The Air-King is an oddball in the modern Rolex catalog, but its roots are nothing short of fascinating.

Legend has it that during the Second World War, British aviators in the RAF were sometimes known to purchase Rolex Oyster watches for use as personal timepieces, and that certain of these may even have seen combat during the Battle of Britain. Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf then named a series of watches after these intrepid warriors of the skies, with monikers such as Air-Tiger, Air-Lion, Air-Giant, and Air-King. The Air-King is the only model name to have survived through the decades, and lives on the current Reference 126900 — the first to add crown guards.

The particular Air-King we have here, a Reference 114210, features a 34mm stainless steel Oyster case with a sapphire crystal, a signed crown, and an engine-turned steel bezel with hour markers. It features a crisp and flawless gloss white 'Explorer' dial with applied luminous 'baton' indices and black quadrant Arabic indices, a matching ‘stick’ handset, and a stainless steel Oyster bracelet with Oysterclasp.

Powered by a  robust and reliable automatic-winding movement within, this piece, like most Air KIngs, is incredibly versatile for everyday use, and can easily be dressed-up for formal occasions or dressed-down and worn as a sporty everyday companion.