Vintage Air King

[josehv]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here, and I´d like some advise from you!

I have just got a very old Air King, which is working perfectly, but has been stored for years. The watch was originally bougth in the 60s or 70s, but it wasnt cared very well. So, in the late 80s it was sent to Rolex for a major overhaul. From what I have been told everything was changed except for the machine.

So now my question is, if the case is "new", is the serial number the original or a new one? Also, the watch has a jubilee bracelet, but from what i have seen, all the air kings came with the oyster bracelet. Did this watch could be had originally with the jubilee bracelet, or is it a "hybrid"?

I´m sending it soon to Rolex to have it serviced, but I want to know if I should buy an oyster bracelet in order to have it "as new"

What else can you Rolex experts can tell my about my new watch?

Thanks!

[Widows Son]

Hmmmm...If the case was replaced, I'd doubt that Rolex would re-engrave it with the old S/N. Regarding the bracelet, I believe AK'S only came with Oyster bracelets.

[josehv]

So, if I want to make my watch "original" should I buy an oyster bracelet?

Or is it "valid" to have it like it is shown in the pictures?

Thanks for your advice!

[Lisa]

I love doing google image searches... not very scientific, but "vintage air-king" yields several images of AKs with jubilee bracelets. That goes along with what I thought was the case - that old AKs did come with jubilees as an option.

There was an Air-King with a date feature as well.

[joe100]

yeah, a jubilee could be had on an AirKing in that era. Rolex used to be much more accommodating as far as which bracelet you could specify with the watch. Very nice piece you have there for sure!

[josehv]

Thank you all for your kind help!!

I have some more doubts. As I wrote on the first post, this watch has not been serviced in the last 20 (or more) years. Is there any advantage if i take it to the Rolex office in Mexico over another expert watch repairsman (a swiss man that specializes only in high end watches and uses original rolex parts)?

The official Rolex office charges around $650 USD for the maintenance, with the other guy it could be significantly cheaper.

Do any of you know if the official Rolex repair includes the parts or if that price is only the labor?

Jose H

[dddrees]

The advantage of taking it to Rolex would be that they would actually replace some items that a independant which in most cases would not have access to Rolex parts would not. Some common parts are actually priced into the cost of the service where some parts would not be. Not sure exactly what these are. I believe there is a thread that covers this info, however on a quick search I did not find anything. Try searching using the service as your criteria or someone with more experioence with this might pop in and help later.

[joe100]

Give 'er the care she deserves and let Rolex themselves do this service.

[josehv]

Thanks for the advise, I´ll send it to Rolex then...

Do any of you have an idea of how much my watch might be worth?

[josehv]

I read somewhere that when you service with Rolex a watch with the acrylic crystal, it gets replaced and it is included in the price..

Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks!