Air‑King
Instantly recognizable thanks to its minutes scale, allowing for immediate navigational time readings, the Air-King honours the pioneers of aviation and incorporates the distinctive features of our Professional watches.
The Air-King owes its uniqueness, both aesthetic and functional, to its dial, which combines large 3, 6, and 9 hour markers with a prominent minutes scale. Common in the world of aviation watches, this minutes scale display provides instant and optimal legibility for navigational time readings.
Different manufacturing processes are required to produce the Air-King’s dial. Its black lacquer surface features a triangular hour marker and applique numeral hour markers made of 18 kt white gold, as well as a white pad-printed minutes scale.
Other distinctive features include the name Air-King, written in the same lettering that appears on the original model launched in 1958, as well as the seconds hand and the name Rolex, which are both in the emblematic green colour of our brand.
Exclusive to Rolex, the Chromalight display on the Air-King’s dial provides optimal legibility, no matter the light conditions. The material applied to the numeral hour markers, triangular hour marker and hands is a brilliant white in daylight and emits an intense blue glow in the dark. The performance of this luminescent substance clearly exceeds the standards required by watchmaking norms.
The result of a complex manufacturing process, this material is obtained by firing an ultra-fine powder – composed of various metal oxides – at a high temperature and mixing it with liquid resin. It is then applied by hand. This operation requires great precision in order to perfectly dose the quantity of material and obtain a uniform result that meets Rolex’s standards of excellence.
The Air‑King is equipped with a 40 mm Oyster case guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 100 metres (330 feet). Its performance has been confirmed by tests carried out as part of the Superlative Chronometer certification process.
The Oyster case, a symbol of robustness and waterproofness, also stands out thanks to its proportions, offering the ideal balance between form and function.
Its case back, edged with fine fluting, is hermetically screwed down with a special tool that allows only Rolex watchmakers to access the movement. Meanwhile, a virtually scratchproof sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating protects the dial.
Since 2022, the Air-King has benefited from a crown guard that protects the Twinlock winding crown from shocks. This characteristic feature of most of our Professional watches is made up of two lateral shields stamped as an integral part of the middle case. While contributing to the robustness of the Air-King, it also strengthens the watch’s aesthetic.
Our Twinlock winding crown presents two zones of waterproofness. It comprises around 10 components, made from materials rigorously selected on the basis of their intrinsic qualities, such as polymers for the waterproof seals and Oystersteel.
Hermetically screwed to the side of the middle case, the Twinlock winding crown is a crucial component that contributes to the complete waterproofness of the Air-King’s Oyster case.
The Twinlock system is identified by one dot, two dots or a line on the face of the winding crown, depending on its material. Made of Oystersteel, the Air-King’s Twinlock crown displays a line under the Rolex emblem.
The Air‑King is exclusively offered in Oystersteel. This alloy, specific to Rolex, belongs to the 904L steel family, commonly used in advanced-technology fields such as the aerospace and chemical industries.
In 1985, Rolex became the first watchmaking brand to use solid blocks of 904L steel for certain cases.
Our Oystersteel is extremely corrosion-resistant and retains its lustre even when the watch is put to extreme use.
A certified Superlative Chronometer, the Oyster Perpetual Air-King has been powered since 2022 by calibre 3230, a self-winding mechanical movement via a Perpetual rotor entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex.
Our calibre 3230 incorporates the blue Parachrom hairspring. Resistant to shocks and strong magnetic fields, the hairspring is extremely stable when exposed to temperature fluctuations. The movement also includes the patented Chronergy escapement: a mechanism made from a nickel-phosphorus alloy, which is also virtually insensitive to strong magnetic interference and offers great dependability.
The oscillator of the movement has a large balance wheel with variable inertia, precisely regulated via gold Microstella nuts and fitted on high-performance Paraflex shock absorbers. As for the oscillating weight, it has boasted an optimized ball bearing since 2023.
A consummate demonstration of technology, our calibre 3230 carries a number of patents. It guarantees outstanding performance, particularly in terms of chronometric precision (rate variation of -2/+2 seconds per day), as well as power reserve (approximately 70 hours), resistance to shocks and magnetic fields, ease of use and reliability.
