Rolex Air-King
This year at Baselworld, when it came to Rolex, all eyes were on the newly revamped Daytona. Well, not all eyes. While we liked the new Daytona, we loved the new Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air-King. The 40mm watch is an impressive re-introduction of a classic that not only pays tribute to its aviation roots, but also embraces the brand’s keen technical aspects and aesthetics.
Among the technical advances: a high degree of anti-magnetism (thanks to an escape wheel made of a nickel-phosphorous alloy); 100 meters of water resistance (thanks to the Twinlock water-proof system): a high-precision caliber. The Air-King houses the Caliber 3131 self-winding mechanical movement, developed in house and equipped with a patented Parachrom hairspring in the oscillator. Parachrom is an alloy exclusive to Rolex that possess extreme stability when exposed to temperature variations, shocks and more. The case is a monobloc with screw-down case back and crown, and the watch is fitted with an Oyster bracelet. The watch also offers an alluring Chromalight display that exudes a blue luminescence for easy night reading.
The watch holds the brand’s Superlative Chronometer Certification, meaning that the movement not only undergoes rigorous testing to pass the COSC standards, but also undergoes further testing in the Rolex workshops after being cased. The new piece is offered in 904L steel (all Rolex steel watches are made of this steel), features a black dial with three large numerals (3,6,9) and a bold minute scale that counts out 5, 10, 20, 25, etc. instead of the traditional numbers. Stealing the show, however, is the fact that the black dial boldly sports the Air-King name – written in original 1950’s Air-King typeface — in bright Rolex green. So with all this good there may be a drawback right? Nope. Even the price is pretty incredible: $6,200.
