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sante83 · 2 March 2014, 04:39 AM

Hi all,

Last week I bought an (1980?) 5500 Air-King from a quite popular used watches retailer in London.

One thing that worries me is that is see the "REGISTERED DESIGN" engraving while the serial number of the watch is 659xxxx. From a research I did in the forum,it seems that Rolex watches dated between 1980 and 1982 had neither the "REGISTERED DESIGN" nor the "ORIG ROLEX DESIGN" engraving (http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=142482).

Does this seem suspicious to you? I would appreciate your thoughts and recommendations.

BTW, do you think that the T SWISS MADE T logo is consistent to the date of the watch?

Many thanks.

AbsolutelyROLEX! · 2 March 2014, 05:29 AM

Looks perfectly fine to me, lets see what david down under says...

crowncollection · 2 March 2014, 07:41 PM

I see no pics. Some have no engraving not all.

sante83 · 2 March 2014, 10:23 PM

Thanks Andy, David.

Sorry for the poor quality of the pics. I'm attaching some new ones, which I hope are better.

One other note is that when comparing the rolex logos on the crown and the bracelet to those on my girlfriend's 2004 datejust I see small differences in the shapes and the quality of the engravings. Could this be because of the 25 years difference between the two watches? I assume it could, right?

Thanks again.

powerfunk · 2 March 2014, 11:05 PM

Looks good, congrats! I'd never heard of one not having Registered Design before; it's definitely normal for that to be there.

Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2

TimeToGo · 2 March 2014, 11:15 PM

I see your concern that there is documentation that Rolex stopped stamping "Registered Design" on or about the 6.2 million serial watches.

As you have copied Buddy Orchi's post, it is also documented below:

http://www.doubleredseadweller.com/w...n-vs-orig.html

I truly believe this timepiece was at the time of the transition. Even if you look at the statements made in the above references, it states it stopped around the 1980-81 time period and as mentioned by Buddy Orchi, "Around early in 6.2 mil case series to the Later Half of 6 mil case series, Certain numbers of Original Rolex cases...were even NOT engraved with "REGISTERED DESIGN"......

There is no direct science to the Rolex world.

You have a very nice watch there and wear in the best of health!

powerfunk · 2 March 2014, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimeToGo

There is no direct science to the Rolex world.

You have a very nice watch there and wear in the best of health!

X2 plus, I don't think Air Kings were the focus of much Orchi research away.

Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2

sante83 · 2 March 2014, 11:22 PM

Many thanks guys!

Cc1966 · 3 March 2014, 02:17 AM

Looks great! Good luck...

joe100 · 3 March 2014, 03:35 AM

Yep, all smooth sailing with this one

2 March 2014, 04:39 AM	#1
sante83 "TRF" Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: London Posts: 4	Does this Air-King 5500 seem authentic?? Hi all, Last week I bought an (1980?) 5500 Air-King from a quite popular used watches retailer in London. One thing that worries me is that is see the "REGISTERED DESIGN" engraving while the serial number of the watch is 659xxxx. From a research I did in the forum,it seems that Rolex watches dated between 1980 and 1982 had neither the "REGISTERED DESIGN" nor the "ORIG ROLEX DESIGN" engraving (http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=142482). Does this seem suspicious to you? I would appreciate your thoughts and recommendations. BTW, do you think that the T SWISS MADE T logo is consistent to the date of the watch? Many thanks. Attached Images

2 March 2014, 05:29 AM	#2
AbsolutelyROLEX! "TRF" Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Real Name: Andy Location: Ontario, Canada Watch: AKA: ANDERL712000 Posts: 4,935	Looks perfectly fine to me, lets see what david down under says... __________________ We want to be the first in the field and Rolex should be seen as the one and only-the best. Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex founder

2 March 2014, 07:41 PM	#3
crowncollection "TRF" Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Real Name: David Location: australia Posts: 20,216	I see no pics. Some have no engraving not all. __________________ watches many

2 March 2014, 10:23 PM	#4
sante83 "TRF" Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: London Posts: 4	Thanks Andy, David. Sorry for the poor quality of the pics. I'm attaching some new ones, which I hope are better. One other note is that when comparing the rolex logos on the crown and the bracelet to those on my girlfriend's 2004 datejust I see small differences in the shapes and the quality of the engravings. Could this be because of the 25 years difference between the two watches? I assume it could, right? Thanks again. Attached Images

3 March 2014, 02:17 AM	#9
Cc1966 "TRF" Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Real Name: Christopher Location: Georgia, USA Watch: ing the Sea... Posts: 6,713	Looks great! Good luck... __________________ "I wish to have no Connection with any Ship that does not Sail fast for I intend to go in harm's way." Captain John Paul Jones, 16 November 1778 "*Curmudgeons* " Favorites: 1665 SD, Sub Date, DSSD, Exp II, Sub LV, GMTIIc

2 March 2014, 11:05 PM	#5
powerfunk "TRF" Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Real Name: Rob Location: Boston, MA Watch: 1530 Posts: 3,799	Looks good, congrats! I'd never heard of one not having Registered Design before; it's definitely normal for that to be there. Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2

2 March 2014, 11:15 PM	#6
TimeToGo 2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North Florida Posts: 16,736	I see your concern that there is documentation that Rolex stopped stamping "Registered Design" on or about the 6.2 million serial watches. As you have copied Buddy Orchi's post, it is also documented below: http://www.doubleredseadweller.com/w...n-vs-orig.html I truly believe this timepiece was at the time of the transition. Even if you look at the statements made in the above references, it states it stopped around the 1980-81 time period and as mentioned by Buddy Orchi, "Around early in 6.2 mil case series to the Later Half of 6 mil case series, Certain numbers of Original Rolex cases...were even NOT engraved with "REGISTERED DESIGN"...... There is no direct science to the Rolex world. You have a very nice watch there and wear in the best of health!

2 March 2014, 11:22 PM	#8
sante83 "TRF" Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: London Posts: 4	Many thanks guys!

3 March 2014, 03:35 AM	#10
joe100 2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Real Name: Joe Location: New Mexico Watch: Explorer Posts: 12,840	Yep, all smooth sailing with this one __________________ It's Espresso, not Expresso. Coffee is not a train in Italy. -TRF Member 6982-

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