1975 Rolex Air-King 5500
1975 Rolex Air-King 5500
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The Watch: The Purist’s Vintage Rolex: Air-King 5500
Although it receives far less attention than the Submariner, Day-Date, or GMT-Master, the Rolex Air-King is one of Rolex’s oldest collections of watches, with an interesting history that spans over seventy years of near-continuous production. And the Air-King 5500 is one of the collection’s longest-running iterations.
The Rolex Air-King lacks any specific features or complications that make it specially tailored to one type of sport or environment; however, this minimalist collection of watches has become a cult favorite among purists due to its simple time-only display and clean, all-stainless steel construction.
After hearing stories of World War II British pilots discarding their standard-issued field watches in favor of personally-purchased Oyster Perpetual timepieces, Rolex co-founder, Hans Wilsdorf decided to release a series of aviation-themed watches, intended to honor the brave RAF pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain.
Among these aviation-themed watches was the Air-King, which made its first official appearance in 1945 with the reference 4925. Several references followed as Rolex continued to refine the design; however, in 1957 (officially sold to the public in 1958), Rolex released a new version of the Air-King that would be known as the reference 5500.
Some wear and minor bracelet rattle. See photos.
Includes: Watch only.