Rolex
arking discontinued fullset nos - box and papers

Rolex Airking Oyster Perpetual 116900 watch from 2021, a complete and now collector's set, with its original papers in card form. A watch whose sport-oriented design contrasts considerably with the tidy and wise side of the previous Airking models. This watch is the latest Rolex Airking 40 mm reference 116900, a model only produced for six years (and presented at Baselworld in 2016).

Moreover, this revolutionary Airking constitutes in the history of Rolex one of the exceptions since it's equipped with a dial and a case of entirely new form and produced without having been tested before at Tudor. The production of this rare and relatively little distributed watch ended in 2021, and a replacement in 2022 by a new Rolex air king, which Rolex markets under the reference Airking 126900 to appear alongside the explorer I resized to 36 mm in diameter.

The Rolex Airking 116900 shown here features a black dial with oversized mirror-polished white gold indexes at three, six and nine o'clock. In the centre and at the top of the dial is the Rolex brand in green, the logo's crown is in yellow gold insert and the mention oyster perpetual painted in white. Under the axis of the hands appears in white the mention of the Airking model in stylized font with below the mention reserved for models certified COSC ​​chronometers. The Mercedes hour hand and baton minutes are enriched with superluminova, with a green lollipop central second hand.

A polished steel case with a width of forty millimetres and a thickness of thirteen is identical to the Rolex Milgauss model and therefore offers the same non-magnetic properties. The twin lock-type screw winder gives the Rolex air king 116900 a water resistance of 100 meters or 10 ATM. The bracelet is of the steel oyster type and fitted with an adjustable folding clasp.

Self-winding movement, certified COSC ​​chronometer, Rolex Caliber 3131 with 31 jewels equipped with a Parachrom hairspring which protects it from magnetic influences and disturbances. The movement runs at twenty-eight thousand eight hundred vibrations per hour and has a power reserve after a complete winding of forty-eight hours.

From a collection point of view, the Rolex Airking is one of the most emblematic models in the range of Rolex watches. Its history begins before the second world war with the reference 4925 with anti-shocks and will experience its hours of glory on the wrist of watch enthusiasts in the fifties then, the reference 5500 then 14000, both also worn by women, was equipped with sapphire crystal and a waterproof case of thirty-four millimetres, to adapt to the constraints but above all the desires of modern life. A very successful range with coloured dials (blue or black) will be produced in 2015 with its characteristic white gold inserts 3, 6, and 9, which it shared with the Rolex explorer 14270 model.

Another notable point from the point of view of the collection, the design of the dial of the Rolex air king 116900 echoes a realization of instruments developed by Rolex for the prototype supersonic car Bloodhound SSC (a car that incorporates a Eurofighter aircraft engine)