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Rolex Air-King


Victoria

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I need to send one of the two Air-Kings back. Which one would you keep, and why?

Kindly advise, Rolex fans. ^_^

SIDE BY SIDE

rollieairkingcomparisonfi0.jpg

AIR-KING I

akioy9.jpg

AIR-KING II

akiitx1.jpg

AIR-KING BRACELET I

akbraceletibj1.jpg

AIR-KING BRACELET II

akbraceletiitf7.jpg

Example of Gen:

http://tinyurl.com/2nelxg

Please note that the only reason I got this Air-King was after seeing Chrgod's Norway Day pic on RWG. :)

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I am with Lord Rasta - number one is the keeper. Very nice choice of Rolex ... the Air-King ... wrist shot is in order. Enjoy

Lord Rasta, thanks! :)

Raijor, guys, this is the deal:

I agree the first one is the keeper, since I also know the dial is crisper, etc. But the dial is deeper darker blue in the second one, which I BELIEVE is closer to gen, right?

The first is almost a dark sky blue, which turns silvery when you move it about. The second is a deep blue, like the Mediterranean in August.

EDIT: Here is the Air-King, from a gen site. Second looks like this colour:

akfacevf2.jpg

I was thinking of doing this:

Take it to a watchsmith, and have them remove the dial of the first, better AK, and swap it with the second. Thoughts?

EDIT: Wristie was already been done with the first, BTW. :)

akmerc1vt2.jpg

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yeah the layout of this writing looks better on #1. The other one looks to jammed together. ANd im pretty sure the airking doesnt come with a GMT master bracelet. :)

The other one is a GOOD replica though!

ROLEX

OYSTER PERPETUAL DATE

Air-King

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yeah the layout of this writing looks better on #1. The other one looks to jammed together.

And "inky".

ANd im pretty sure the airking doesnt come with a GMT master bracelet. :)

Right! Another reason to take it to the watchsmith. OTOH, I rather like the GMT bracelet...

The other one is a GOOD replica though!

33 Euros. :)

ROLEX

OYSTER PERPETUAL DATE

Air-King

Aha? It should say Date??

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I am not as familiar with the modern Rolex line, so you should verify my comments before proceeding.

I think both contain obvious mistakes. But, of the 2, 1's dial does look better. I believe both have incorrect hands (hands should be similar to those used on Subs, with the Mercedes minute hand), but the first one has finer dial printing and the 'Swiss Made' is (properly) located below the minute markers at 6 while the 2nd has them above (which I believe is incorrect). On the other hand, the 2nd version has what I believe is the correct bracelet clasp (Oysterlock).

Were it me (and my observations above are correct), I would either return both & get a more accurate ETA-powered version, or swap the bracelet from the 2nd to the 1st (I still think it has the wrong hands though).

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The bracelet is wrong for II. Fliplock is only available for the newest Explorer I's.

And for further reference...

A Franken-King from a few years back. Gen no holes case, gen bezel, gen crystal, gen dial, gen crown, aftermarket hands and bracelet. ETA powered.

Stay tuned! I will soon unveil a new Air-King project that has been sitting in the parts drawer!

airkinggroup1qe8.jpg

airkinggroup2gh1.jpg

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Nice work Stilty! :)

Personally, I would choose #1, because of the bracelet. The blue-dial AK is one of my favorites. Classy watch, with a touch of sportiness.

I would love to have a gen... But at about 1k for the cheapest, well used 60-ties, there are many more tempting watches to buy..

17mai_AirKing.jpg

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17mai_AirKing.jpg

I said it above, and repeatedly since seeing this photo, but this was the single-reason I bought the Air-King. Goes to show how much of an influence we have on each other.

Thanks, Chrgod.

Now, could I just ask if a watchsmith would have trouble switching movements so that I can keep the nicer, older dial on the other newer watch? The first was DOA.

@Stilty: AWESOME. Thanks so much too. That's a good visual to go by.

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