Rolex has long played an important role in aviation history. In 1933, Rolex Oyster watches accompanied the crew onboard the Houston Expedition as they made the first successful flight over Mount Everest.
In 1934, a Rolex Oyster helped pilots Owen Cathcart-Jones and Ken Waller navigate their return voyage from London to Australia in record time. Legend has it that British Royal Air Force pilots wore Rolex watches instead of military-issued combat watches because they were so popular among the aviation crowd.
As a tribute to these commanders of the sky, the brand introduced the first Oyster Perpetual Air-King in 1958. Both men and women looking for an understated and reliable wristwatch have been drawn to its bold “Air-King” inscription on the dial. As it has been in production for 64 years, the Air-King has undergone multiple evolutions and sizing variations.
Rolex injects some contemporaneity into its line this year by updating its aesthetics and technology. The new generation of Air-King watches features a crown guard, a redesigned dial, and the latest calibre 3230, a movement entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex. Introduced in 2020, the self-winding calibre 3230 stands at the forefront of watchmaking technology with its precision, power reserve, reliability and robustness.
A product of constant research and development, it features the patented Chronergy escapement, which is insensitive to magnetic fields and delivers energy more efficiently. It is also fitted with the proprietary, paramagnetic Parachrom hairspring, which provides 10 times more precision than a traditional hairspring under shock. Amplifying the movement’s shock resistance, is an oscillator fitted with Paraflex shock absorbers. Equipped with a self-winding module via a Perpetual rotor, the calibre 3230 has a power reserve of approximately 70 hours.
Although Rolex has kept the 40-mm dimension, it has redesigned the case entirely, with the most obvious change being the addition of the winding crown guard. A first for an Air-King, it bestows a sportier aesthetic, and firmly positions it alongside the watchmaker’s other Professional models such as the Oyster Perpetual Submariner and Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II.
Its distinctive black dial, with the prominent minute scale primed for navigational time readings and striking green seconds hand, has also been redesigned for optimum readability. It now offers a more balanced aesthetic with the addition of a 0 before the 5 on the minutes scale, and enhanced legibility, thanks to the inclusion of the optimised Chromalight display.
The patented luminescent coating is applied to the numerals 3, 6 and 9, as well as the hands and triangular hour marker at 12 o’clock. The display’s legibility is further enhanced by a crystal with an anti-reflective coating.
Presented in Oystersteel, a steel alloy specially developed by the brand, it features an Oyster bracelet equipped with an Oysterlock folding clasp and the Easylink comfort extension link. Incorporated into the Oyster Perpetual Air-King for the first time, it guarantees a secure fit, yet allows the wearer some flexibility to adjust the bracelet length by 5mm for maximum comfort.