In 1989 rolex introduced the reference 14000 which provided an update to the ref.
Rolex air king 5500 vs 14000.
5500 which at that point had seen few changes throughout its 37 year history in terms of design it represented a new approach for the air king collection as it had arabic numerals at the 3 6 9 hours with stick markers in between.
In 2007 rolex released the ref 114200.
These included the air king date and the 550x models for the commonwealth market.
If you re comparing the reference 116900 with references 5500 and 14000 there s a lot of rolex history to take in and numerous changes to the classic model to consider.
The first air king to be cosc certified.
Not only did the air king 14000 introduce a sapphire crystal to the collection but also the then new caliber 3000 movement.
Air king watches remained unchanged for almost 40 years with reference 5500.
It sports a.
In 1957 rolex introduced the ref 5500 air king.
Before receiving a refresh with the ref 1400 which introduced a sapphire crystal.
14000 in 1989 to replace the long running air king ref.
And a new movement.
To make matters more complex the 5500 case was used for both the air king and explorer.
Rolex introduced the air king ref.
Its predecessor the reference 5500 was produced for 31 years making it one of longest production runs of any rolex model.
The rolex air king ref 116900.
In terms of design the air king 14000 is one of the most understated rolex watches you can get your hands on.
The air king reference 14000 was produced from 1989 to 1999.
That model remained in production for the next 37 years.
This reference being the only 35mm air king to date.