Rolex "cheapest" sports watch, how did Rolex Air-King replica come about?
Rolex "cheapest" sports watch, how did Rolex Air-King replica come about?
As a watch lover, when I am out and about, I am consciously or unconsciously observing what kind of watches passers-by are wearing. The other day, I was on the subway and noticed that the guy next to me was wearing a Rolex Air-King 34 mm watch replica 116900.
The Rolex Air-King replica 116900 is one of the lowest priced Rolex professional sports models in the market today. However, the Air-King is actually one of the oldest Rolex sports watches.
A (Very) Brief History
Rolex has a long-running history with aviation which stretches back to the 1930s. A period some refer to as the golden era of aviation. When intrepid explorers took to the skies to navigate their way around the planet. Critical to their success was a reliable chronometer watch. And few made them better than Rolex. For example, in 1933 the Houston Expedition made the first-ever flight over Everest. On board were Oyster watches. There are many other such examples.It’s no surprise then that the Rolex Air-King replica also has an interesting backstory. It started life as part of the aviation-inspired “Air” series. A special collection of watches launched in 1945 by Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf. The same year the Rolex Datejust made its debut. British RAF pilots valued the chronometer precision they offered. And paid out of their own pocket to upgrade from their standard issue pieces. Models included the Air-Giant, Air-Lion, and Air-Tiger.
At the end of the war, Rolex created the Air-King replica as a tribute to the pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain. The large (for the time) 34mm case and simple dial layout were a hit. And the Rolex Air-King soon became popular with pilots. In 1957, Rolex introduced the Ref 5500 Air-King. That model remained in production for the next 37 years. Before receiving a refresh with the Ref 1400, which introduced a sapphire crystal. And a new movement. In 2007, Rolex released the Ref 114200. The first Air-King to be COSC-certified.
The Rolex Air-King replica 116900
In 2014, Rolex took the decision to stop production of the Air-King. With the Oyster Perpetual taking its place as the brand’s entry-level steel sport watch. The reasons for this decision are unclear. It’s possible sales were underperforming. Or that Rolex execs had concerns about cannibalising sales from the Oyster Perpetual. In any event, the exile didn’t last long. Two years later, the Rolex Air-King was back. With an opinion-dividing new look and a much more attractive proposition.Unfortunately for the Rolex Air-King replica though, it made its debut in 2016. The same year as the Rolex Daytona Ref 116500LN. A.K.A, the most hyped watch of this decade. The arrival of the Air-King didn’t pass unnoticed, mind you. But it did not garner the same level of attention as it would have otherwise. Some would argue this would have been the case regardless. Let’s face it, the Air-King is no GMT-Master II.
Still, the release garnered its fair share of controversy. This was a very different watch from previous models. In fact, it’s not much of a leap to say that Rolex completely overhauled the Air-King.
A contemporary 40mm steel Oyster case. (Previous iterations ran as small as 34mm.) Screw-down, Twinlock crown helping ensure water resistance to 100m. A Faraday cage to protect the manufacture movement from magnetic interference. (Borrowed from the Rolex Milgauss.) And a striking black dial that blends several different design elements.
It’s this distinctive dial that raised the most eyebrows at the time. The styling is more contemporary than previous iterations and it’s busier too. In fact I would say this is one of the boldest Rolex designs to date. The 3-6-9 configuration carries forward from earlier models. While the introduction of the inverted triangle at 12 calls to mind the Rolex Explorer. As do the Mercedes-style hands. And the chapter ring for the minutes. But where the Explorer uses baton markers, the Air-King features printed Arabic numerals. This is a logical move by Rolex otherwise the two models would look near identical.
Other questionable design choices include the green text for ‘Rolex’. It matches the seconds hand. Along with the cartoon-like yellow colour of the crown. And the expressive Air-King font. Granted, it’s outside the normal Rolex wheel-house, but it’s not without precedent.
The movement
That hidden element is the movement, Rolex caliber 3131, which is the very same movement Rolex uses in the Milgauss. Just as with the Milgauss, the caliber 3131, in addition to containing components made of materials unaffected by magnetism (the Parachrom balance spring, and nickel phosphorus lever and escape wheel, most notably) is housed inside a soft iron inner case and dial. The original Milgauss of the 1950s did not have a movement with these components, and was still resistant to 1,000 gauss, so it seems reasonable to conclude that the addition of antimagnetic parts to the caliber 3131 would confer even better resistance. It also seems reasonably to conclude that the antimagnetic shielding is partly responsible for the relative thickness of the case – the Air-King is 40 mm wide and 13 mm thick according to our calipers, but then again, that's only about the thickness of the standard Speedmaster, and on the wrist, the Air-King doesn't feel particularly bulky.On the wrist
Once on the wrist, the even distribution of weight goes a long way to ensure the initial sense of comfort isn't a fleeting one, and that's despite this being a fairly hefty watch: 152 grams on the office scale, or 10 grams heavier than a Seiko SKX-007, as weighed during our (in)famous weigh-in of all the watches in the office last Wednesday. That it feels much less heavy than the Seiko goes a long way towards reinforcing our conclusion from that story that distribution of mass is at least as much a factor in wearing comfort as overall weight.
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