Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air-King Model Ref.1005 9ct 1962

Rolex

Rolex produced a number of “Air” models during and after World War II, including the “Air-Giant”, “Air-Lion”, and “Air-Tiger”, but it was the 1945 introduction of the Air-King that would leave a lasting mark. These were named to honor the British Royal Air Force, which were enamored with Rolex watches. At the time, the 34 mm case was considered quite large, thus the “Air-King” name.

Founded in 1905 in England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, the partnership became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, and moved to its new Geneva headquarters in 1919. The success of the wristwatch can be largely attributed to many of Rolex’s innovations which made the company one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These have included its famous “Oyster” case — the world’s first water-resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and its “Perpetual” — the world’s first reliable, self-winding movement for the wristwatch, launched in 1933. These would form the foundation for Rolex’s Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956. Also and equally importantly, Rolex is known for its sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

Description

A wonderful, completely original, unrestored and untouched Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air-King in 9ct yellow gold, with a wonderful starburst dial with pleasing gilt furnishings. The 34mm 9ct yellow gold case has thick straight lugs and a screw-down case-back, overall, giving this stylish watch a confident, yet not overstated wrist presence. The original Rolex Calibre 1520, 26 Jewel automatic movement is superbly accurate and reliable even by current day standards. The watch has just been fully inspected and overhauled by our team and as can be seen, the movement is sparkling clean, following its service by our vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker.

The Dial

This remarkable Rolex Oyster Perpetual starburst dial is beautifully simple and elegant. The original gilt ‘baton’ hour indices are swept by the original ‘Index’ hands. The design is beautifully balanced and perfectly symmetrical. In terms of purity and elegance, the absence of a date function is often referred to retain a dials perfect balance.

The dial carries the applied Rolex Coronet and is signed ‘Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air-King’ below 12 with ‘Precision’ just above 6 and ‘T Swiss Made T’ below 6.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The watch carries its original, very high grade Calibre 1520, 26 jewel automatic movement which is in sparkling clean condition. The movement has been completely overhauled and serviced which involves fully dismantling, ultrasonic cleaning, inspection under high magnification and replacement of parts, only with new original Rolex parts where required, then careful reassembly and oiling ready for testing and calibration. The watch is now running perfectly, having been calibrated and timed within +9 seconds per day. This is truly outstanding for any watch of this age and has been confirmed by our electronic timegrapher. It is now ready for many more years of faithful service. This very high grade movement has a 48 hour power reserve.

The movement is all correctly signed ‘Rolex Geneve Swiss’ and ‘26 Jewels’ and with the Calibre number 1520. These movements are strong, very accurate and very reliable making this watch particularly suited to everyday use should you so wish. This particular movement is in superb A1 condition and with regular servicing, say every 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run happily for many years to come. We are therefore pleased to offer 12 months warranty on this watch movement*.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Case

The 9ct yellow gold case measures 34mm in diameter, excluding the original Rolex Oyster screw-down crown. The case carries the plain bezel, which along with the rest of the case and case-back, is in simply stunning condition, with no marks or scratches visible to the naked eye. The watch has only seen light use and has been very well cared for. Following close inspection, it has simply required some gentle hand-polishing to bring the watch to almost new condition once again. The case-back has never been engraved and equally importantly, it is of its original thickness.

Inside the case-back, the markings are all correct for a Rolex Swiss-made case and it is signed ‘MONTRES ROLEX S.A. GENEVA SWITZERLAND’ with the correct Swiss hallmarks for 9ct gold and the model number 1005, this model number can also be clearly found on the outside of the case between the lugs at 6 o’clock and the case serial number 1634150 is found on the outside of the case between the lugs at 12 o’clock. This dates the watch to 1962. On the underside of the lug at ‘5’ you can see the 9ct hallmark which reads .375.

The case has the screw-down Rolex Oyster crown and screw-down case-back, each complete with new rubber seals, however, although the watch was specified as waterproof when new, this has not been tested and it is not guaranteed.

Please note – our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap & Buckle

This watch is fitted with a high quality black leather strap and this watch has also been fitted with a matching gold-plated Rolex buckle. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown and black in stock in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin. We can also obtain most types and colours from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of 20mm straps if you wish here.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct and indicate the date of manufacture as 1962.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with a high quality hardwood presentation box, as shown in the photographs.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.