Keeping with the aviation theme from last week?s article on the Stowa Flieger Klassik 40 Baumuster B, we come to this week?s featured timepiece: the Rolex Air-King. This series is one of the longest-running production models within Rolex?s modern lineup, with only the iconic Datejust and the original Oyster Perpetual rivaling it for longevity.

The Air-King, like the Datejust, was first released in 1945 as part of a larger collection of ?Air? models meant to honor the British Royal Air Force for their service during the 1930s and ?40s ? a collection that also included an Air-Lion, Air-Tiger, and Air-Giant. While the Air-King (pictured above) outlasted its three fellow ?Air? watches, it was not until 1953, with the ?transitional? Ref. 6552 model, and then in 1957, with the appearance of the Air-King Ref. 5500, that the model acquired its familiar modern aesthetic. Since then, the Air-King has been positioned as one of the more affordable options within the Rolex portfolio, and? after being briefly discontinued in 2014? was resurrected in 2016 as the Ref. 116900 (below).
Today?s model features a 40-mm steel Oyster case, with a screw-down crown and an accompanying oyster bracelet. On the black dial are applied white-gold numerals, with traditional 3, 6, and 9 Arabic numerals for the quarter-hour marks, and the remaining numerals increasing by increments of five in a look reminiscent of the navigational tools of airplanes; at the 12 o?clock position is an applied triangular ho...