Watch in the Box Episode 4 | Bob's Watches

Описание: Bob’s Watches is the world’s leading pre-owned Rolex exchange. Every day we receive dozens of boxes, each filled with a different luxury watch that has its own story to tell. We never know what exactly will be in the boxes, which makes the process all that more exciting. With our Watch in the Box video series, we bring you along for the ride as we reveal a new watch each episode. Join us as we discover…what’s in the box?

During Episode 4, we unboxed a newer-model Rolex Air-King ref. 116900. A significant departure from the classic Air-King first introduced in the 1940’s, the reference 116900 features a larger 40mm case, improved materials, and a colorful new dial, Mercedes style hands, and a magnetic shield over its movement that is borrowed from the Rolex Milgauss.

While previous generations of Rolex Air-King watches follow a very classic aesthetic, the appearance of the new reference 116900 is a significant overall departure. The dial more closely resembles the cockpit controls designed by Rolex for the Bloodhound SSC, a rocket car built to break the land speed record. Together with the larger case and sportier dial, the new Air-King 116900 wears much more like a sports watch than earlier references.

To better understand the ref. 116900 Air-King, let’s take a quick look at the collection’s history. The Air-King was a member of Rolex’s Air Series of watches that also included the Air-Giant, the Air-Tiger, and the Air-Lion (among others). However, the Air-King is the only model that still remains in production today. It’s rumored that the series was created by Hans Wilsdorf upon hearing that the pilots of the British Royal Air Force preferred their personal Rolex watches over their military-issued timepieces. The resulting Air-King was an affordable and reliable time-only watch that featured a 34mm case and a self-winding movement.

The line was discontinued in 2014 and re-entered the market in 2016 with the ref. 116900. Its feature set includes 904L-grade Oystersteel, longer-lasting Chromalight luminous plots on the dial, a new clasp equipped with a 5mm Easylink comfort extension, and a Caliber 3131 movement with a 48-hour power reserve.

The modern Air-King ref. 116900 is similar in design to the Milgauss anti-magnetic watch, which utilizes the same case and Caliber 3131 movement and offers similar anti-magnetic properties. Much like the Milgauss, which is notably topped with a bright orange lightning bolt seconds hand, the dial of the Air-King 116900 is topped with bright green and yellow accents in the form of a green seconds hand and a sporty green and yellow Rolex logo.

The example that we have here appears to be in excellent condition and comes with the original box and papers and links. A pre-owned 116900 Air-King in great condition like this one has an estimated value of around $6k on the secondary market.

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