown, on the caliber 1530 and then the caliber 1520. It filled the gap between the sport catalogue and the dress catalogue without belonging to either. That generic role gave the 5500 the broadest dial map of any single Air-King reference, and made it the canvas for Rolex's corporate-gift and government-crest programs across three decades. | The 5500 is the longest single Rolex reference run — 32 years on the catalogue from 1957 to 1989, replaced only by the sapphire-crystal 14000 at Baselworld 1989. The workhorse Air-King ran a 34mm steel Oyster case with a smooth bezel, acrylic crystal and Twinlock crown, on the caliber 1530 and then the caliber 1520. It filled the gap between the sport catalogue and the dress catalogue without belonging to either. That generic role gave the 5500 the broadest dial map of any single Air-King reference, and made it the canvas for Rolex's corporate-gift and government-crest programs across three decades. | ||
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== Core facts == | == Core facts == | ||