Why is the Air-King so small?

[Old Expat Beast]

Considering its supposed Royal Air Force heritage, you'd think it would be at least 36 to 40mm. But at 34mm it's rather small for a gentleman's wrist, no? And that lovely Air-King font deserves a larger canvas, IMO.

[landroverking]

Not at the time it came out.

[dysondiver]

it was probably on the large side then , 30 or 32 being more the norm.

[Old Expat Beast]

Still, you'd think they might upsize it for all the pilots out there today who might appreciate the heritage.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Considering its supposed Royal Air Force heritage, you'd think it would be at least 36 to 40mm. But at 34mm it's rather small for a gentleman's wrist, no? And that lovely Air-King font deserves a larger canvas, IMO.

Well the first Airkings were made many many decades ago some say the first Airkings were particularly designed for pilots as such but IMHO they were definitely not, but world war 11 did have a part to play with the Airkings development.Today many models are now becoming collectible especially the Airking dates and especially the red date roulette ones.Now before World War 11 Rolex was always popular with many in the armed forces in the UK and commonwealth.Now old Hans being a good business man saw there was a market for a slightly larger watch.Now watches at these times were quite small 30m was the average size back in the 1930s-40s.Now Rolex started producing 33m models under the names of Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air Giant and the Airking.They all used then a 15 jewel manual wind movement,then came in steel even a TT plus all gold but mainly in those days 9ct gold.And they were in production from the mid 1940s to early 1950s when they were all suddenly dropped,except for the Airking. Now over the next few years the Air king gained a auto movement and now the same size as OP,and today some of the most sort after Airkings are models like the 1960s 5504 with the honeycombed dial this was a Rolex first.Now the very first Airking date arrived on the scene late 1960s Ref 5700 and then were only sold in Commonwealth countries like Canada and the UK.But they made a 5700n Explorer Date but that was only sold in the USA.Later 1970s 5701 Airking dates had the cal.1525/35 movements,and they made a TT version of the 5701 quite rare today, but again for the Canadian and UK only market but the Airking date faded out of production in the 1980s. IMO a shame the Airking has quite a lot of real Rolex watch history, and IMHO is now a very very underrated watch and still a good size for the average watch wearer bigger is not always better.Dont know why today but heavier larger is perceived by many as being better but afraid this is not always the case in watches.

[boogiebot]

Originally Posted by padi56

Well the first Airkings were made many many decades ago some say the first Airkings were particularly designed for pilots as such but IMHO they were definitely not, but world war 11 did have a part to play with the Airkings development.Today many models are now becoming collectible especially the Airking dates and especially the red date roulette ones.Now before World War 11 Rolex was always popular with many in the armed forces in the UK and commonwealth.Now old Hans being a good business man saw there was a market for a slightly larger watch.Now watches at these times were quite small 30m was the average size back in the 1930s-40s.Now Rolex started producing 33m models under the names of Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air Giant and the Airking.They all used then a 15 jewel manual wind movement,then came in steel even a TT plus all gold but mainly in those days 9ct gold.And they were in production from the mid 1940s to early 1950s when they were all suddenly dropped,except for the Airking. Now over the next few years the Air king gained a auto movement and now the same size as OP,and today some of the most sort after Airkings are models like the 1960s 5504 with the honeycombed dial this was a Rolex first.Now the very first Airking date arrived on the scene late 1960s Ref 5700 and then were only sold in Commonwealth countries like Canada and the UK.But they made a 5700n Explorer Date but that was only sold in the USA.Later 1970s 5701 Airking dates had the cal.1525/35 movements,and they made a TT version of the 5701 quite rare today, but again for the Canadian and UK only market but the Airking date faded out of production in the 1980s. IMO a shame the Airking has quite a lot of real Rolex watch history, and IMHO is now a very very underrated watch and still a good size for the average watch wearer bigger is not always better.Dont know why today but heavier larger is perceived by many as being better but afraid this is not always the case in watches.

Peter the knowledge you have about watches never ceases to amaze me.

as always thanks for sharing

[Laszlo]

Originally Posted by padi56

Well the first Airkings were made many many decades ago some say the first Airkings were particularly designed for pilots as such but IMHO they were definitely not, but world war 11 did have a part to play with the Airkings development.Today many models are now becoming collectible especially the Airking dates and especially the red date roulette ones.Now before World War 11 Rolex was always popular with many in the armed forces in the UK and commonwealth.Now old Hans being a good business man saw there was a market for a slightly larger watch.Now watches at these times were quite small 30m was the average size back in the 1930s-40s.Now Rolex started producing 33m models under the names of Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air Giant and the Airking.They all used then a 15 jewel manual wind movement,then came in steel even a TT plus all gold but mainly in those days 9ct gold.And they were in production from the mid 1940s to early 1950s when they were all suddenly dropped,except for the Airking. Now over the next few years the Air king gained a auto movement and now the same size as OP,and today some of the most sort after Airkings are models like the 1960s 5504 with the honeycombed dial this was a Rolex first.Now the very first Airking date arrived on the scene late 1960s Ref 5700 and then were only sold in Commonwealth countries like Canada and the UK.But they made a 5700n Explorer Date but that was only sold in the USA.Later 1970s 5701 Airking dates had the cal.1525/35 movements,and they made a TT version of the 5701 quite rare today, but again for the Canadian and UK only market but the Airking date faded out of production in the 1980s. IMO a shame the Airking has quite a lot of real Rolex watch history, and IMHO is now a very very underrated watch and still a good size for the average watch wearer bigger is not always better.Dont know why today but heavier larger is perceived by many as being better but afraid this is not always the case in watches.

