One of a series of ‘Air’ watches made on the instruction of company founder Hans Wilsdorf, they were built to commemorate the heroics of Britain’s RAF during the Second World War. The Air-King has a long and storied history in the Rolex saga. The gold shell process, otherwise known as gold cap, offered a far higher level of durability, and Rolex used it on models such as the Oyster Perpetual, the Date and the Air-King.Īt Beckertime, we have a wide selection of these gold shell watches, offering a heap-full of vintage charm at a much more affordable price point. Treated with a layer of gold as thin as 10-20 microns, gold plated watches were particularly susceptible to scratches that would expose the base metal underneath. With such a thick coating of precious metal, these pieces were still certainly not cheap, but they were a definite step up from other methods of achieving similar results, such as plating. The gold shell watches were a more attainable middle ground between the utilitarian steel models and the all-out opulence of solid 18k. Rolex, with that famously madcap Swiss sense of humor, sometimes referred to these models as ‘golden eggs’ in their advertising, and the process was likewise used by other manufacturers such as Omega and IWC. These were pieces with stainless steel cases, covered in a layer of gold around 240 microns thick, which was then pressure formed, hammered and soldered into place. Starting way back in the 50s, the brand sought to address the price issue, and get their creations onto more wrists, by releasing gold shell watches. A gold Rolex watch has long been a potent symbol of success and achievement.
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