A HOMAGE TO AVIATION
The Air-King symbolizes the privileged relationship between Rolex and flying during the golden age of aviation in the 1930s. It pays tribute to the pilots of the era and the role of the first Oyster watches in their epic story.

The 1930s saw spectacular progress in aircraft performance that constantly expanded humanity’s capacity to conquer the skies and led to the introduction of long-distance flights. Several pilots set records while wearing an Oyster watch. Others used the timepiece as an on-board chronometer. Among these airborne adventurers was the British aviator Charles Douglas Barnard. Of the Oyster, he said: “The peculiar qualities of this Rolex watch render it eminently suitable for flying purposes and I propose to use it on all my long-distance flights in the future.” In 1933, the brand’s watches accompanied the Houston Expedition as it made the first-ever flight over Mount Everest at an altitude exceeding 10,000 metres (33,000 feet) in extreme weather conditions. In 1934, when Owen Cathcart-Jones and Ken Waller made a return voyage from London (United Kingdom) to Melbourne (Australia) in record time in a twin-engine De Havilland Comet, an Oyster watch served as their on-board chronometer.

CHROMALIGHT DISPLAY
The Air-King offers great legibility in all circumstances, even in the dark, thanks to its Chromalight display: the 3, 6 and 9 numerals and the hands are filled or coated with a luminescent material emitting a long-lasting blue glow.

THE OYSTER CASE, SYMBOL OF WATERPROOFNESS
The Air-King’s Oyster case, 40 mm in diameter and guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 100 metres (330 feet), is a paragon of robustness and reliability. The middle case is crafted from a solid block of Oystersteel. The case back, edged with fine fluting, is hermetically screwed down with a special tool employed by approved watchmakers. The Twinlock winding crown, fitted with a double waterproofness system and protected by an integral crown guard, screws down securely against the case. The crystal is made of virtually scratchproof sapphire and benefits from an anti-reflective coating. The waterproof Oyster case provides optimal protection for the movement it houses. 

BRACELET AND CLASP: SECURITY AND COMFORT
The Air-King is fitted on a three-piece link Oyster bracelet. This bracelet is equipped with a Rolex-designed Oysterlock safety clasp, which prevents accidental opening. It features the Easylink comfort extension link, developed by the brand, which allows the wearer to easily increase the bracelet length by approximately 5 mm, for additional comfort in any circumstance.

CALIBRE 3230
The Air-King is equipped with calibre 3230, a self-winding mechanical movement entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex. A distillation of technology, this movement carries a number of patents. It offers outstanding performance, particularly in terms of precision, power reserve, convenience and reliability.

Calibre 3230 incorporates the patented Chronergy escapement, made of nickel-phosphorus, which combines high energy efficiency with great dependability and is resistant to strong magnetic fields.

The movement is additionally fitted with the blue Parachrom hairspring. Manufactured in a paramagnetic alloy enabling it to withstand strong magnetic fields, this hairspring also offers great stability in the face of temperature variations as well as high resistance to shocks. It is equipped with a Rolex overcoil, ensuring the calibre’s regularity in any position.

The oscillator of calibre 3230 has a large balance wheel with variable inertia regulated extremely precisely via gold Microstella nuts. It is held firmly in place by a height-adjustable traversing bridge enabling very stable positioning to increase shock resistance. The oscillator is also mounted on the Rolex-designed, high-performance Paraflex shock absorbers, further enhancing the movement’s shock resistance.

Calibre 3230 is equipped with a self-winding system via a Perpetual rotor, which ensures continuous winding of the mainspring by harnessing the movements of the wrist to provide a constant source of energy. Thanks to its barrel architecture and the escapement’s superior efficiency, the power reserve of this movement extends to approximately 70 hours.

The Air-King’s movement is beautifully finished and decorated. Since 2023, it has also been marked with the words ‘Chronometer Perpetual’ and ‘Superlative Adjusted’ engraved on the oscillating weight and on the bridges, respectively.

THE AIR-KING, SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER CERTIFIED
Like all Rolex watches, the Air-King is covered by the Superlative Chronometer certification. Symbolized by a green seal, this in-house certification is strictly controlled by internationally recognized, independent Swiss entities. It ensures the excellent on-the-wrist performance of each of the brand’s watches and is coupled with an international five-year guarantee.

In 2026, the Superlative Chronometer certification was expanded to seven testing criteria. Resistance to magnetism, reliability and sustainability were added to the criteria for precision, waterproofness, self-winding and autonomy, established when the certification was redefined in 2015.

The requirements in terms of precision are particularly stringent. Each Rolex movement is first officially certified as a chronometer. This means that, having passed a series of eliminating tests, it fulfils the criteria governing the ‘chronometer’ designation for wristwatches. For the category of calibres concerned, which includes all Rolex movements, the tolerated rate deviation is –4 and +6 seconds per day.

After casing the movement, the precision is then tested again, following a protocol developed by Rolex that simulates real-life wearing conditions, to meet even stricter criteria: the watch’s accuracy must be between –2 and +2 seconds per day. The rate deviation tolerated by the brand for a finished watch is therefore significantly smaller than that accepted for official certification of the movement alone.