• Country of Manufacture - Switzerland 
• Year - 1967
• Serial - 1727443
• Model - 5500
• Movement & caliber -  1520
• Case diameter - 34 mm
  
• This Item is Final Sale
• Do not expose the watch to water or any form of moisture as it is vintage.

A handsome and very rare, early, stainless steel Rolex Air King model. This example features a glossy silvery/white dial, set with these unusual silver, arrow head, applied hour markers with longer ones at the three, six and nine o'clock positions. The black serif printed text is all original to the watch, and not reprinted. Plus, the minimal three lines of printing, limited only to the top of the dial, makes it all the more appealing. The overall appearance of this watch is so simple and clean.
 
All of the original Tritium luminous plots are present, as is most of the lume in the dauphine hands. It has all darkened over the years. The dial is stamped usually ""Swiss T” at the six o'clock position for Tritium, since Radium luminous material was phased out around 1963, making this one of the very earliest Tritium dials.

The ""Air"" series from Rolex came to pass as a result of Mr. Hans Wilsdorf's, the founder of Rolex, deep admiration for the pilots of the RAF, and the sacrifices made during WWII, and the fact that many had chosen to wear his watches. Even if they were issued with other manufacturers watches by the M.O.D. Rolex introduced a number of ""Air"" branded watches; ""Air Giant"", ""Air Lion"",""Air Tiger"" and this the ""Air King"". The ""Air King"" is perhaps the best known model in this series, and the only one that has stood the test of time, still featuring in the Rolex stable today. This model, the 5500, was initially launched by Rolex in 1957, making this example an early model in a long lineage that ran until 1988.

The watch is powered by the automatic caliber 1520. In a curious and decidedly un-Rolex-like move, the prestigious brand phased out the vaunted Caliber 1530 in 1963, replacing it with the less advanced Caliber 1520. As the numerical designations suggest, this represented a significant step backwards for the usually progressive Rolex.
The new movement was built upon the same underlying architecture as its predecessor, even sharing an identical base plate. However, Rolex had implemented several key design changes, many of which were geared towards minimizing manufacturing costs. Gone was the Microstella regulating system that had graced the departing Caliber 1530 towards the end of its run, replaced instead by a basic stick regulator. Additionally, the brand substituted the Breguet overcoil hairspring - a hallmark of Rolex's high-end offerings - with a more economical flat hairspring design. Rolex also launched the Caliber 1520 as a 17-jewel movement, although 25 and 26-jewel versions would later join the lineup.
In short, Rolex had clearly made a concerted effort to reduce costs with this new caliber, sacrificing some of the technical sophistication that had long been a point of pride for the esteemed Swiss manufacture.

As aforementioned, this reference was introduced in 1957 by Rolex, with this example having 1,727,XXX serial number, dates to being manufactured circa 1967. The case measures close to 34mm (not including the crown) which is also the same size case used in the Rolex Date model. The watch comes on an early riveted stainless steel Oyster style bracelet, which is in good condition, with little to no 'sag', and is date stamped ’78’, for having been produced in that year. This makes it later addition to the watch, but correct aesthetically for the period. The inside of the case back is also stamped ’64 I’.
This is a very early and superb example from the Air King series. These dials very rarely come up, and when they have surfaced they are never in this kind of condition. The case is presented in good condition. It has seen light polishing over the years, but all of the edges remain strong, and the lugs still thick. There is, of course wear to it, as one would expect from a watch now sixty years old.