Tweaked to Perfection

With a few smart fiddles, Rolex revamped the Air King and proved that in watch design, tiny moves can make a big difference, as GQ watch columnist Nick Foulkes explains.

- Nick Foulkes

A MONG ROLEX'S 2022 releases, the uncontested headline grabber was the southpaw, crown-at-nine GMTMaster II with the black-and-green bezel-the Sprite or Riddler, if you're into nicknames. Moving the crown to the opposite side of the dial, which makes it more comfortable for wearing on the left wrist, delivered the sort of "stunt Rolex" that geeks love, and offered a chance for obsessives to post pictures of other left-handed Rolexes of the past. As a seasonal trophy watch it's a slam dunk, but my curiosity was instead piqued by a reissue that was defined by more subtle modifications. I've been thinking about the relaunch of a historic and perplexing Rolex-the Air-King.

The latest Air-King is an homage to the golden age of aviation during the 1930s, according to Rolex, with large numbers and prominent minute markers on the dial for navigational time readings. Originally released in 1945, it continued to evolve slightly, until the brand stopped making the Air-King in 2014, so that for the first time in decades the once affordable, attainable-if not exactly beloved by watch enthusiasts-Rolex was gone.