Rolex Air-King
The Rolex Air-King is a line of self-winding mechanical watches produced by Rolex. Introduced in 1945, the Air-King was developed as part of Rolex's post-war aviation themed watches and became the only model from that series to remain in production.
Rolex Air-King
EMore98 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Rolex Explorer
- Field
- wristwatch
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The Rolex Air-King is a line of self-winding mechanical watches produced by Rolex. Introduced in 1945, the Air-King was developed as part of Rolex's post-war aviation themed watches and became the only model from that series to remain in production.
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wikidata · Q86661850 · wikipedia · Rolex Air-King
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Rolex Explorer • Introduced — 1945 • Type — Automatic • Display — Analogue • Manufacturer — Rolex
History
History
Rolex watches were valued by members of the Royal Air Force during World War II, with many opting to privately purchase the watches which were not standard commission to pilots. To recognise and capitalise on their popularity, Rolex founder, Hans Wildorf, instructed the creation of a series of 'Air' models which prioritised legibility. The original series included the Air-King, alongside the Air Lion, Air Tiger, and Air Giant. Whilst these models were slowly dropped from the catalogue, the Air-King has remained in near continuous production since, with only a short break from 2014 to 2018
Bloodhound SSC
Bloodhound SSC
In 2018, Rolex re-introduced the Air-King model. Unlike previous versions which had been 34mm or smaller, the 116900 Air-King was 40mm in diameter and shared a case with the then current Rolex Milgauss. The dial was designed as an homage to the chronograph counter Rolex had designed and manufactured for the Bloodhound SSC, a vehicle designed to break the world land speed record, as their official timing partner.
Variants
Variants
The Air-King 5500 was sold by the NAAFI featuring an 'Explorer' name on the dial, instead of 'Air-King', although this is considered a distinct model from the Rolex Explorer. From 1977, until the early 2000s, Dominos rewarded franchise owners with Air-Kings which featured either engravings or special dials which featured the company's logo.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Sims, Josh. Little Book of Rolex: The story behind the iconic brand. Headline. 2024-05-23. 978-1-80279-760-2.
- 2.Dowling, James. The Rolex Legacy: The history of Rolex through 120 seminal and rare watches. Octopus. 2025-10-16. 978-1-78840-637-6.
- 3.Bloodhound Diary: Precision and accuracy. BBC News. 2014-05-21.
- 4.Buying, Selling, & Collecting: The Domino's Rolex Air-King With A Slice Of Pizza. Hodinkee.
- 5.Hranek, Matt. A Man & His Watch: Iconic Watches and Stories from the Men Who Wore Them. Workman Publishing Company. 2017-10-31. 978-1-57965-819-9.
- 6.How Rolex's Unlikely Collab Watch With Domino's Pizza Became a Cult Classic. Esquire. 2025-07-17.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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318 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Roger W. SmithArtist
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