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AIR-KING Owners Club

21584 Views 114 Replies 40 Participants Last post by  kwcross, 
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I'm new on the forums, but it seems like the Air-King doesn't get enough love around here. So I thought I'd put up an Air-King owners club thread and see what happens...

When I decided I needed (NEEDED I say) a Rolex I started looked at the Datejust. But no matter how hard I looked nothing I saw "spoke to me." Then, randomly, I saw a photo of the Rolex Air-King 114234 with the silver face and orange Arabic numbers. The first thought that passed through my mind was, "That's a sexy watch." Not once had I said that about a Datejust.

After drooling over the watch for a couple of months Govberg had a great sale on a used Air-King with box and papers. It was literally Christmas Eve 2017. My wife was so tired of listening to me agonize over the watch and how good a deal it was that she bought it for me as a Christmas gift. I win!

Photos:
Analog watch Watch Watch accessory Fashion accessory Wrist
Analog watch Watch accessory Watch Fashion accessory Silver


Having owned the Air-King for about a year, I've realized that I love the simplicity of it. I can wear it casually or as a dress watch without any problem. And the lack of a date complication is a huge plus in my book. In fact I have since decided that I won't buy a watch WITH a date. The date breaks the symmetry of the watch face. (I really hate when the date is squeezed in between the four and five markers.)

This decision makes it a lot harder to find new watches that I need (NEED I say) to own. I did pick up a Longines Avigation Big Eye, which is another story of self torture. But this thread is supposed to be about Air-Kings... so, please, tell us your story. I'm particularly interested in how folks decided on buying the new Air-King. My mind still isn't made up on it...
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Turpinr said:
Here's mine, 14010
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I like the bezel on that. What year is it? I've realized that I'm not a big fan of the traditional Rolex bezel with the ridges. I've seen my watch with the traditional Rolex bezel and hated it. The smooth is just more pleasing to my eye. The bezel on yours, however, has a nice look. It gives a little texture but avoids the ridges...

Thanks for the photo.
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Dogbert_is_fat said:
This thread needs more pictures. Here's mine.
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That's the new Air-King. It's a 40mm watch, right? I'm still on the fence if I like it or not. I'm a fan of the green coloring and the raised 3, 6, 9. But there's still something that makes me pause. It wins hands down over a Datejust... what made you pull the trigger?

Thanks for the photo.
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Nice wrist shot of the Air-King. The black face is nice, the one “issue” with the silver face/silver hands combo on mine is that it can be hard to see the hands at times. Yours jumps out all classy like.

Thanks for the photo.
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Dogbert_is_fat said:
Simple, I liked the look (emotive answer). But here's the rational answer:
1. The Air King pre-dates all of the popular sports watches and can trace it's lineage back to 1945. This latest iteration is 70 years since the first Air King was made and I believe will not be made for much longer before they retire this design. I noticed that the Air King is radically refreshed more often than other staples like the Sub, GMT or Explorer.
2. The dial borrows the 3, 6, 9 from the Explorer as a nod to the time when the Air King was released as an Air King Explorer dials in the 1950's - about the same time they released the Explorer in 1953.
3. The current dial is modeled after the Bloodhound SSC land speed record project.
4. Is the only Rolex that has green Rolex and yellow Crown to match the corporate colours.
5. Has the same anti-magnetic case as a Milgauss.
6. Has quick link extension.
Thus, this is why I bought the watch and this is a keeper due to reasons #1 to #4 above.
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Wow, that's a well reasoned list. I agree that it will probably be a short-lived version, which makes owning one a little more "cool." The fact that the no longer made my version when I bought it was a selling point for me based on the orange numerals. That said, the real reason boiled down to "it's sexy." I probably should have put a little more thought into it... Oh well. I put more thought into my second watch (a Longines Avigation Big Eye) so I'm not totally flighty.

Thanks for the reply
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