When the Rolex Air-King ref. 116900 came out in 2016, it was love at first sight for me and I was one of the first ones to buy one. While I loved the watch back then and even took it with me on a trip through Japan and Hong Kong, I feel there was something missing about this watch that didn’t make me fall in love with it forever. Now that the Air-King has been revamped and the new reference 126900 was presented a week ago at Watches & Wonders 2022, my love for this watch is back. Below is one of my favorite pictures I took of the Air-King when I first got it. More pictures from the previous reference here.
The new Rolex Air-King ref. 126900 comes with many improvements that I will explain here. First of all, the Air-King ref. 126900 is now equipped with a new movement as the small coronet at 6 o’clock suggests. The previous reference 116900 was powered by the Rolex calibre 3131 with 48 hours of power reserve and now the new reference is powered by the calibre 3230 with 70 hours of power reserve.
While the watch is now slightly slimmer, the crown guards that were added to the new reference 126900 make the watch much more robust and less like a Datejust. This is something I really love. Then comes the new bracelet which is wider and more in line with the 40 mm case size. Additionally, the clasp was redone and now the Air-King features a folding oysterlock safety clasp with Easylink comfort extension link. I personally don’t care much for oysterlock clasps and prefer the look of the clasp on the previous reference as it was very unique.
Now, what I really like a lot is that the dial was definitely improved. The previous Air-King reference 116900 had a dial that featured no chromalight lume at 9, 6 and 3, but the new Air-King reference 126900 is now equipped with chromalight lume in those Arabic numerals. Furthermore, the 5-minute numeral now appears more balanced after Rolex decided to add a zero to the left of the number five. Now all minute markers show double digits.
Thanks to all this revamping, the Air-King ref. 126900 now looks like the other professional models and not like a Datejust with a professional sporty dial. Here’s the new Air-King next to the new left handed GMT-Master II ref. 126720VTNR.
On the wrist, the new Rolex Air-King ref. 126900 wears slightly bigger than its actual size because the watch is slightly slimmer than its predecessor. A great looking watch that continues to convey the Rolex mentality that there is always room for improvement. While the price went slightly up, the increase is totally justified by the so many improvements that the watch underwent through. I personally love the new Air-King and I am looking forward to getting one at some point.
Sticker Price $7,400 USD. For more info on Rolex click here.
