2020 Rolex Air King 40mm Black Dial Discontinued 116900

Our 2020 Rolex Air-King 116900 has a curvaceous 40mm polished and brushed stainless steel Oyster case. Hans Wilsdorf, in 1945, introduced an aviation-inspired “Air” series, many RAF pilots started buying these Chronometer timepieces for their accuracy and endurance, the models included Air-Giant, Air-Lion, and Air-Tiger. At the end of the war, Rolex released the “AIR KING” in tribute to the pilots who flew at the Battle of Britain. In 1957, they released the Ref 5500 Air King, which had a production run of 37 years. In 2007, they introduced the Ref 114200, the first Air-King to be COSC certified. Rolex decided to discontinue the Air-King in 2014, replacing it with the Oyster Perpetual, this decision was reversed in 2016 when they launched the ref 116900, to be discontinued in 2022 and then replaced by the Air King 126900. The tapered lugs gently curve over your wrist, and a lug-to-lug length of 50mm and a thickness of 13.5mm ensures a comfortable fit. A large screw-down “Twinlock'' signed crown with coin edging on the right side. Its Monobloc middle case creates a Faraday cage taken from the Rolex Milgauss. A smooth polished bezel holds a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. The black dial has applied an inverted triangle at 12 o’clock, followed by 3, 6, and 9 with 60-minute numerals coated in Chromalight to provide a long-lasting blue luminescence. Mercedes hands with a green centre seconds hand add a pop of colour, they are coated in Chromalight. At 12 o’clock, a yellow Rolex coronet, with all the text, was expertly applied to the dial. On the reverse, a coin-edged screw-down case back, inside an automatic Rolex Cal. 3131, 31 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, the movement is encased in a protective Faraday cage, a Bidirectional Perpetual rotor, Paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring, and stop-seconds/hacking function, Superlative Chronometer (COSC Certified + Rolex certified after casing the watch movement). The watch comes paired with its original 20mm Rolex Oyster stainless steel bracelet with a signed Rolex clasp, all links included, plus a 20mm cut fitted rubber B strap in the box. The signed folding clasp has a 5mm EasyLink extension to achieve the perfect fit and comes with its Rolex presentation box, swing tags and paperwork.

This watch is sold with its original Rolex box, swing tags and Rolex paperwork. The watch comes paired on its original 20mm Rolex Oyster stainless steel bracelet with a signed Rolex clasp, all links included, plus a 20mm cut fitted rubber B strap in the box. The watch is from August 2020 and is sold in worn but fair unpolished condition; as you can see from the photos, an entire case and bracelet refurb can be provided at an additional cost. The watch comes with its original Manufacturer's Warranty.

The iconic, and now discontinued, Rolex Air King in 40mm with a deep black dial and amazingly it is the only model with the true Rolex logo in the colours of green and yellow. The words "underappreciated" and "Rolex" are not words we associate together often, but I do think this reference is underappreciated with the history of the model and the values they can be picked up at, so snap this one up whilst you can!

Reference : 116900
Movement : Automatic Rolex Cal. 3131
Age : August 2020
Year : 2020
Case Size : 40mm
Case Thickness : 13.5mm
Lug to Lug : 50mm
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box and Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty
The wrist model's wrist size is 7inch

In 1905, German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up a company in London that imported Swiss movements, which were installed in British cases and sold to jewellers who put their names on the dials. Recognising the potential for their brand, Wilsdorf created the brand name Rolex in 1908. In 1910, a Rolex became the first wristwatch to carry the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, awarded by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne, Switzerland. Demand for Rolex watches rose swiftly, and British taxes on the Swiss movements Rolex used prompted Wilsdorf to move the business to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1919. With production costs lowered, Wilsdorf quickly set out to solve the age-old problem of moisture and dust entering a watch case and damaging the movement. The Rolex watchmakers came up with a fully sealed watch case, which Wilsdorf named the Oyster and released to an appreciative audience in 1926. In 1931, Rolex introduced the first automatic winding wristwatch, giving it the legendary name Oyster Perpetual. In 1945, they released the Datejust. The Datejust was the first watch to have the date jump instantaneously at midnight. The 1950s saw a whole lot of releases, such as the Air-King (1958), the Explorer (1953), the Submariner (1953), the GMT Master (1955), the Day-Date (1956), the electromagnetic field resistant Milgauss (1956), the Lady-Datejust (1957) and the first Deep Sea model (1960). Wilsdorf’s death in 1960 saw ownership of Rolex S.A. (a collection of sub-companies) passed to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, which was founded by Wilsdorf in 1945, the mission of which is simply to sustain Rolex S.A. indefinitely.