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The Air-King is the pilot's Rolex: a 40 mm steel case, a black dial with large 3, 6 and 9 and a five-minute scale in the style of a cockpit instrument, a green seconds hand and the green and yellow Rolex crown. The name dates to 1945 and the long-running 34 mm 5500 to 1957; the current 40 mm design arrived in 2016 and was reworked in 2022.
Every Air-King on Dialist is listed by a verified dealer and covered by buyer protection. Start with the current Air-King 126900, or compare it with the Explorer, its closest relative.
Rolex named the Air-King in 1945 as a tribute to RAF pilots who had worn Oysters during the war. The 5500 of 1957 fixed the formula for the next three decades: 34 mm, a simple dial, the non-chronometer calibres 1530 and 1520, and the lowest price in the Rolex catalogue. The 14000 and 14010 of 1989 brought a sapphire crystal and the calibre 3000; the 114200 of 2007 was the first Air-King with chronometer certification.
The 34 mm watch was dropped in 2014 and the name was revived in 2016 on the 116900: a 40 mm case shared with the Milgauss, a soft-iron shield against magnetism, the calibre 3131 and the black cockpit dial with its five-minute Arabic numerals. In 2022 the 126900 added crown guards, a wider bracelet with the Oysterlock clasp, luminous 3, 6 and 9, a 05 in place of the 5 and the 70-hour calibre 3230.
It is Rolex's only current model with a single reference, which makes the pre-owned choice simple: the 126900, the 116900 it replaced, or a 34 mm watch from the previous sixty years.
Generations
The 126900 of 2022 has crown guards, luminous numerals and the calibre 3230. The 116900 of 2016 to 2022 has a slimmer case without guards and the calibre 3131. Both are 40 mm with the same dial design; the 116900 is the value pick.
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Sizes
34 mm from 1945 to 2014 (5500, 14000, 14010, 114200), 40 mm since 2016. The 5500 wears like a vintage dress watch; the 40 mm watches wear like a Milgauss, which shares their case.
Dials
Black only on the 40 mm, with the five-minute scale and green seconds hand. The 34 mm references came in silver, blue, black, white and salmon with stick, Arabic or Roman markers; the 1950s 3-6-9 dials shared with the Explorer are collector pieces.
Movements
The 126900 runs the 3230 with 70 hours of reserve; the 116900 the 3131 with 48 and the Milgauss's magnetic shield; the 114200 the 3130, the first chronometer-certified Air-King; earlier references are non-certified calibres 3000, 1520 and 1530.
Air-King or Explorer
Both are steel, black-dialled, no-date Rolexes on the calibre 3230. The Explorer is the quieter design in 36 or 40 mm; the Air-King is the louder, instrument-style dial at 40 mm with crown guards. The Air-King costs slightly less new and used.
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