Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air King Precision with ref 5500 and gilt dial

1978 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air King Precision with ref 5500 and gilt dial

 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air King Precision with reference 5500 with round black gilt dial and gold baton marking each hour. At 12 o’clock come the Rolex logo and underneath in black “Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air King”. At 6 o’clock you have “Precision” and it is a “T Swiss T” model. The hands are in gold with “Baton” style. The crown comes with the Rolex logo. It is a stainless-steel screwed back case. The serial number is 5.2 million and date the watch to 1978. The watch comes with a Rolex automatic movement with caliber 1520 and 26 jewels. It is an oyster steel bracelet with double Rolex buckle clasp.

History

In 1905, Hans Wilsdorf founded in London “ Wilsdorf & Davis” a wholesaler company. The same year, he signed a contract to distribute the Aegler wristwatches brand in UK. In 1908, he creates his own brand called “Rolex” abbreviation of “Rolling Export”. In 1914, Wilsdorf won a class “A” rating certificate from the Kew observatory in England. In 1914, “Les Fils de jean Aegler become Rolex Watch Co. Aegler SA, Manufacture d’Horlogerie”. In 1920, Wilsdorf founded “Montres Rolex SA” in Geneva. In 1926, he patented a watchcase with a screw down crown. In 1927 the “Oyster” was born when Mercedes Gleitze crossed the Channel in 15 hours and 15 minutes. In 1931, came the “Perpetual”, then the “Datejust” in 1945. Since 2000, Rolex makes its own movements and produce over 700,000 watches a year many being iconic like the Daytona, Submariner or the Prince to name a few.

Technical details

Automatic Rolex movement with caliber 1520, 26 jewels and 19,800 A/h.

Measurements

Diameter excluding winding crown: 34mm


Length including lugs: 40mm