Air King search

[Chulander]

Hi everyone,

I am myself a proud Daytona owner, and am in the process of helping a colleague track down his dream watch, what I believe is a 5500 series Air King.

In particular, the model he's looking for has a red dial, exactly like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MENS-VINTAGE...item3a907cef6a

Can anyone tell me if this watch looks legit, if the seller is a good one to purchase from, and if the price is reasonable?

I've also heard DavidSW mentioned MANY times on this forum. Should I consider them as a good alternative to eBay for this particular watch?

Also, for the Air King specialists out there, is there anything I should be looking out for for this particular model?

Thanks so much in advance.

[crowncollection]

That dial is resprayed IMHO no good and price is way to high

[Chulander]

Originally Posted by crowncollection

That dial is resprayed IMHO no good and price is way to high

Phew, thanks. If you don't mind me asking, how can you tell that it's not a good example (dial respray, etc.) Is there a thread I should reference to get a good sense of how much to spend on a good example?

[crowncollection]

Spend 1500-2000 tops, I can tell from experience and knowledge.

[francis]

Agreed 2000 tops as I have been checking them out..
But forget my input, if David from Australia tells you a fish farts, you better look for bubbles. ;)

[Chulander]

Thank you guys for the advice. Any recommendations on how we might go about finding a good example with a Red dial? Does anybody know of a trusted seller in the states that can locate/source one?

[joe100]

There is no such thing as an authentic red dial 5500. For that matter there is no such thing as a red, orange, yellow, green, purple, or light blue dial 5500.

There are a few early examples from the late 50s to early 60s with white dials, for the most part, silver, black, slate grey or dark blue were the colors used on the SS 5500. This isn't hard and fast as there were some champagne colored dials as well , but not as common. Avoid blue dials from the 60s and 70s due to paint quality issues. The blue reacted with the tritium on the hour plots causing the paint to flake.

Bright, vibrant reds, oranges, greens, yellows, etc are all repainted dials and to be avoided.

For $2000 you'd better be getting a pristine example.

[socalwatchcollector]

Pass..

[Chulander]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.