Very educational. Thanks for sharing. Impressive.

[The Joker]

Love the AK. Don't think it is too small at all. Most watches nowadays are bloated IMO.

[horseco]

Originally Posted by The Joker

Love the AK. Don't think it is too small at all. Most watches nowadays are bloated IMO.

I agree 100%

[Old Expat Beast]

Thanks Peter, top info. If they were 36mm I'd already have one, but eyesight not so good these days...

[dysondiver]

a 36mm air king is an explorer ,,, well , more or less.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by dysondiver

a 36mm air king is an explorer ,,, well , more or less.

Got one of those already.

[dysondiver]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Got one of those already.

ah well , welcome to the sub ,,, i like the 16613 , but there will be one in the line up for you ,,,,,

[Reu]

The AK is just fine as it is. The size is one of it's attributes that makes it what it is and gives it the uniqueness it has.

[Gaijin]

Originally Posted by Reu

The AK is just fine as it is. The size is one of it's attributes that makes it what it is and gives it the uniqueness it has.

Totally agree. A great Rolex.

[joe100]

The AK has always been 34mm with the exception of the 5504 which was 35mm only because it shared a reference with the Explorer. The 5504 was made at the same time as the 5500 was in production. Remember when it came to super cases and upgraded bracelets, the AK was the first watch to get the new stuff. Rolex likes the AK.

Peter summed the history very well so I will point out something else: the Rolex line.

If you want a 36mm sans date, you get an Oyster Perpetual
If you want a 36mm with date, you get a DateJust
If you want a 34mm sans date, you get an AirKing
If you want a 34mm with date, you get an OP Date

See the pattern? If they upsized the AK, it wouldn't make much sense in the line.

Besides, the AirKing has been in the Rolex catalog longer than any other watch, beating the DJ by a few months. It's history, tradition, and a fine watch at 34mm. I prefer it over most

[69mach351]

It is all relative and the features of the watch have a lot to do with how it looks. I am a bigger guy and never thought I would like a smaller watch, but my last Rolex was a DJ (36mm) and it wore just fine. I have considered an AK.

Aesthetically, watches like the AK, Date, DJ, OP, etc., look fine smaller, because they are not as busy. The sub, GMT, explorer 2, etc. would look funny if they were any smaller because their large bezels, thickness and other attributes would make the watch look funny.

I have no problem wearing watches in the mid 30mm range to just over 50mm if they wear well.

[threemonkeys]

The AK is the perfect size for me.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by threemonkeys

The AK is the perfect size for me.

Looks great, Craig.

[Bobcat09]

I love mine!

[joe100]

Article I wrote for Jake's Rolex Blog

http://rolexblog.blogspot.com/2013/0...ing.html#links

Fills in all of the details and references

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by joe100

Article I wrote for Jake's Rolex Blog

http://rolexblog.blogspot.com/2013/0...ing.html#links

Fills in all of the details and references

Thanks, that was interesting.

[Dr. Robert]

A Rolex oyster cased watch wears bigger than its specs.

[submariner66]

I love the air king nearly got one as my first because I like a white dialed no date watch and all that history to boot! but ultimately decided that it was too small for MY wrists and arms it looked a little funny. I would get the new 39mm explorer 1 though , wish they would make the air king at least in this size. As it would be nice to have the white dial.

[ecsub44]

Not small at all.

[bradiowausa]

It's the perfect size.

[redsubby]

The Air-King looks horrific on my 7in wrist....sorry but it really does. Even the DJ at 36mm is too small. Air-king would be good for 6in wrist.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by redsubby

The Air-King looks horrific on my 7in wrist....sorry but it really does. Even the DJ at 36mm is too small. Air-king would be good for 6in wrist.

Cannot agree with you I have a 8 inch plus wrist and I would be quite happy to wear a Airking and my vintage Rolex at 30mm.

[crowncollection]

Originally Posted by padi56

Cannot agree with you I have a 8 inch plus wrist and I would be quite happy to wear a Airking and my vintage Rolex at 30mm.

X 2 have an 8 inch wrist also and wear 35mm and 36mm all the time and I think it is fine.


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[redsubby]

Originally Posted by padi56

Cannot agree with you I have a 8 inch plus wrist and I would be quite happy to wear a Airking and my vintage Rolex at 30mm.

Sorry, couldn't disagree with you more...
Happy to wear them and how they look are completely different things...
Aside from Air King and vintage Rolex being cool watches, putting a 30mm or 34mm watch on a 8 in plus wrist cannot look good, it just can't, sorry. Maybe couple people out of 100 but will be because they are cool watches to have.