Newcomer - New rolex! old rolex ?

[phrog]

After many years admiring Rolex on the wrists of others, I have finally graduated to being the proud owner of a brand new Stainless DateJust! More specifically it is a SS DJ with smooth SS bezel, Rhodium dial, silver numerals, and an SS oyster band. Needless to say, the watch is incredible and has surpassed every expectation thus far. I hope to have some pictures to share soon.

On a different note, my dad has an older Rolex he bought from an estate several years ago. The watch needs to be cleaned and could use a new band, but overall, is in good condition (aside from the band, which is shot). The dial indicates it is an Oyster Perpetual and we think it was made in the late fifties. Recently the watch was sent to the Dallas authorized service center, through an AD, to be cleaned, new crystal, etc, however, Rolex sent back and denied sevice due to fact that the watch had been altered/changed from the way in which it was born. Rolex said it was an Air King and other than that gave no further details. Okay, so not much detail. That is the reason for this post... Is there a way to look up a Rolex serial number to determine how it was made from the factory? I He would like to return the watch to its original look, but it is kind of hard if we don't know what it was. Does anyone know how I can find out this information? Would appreciate any help/thoughts.

Watch details:
Rolex Oyster Perpetual, Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified (as indicated on the dial)
Model 5500
Serial# 1124728
White dial, black numerals, gold hands, gold ticks, no date
Smooth gold bezel
Rolesor oyster band

Thank you!