Rolex Air King Ref. 5500 - Ultra Rare 'Pool Intairdril' Dial

At the end of the second world war, Rolex wanted to commemorate the RAF pilots who had worn their watches and the '“Air” collection was born. The Air-King is the only survivor among the Air-Giant, Air-Tiger, and Air-Lion, from the "Air" series of watches that were introduced by Rolex in 1945. Rolex came out with the Air-King ref. 5500 in the 50s, and it remained in production all the way until 1989. This means that the 5500 reference stands as one of the longest running models in Rolex history. Over the years, Rolex became well known for commissioning special orders for its clients, including military forces around the world as well as royal families and some commercial companies. Often, that meant having a special logo on the dial, which is what we see in the present example. The Rolex Air-King 'Pool Intairdril' debuted in the 1970s sporting the Pool Intairdril Company or "petroleum" logo at six o'clock and ran for only a selection of years as gifts to employers. This means that this particular example is very hard to come by with this dial configuration.