Rolex Air-King Owner Review : Robust, precise and discreet

Before buying this watch, I had a rather unusual history with timepieces. Since childhood, I've always loved jewelry and gold—it's practically ingrained in my culture. I've always enjoyed valuing objects: I collected minerals, gemstones, and even meteorites. As I grew up, I thought, "What if I treated myself to an 18k gold watch?" At the time, as a student, the most affordable solid gold watch was the Tissot Carson 34mm, made of genuine 18-karat gold, with a fairly lightweight case. This watch, a quartz model (I knew nothing about them back then), replaced my blue Lotus, which was also 34mm. In fact, when I bought the Lotus, the salesperson recommended the 34mm because the men's model seemed too big. It's funny looking back: with my very slender wrist, the 34mm has always suited me perfectly. And that Lotus, at €150, already seemed like a considerable sum. So the Tissot replaced the Lotus: it was my first real Swiss watch. Then I started researching mechanical and automatic watches, and I began buying quite a few vintage models. I owned Zeniths, Swiss ébauches, Lips… almost always in 18k gold. At one point, I thought to myself, “Rolex, why not take the plunge?” I looked on Le Bon Coin (a French classifieds website): there were affordable but very old vintage Rolexes, and especially Tudor “by Rolex” Prince Oysterdates, half the price and often in much better condition. So I bought one, with a magnificent blue dial. Then, during a trip to Dubai, I tried on a very simple 34mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual with a 3-6-9 Explorer dial. I loved it. I told myself, "One day, I'll have that watch." For a year, I spent a lot of time looking at Oper and Explorer models. I wanted them in 34 or 36 mm. Then, one day, on Chrono24, I stumbled upon a Rolex Air-King 14000, with papers, a salmon dial, and I thought, "That's exactly what I want!" Between the Explorer-like look, the modern features (sapphire crystal, caliber 3000), and a reasonable price compared to newer models, it was perfect. I decided to buy it. Today, I've had it for 10 months. It's running at +1.9 seconds per day, which is excellent. And frankly, I consider that I've had exactly the same experience as if I had bought an Explorer or an Oper. In addition—and this is perhaps thanks to the hollow link bracelet—it's the most comfortable watch I've ever worn. That's my experience. I hope it wasn't too long to read!