The Air King - some reflections, thoughts and watch shots two years on

[AJMarcus]

Originally Posted by pomelowatches

Hey guys,



Conscious this watch has had its fair share of controversy since its launch during Basel 2016, but, two years after living with it, I thought it was worth looking back on the Air King, where it came from and how it looks and feels today. Click on the link here for more thoughts and watch shots!

With thanks to everyone on TRF for their views over the years, has been interesting to hear other people's opinions on this piece as time has gone on.

Enjoy!
Daniel

Great review Daniel. Thank you

[ReturningSon]

Great review. I, too, have ridden the emotional rollercoaster on this piece. I initially disliked it but given the concretely standardized design language that Rolex *over*uses
(just IMO, don't kill me), the "bloodhound" offers a refreshing take on SS and I think the eccentricity of the piece is what really draws people after a while.

[Gerardus]

Love the Airking 116900, wears also very comfortable!

[BT1985]

Same case as the Milgauss, which I own, so I definitely get the comfort factor. Really great proportions.

[Clark]

Fantastic review. I always liked the Air King but held off buying it as I always read so much negativity associated with it. I was new to Rolex when it was released and didn't want to buy the "wrong piece". Fast forward couple of years and I finally purchased one. Has been my daily for about 4 months now and I am loving it. The advise I see on this forum so often is "buy what you like" not what others profess, often in every ones favorite "better investment" threads. That advise is so correct it often just takes us new guys a couple of years to get over the hump.

[bazin]

This beauty, the 116900 Air King, is clearly on the rise for a couple of months already....
A couple of months ago they were NOS generally sold 10% under MSRP.........now they are already sold NOS 10% over MSRP.
The numbers of available A.K.'s on Chrono24 are decreasing constantly.......

[TimelessClassics]

Great write up, Daniel and thanks for sharing!

I recently had an itch to add another piece to my collection and was about to pick up the bluesy. I pulled the trigger on the Air King instead and I couldn't be happier. It wears comfortably, flies under the radar, and I have yet to see one in the wild (unlike the sub which I see daily). Highly underrated piece in my opinion.

[dori]

Just gotta say I love the AK!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Montremoi]

Originally Posted by askdanny

https://www.rolexmagazine.com/2019/0...-air-king.html

Great on-the-job feedback, now I understand how valuable this "weird" dial arrangement can be

I guess this Air King could be improved by having, say, green lume on the minutes numbers and blue lume on the hours numbers.

[medtner]

Originally Posted by pomelowatches

Hey guys,



Conscious this watch has had its fair share of controversy since its launch during Basel 2016, but, two years after living with it, I thought it was worth looking back on the Air King, where it came from and how it looks and feels today. Click on the link here for more thoughts and watch shots!

With thanks to everyone on TRF for their views over the years, has been interesting to hear other people's opinions on this piece as time has gone on.

Enjoy!
Daniel

In my opinion, it has 3 features which make it unique.
1. It is the only modern Rolex which has the crown in yellow color and Rolex name in green, exactly as the logo. This makes it very identifiable.
2. No other watch maker has tried to copy the design.
3. Price is a bargain, $6200 , if lucky in Europe, starts at 4700 Euro after VAT refund, great price for a modern design
Value doesn't seem to hold well in short term, used are being offered at 10 to 20% less than $6200. Still very popular, have not seen any since I started my search 8 months ago.

[Clark]

Wow. Some beautiful pictures in this thread!

[pomelowatches]

Thanks very much for all the comments and feedback on the article guys. Much appreciated.

[pomelowatches]

Wow, great shots. What camera do you use?

Originally Posted by Okami

This beauty, the 116900 Air King, is clearly on the rise for a couple of months already....
A couple of months ago they were NOS generally sold 10% under MSRP.........now they are already sold NOS 10% over MSRP.
The numbers of available A.K.'s on Chrono24 are decreasing constantly.......

[bazin]

Originally Posted by pomelowatches

wow, great shots. What camera do you use?

*****
Nikon D850.........

[JoseR]

[QUOTE=askdanny;10017858]As one who's worn the Air-King in the cockpit and across the oceans, I loved your review (and the Air-King is my avatar). I could never decide between wearing a vintage watch or a modern one. As much as I love the GMT, I feel the new Air-King gives me that aviation-vintage feel in a brand new watch. I might be flying a state-of-the-art airliner for a living. But my eyes always turn towards a DC-3 or a P-51 Mustang parked on the ramp. I love the black high-contrast, military minute dial, the brushed steel, the heft, the green lollipop hand.

I love that it doesn't have the typical Submariner design that makes the watch scream "Rolex!" Most won't recognize the brand until they look closely at the dial. Then they see the coronet and the color and say, "I love that watch!"

Many brands like Breitling, Fortis, IWC, etc., are going heavy for the vintage pilot design.

I love my Air-King.

https://www.rolexmagazine.com/2019/0...-air-king.html[

Nice link. Enjoy your AK and safe flying.

[air_king]

It was my first Rolex and it is still one of my favorites.