I've experienced a few rolexes in my time and some ive really liked. Nearly all of them seem to have their own stores behind their look and use - usually born of their function rather than designed to be cool deliberately - but the Air King really jumped out at me when I first saw it, mainly due to its slight hint of green and the raised numbers on the dial.

The model we are raffling is the 116900 model and its the latest iteration in a long line of Air King designs that started as a pretty plain Oyster that was named Air king to honour the RAF pilots of the Second World War. Over the years, pilots have adopted the Air-King, with some companies, like Pan Am, giving them as gifts to retired pilots. The Air-King look is well known, and has become a highly prized collector’s piece.

These watch models were made with 32 and 34-mm watch cases originally, with dials for pilots to read the time more easily. As I mentioned, its morphed a fair bit since the end of the last world war but in this latest guise reminded me quite a lot of the Explorer 40 which we gave away whilst writing this article and as much as I liked the Explorer 40, the Air King just has a little bit more going on which I liked quite a bit. The hint of green with the seconds clock and the Rolex logo also sharing this colour pattern, it added that little bit more pizazz that does not appear in the more understated Explorer 40.

Back in 2014, Rolex announced that they would be creating a pair of dash clocks for the Bloodhound SSC, a supersonic car that aimed to break the land speed record. The Air King’s dial's design, with its large Arabic numerals and speedometer-style minutes scale, is inspired by the dashboard instruments that they made for the supersonic car (they say…or more likely they designed both in tandem to leverage the watch against the speed record - albeit Rolex dropped out of the sponsorship following some administration issues with the team).

 I suppose that whilst the Air King was originally designed for pilots in the 1940s it's cool to see Rolex still trying to be at the forefront of history making feats and being part of projects that dared to push the limits of what was possible.

Rolex waited to 2016 to unveil the latest (and last) Air-King (model) 116900, with the dial looking really similar to the dash clocks from the Bloodhound. The Air King was delisted in 2022 so that last model was in production for only 6 years, the one in our possession was from 2018 near the beginning of its run and it still looks great as its mint.

The 3,6,9 Arabic numerals are slightly chromed out, it gives it an extra feature which makes it stand out more. In my research for this watch I found that the Air King was regarded as a middle ground for for being not too flashy but not being too plain and boring, which is the reason why I found myself liking the Air King as much as I do - it as it has all the quality and craftsmanship that Rolex’s is known for but doesn't scream as loud as the more bezel-ful GMT and Submariner models but also not whispering like the Explorer, and it has those small bits of colour that really appealed to me.

To add to this watches colourful design, it is also the first watch to feature the coronet and brand name in two different colours that being green and yellow as well as being equipped with an oyster bracelet, a scratch resistant sapphire crystal and a water-resistant oyster case.

All in all I’m quite a fan of the Air King and given its history, achievements and technical prowess its a watch that ticks all the boxes and for someone that values quality and precision with a little bit of flair but not so much that everyone is staring at you.

Tickets cost 76p and we will be drawing this watch on the 21st November so keep your eye on the sky (or social media feed) because this it could be yours to win!