Reference:114200

Air-King -> 114200

The 114200 is the modern Air-King. 2007 launch at Baselworld, 2014 retirement, 34mm steel Oyster on Cal 3130 with the Parachrom hairspring. The 114200 is also the first chronometer-rated Air-King in the line's history. Every prior Air-King — the 4925, the 6552, the 5500, the 14000, the 14000M — ran sub-COSC; the dials read "PRECISION" or "SUPER PRECISION" rather than carrying chronometer certification. The 114200 changes that. The dial reads "SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED," and the Air-King line finally crosses into the chronometer tier the broader Rolex catalogue had been on for decades.

The 114200 also introduces the concentric "wave" dial palette that becomes the reference's most-collected hallmark — multi-color concentric circles radiating from the center, available in silver, black, blue, green, salmon, white, and champagne, with applied stick markers, 3-6-9 Explorer Arabic numerals, Roman numerals, or full Arabic numerals at every hour depending on the configuration. The dial menu is the widest the Air-King line ever ran. The 114200 is also the last 34mm Air-King; the 2016 116900 redesign goes to 40mm with a pilot-watch dial language and a green seconds hand, and editorial generally treats it as a reset of the line rather than a continuation.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	114200 (engine-turned bezel sister: 114210; white-gold-bezel sibling: 114234)
family	Air-King
common name	"the modern Air-King," "the COSC Air-King," "the concentric Air-King"
production	2007–2014; replaced after a 2-year gap by 116900 (2016, 40mm redesign)
case	34mm × ~11.6mm × 41.7mm L2L stainless steel Oyster, smooth bezel, 19mm non-drilled lugs
crystal	sapphire
crown	Twinlock screw-down
movement	Cal 3130, automatic, 28,800 vph, ~48h reserve, hack feature, Parachrom hairspring; jewel count contested (Slaven/Monochrome and Robb Report: 31; Siems/Goldammer: 27)
chronometer	yes — first COSC-certified Air-King; dial reads "SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED"
rehaut	engraved with repeating "ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX" + serial number, post-2005 Rolex convention; present on 114200 from launch
water resistance	100m
bracelet	78350 19mm Oyster with 557B solid end-links, 904L steel
caseback	screw-down threaded Oyster, smooth exterior
predecessor	14000M (2000–2006, Cal 3130 without engraved rehaut, non-COSC)
successor	116900 (2016, 40mm pilot redesign — outside pre-2020 collector window for many editorial frames)

Where it sits in the line

The 114200 is the closing reference in the 34mm Air-King chapter that runs from 4925 (1945) through 6552 (1953) and 5500 (1957) into the sapphire-crystal modern era at 14000 (1989) and 14000M (2000). Across that 70-year run the case envelope stays at 34mm, the dial text alternates between "AIR-KING" and "OYSTER PERPETUAL," and the movement steps from manual-wind to bidirectional-rotor to high-beat. The 114200 finishes the chapter with the upgrade the Air-King had never received: chronometer certification.

Sister references on the same Cal 3130 architecture: the 14060M no-date Submariner (Cal 3130, COSC, engraved rehaut on later production), the 14270 Explorer (Cal 3130, COSC, engraved rehaut), and the 16622 Yacht-Master 36mm. The Cal 3130 itself runs across the Rolex time-only catalogue from 1999 / 2000 into 2018, replaced by the Cal 3230 generation. The 114200 sits in the same architectural moment as those siblings — engraved rehaut, COSC certification, Parachrom hairspring on later production.

The 114200 also shares its case middle with two Air-King contemporaries that some treat as separate references and some treat as 114200 sub-variants. The 114210 is the engine-turned-bezel sister; same 34mm case, same Cal 3130, same dial palette, fluted bezel rather than smooth. The 114234 is the white-gold-bezel sibling; 34mm steel case with a fluted white-gold bezel set into the case middle, same Cal 3130. Both run in parallel with the 114200 across 2007–2014; the 114200 is the steel-only pure-Air-King reference.

The transition to the 116900 in 2016 is treated by most editorial as a reset rather than a continuation. The 116900 jumps to 40mm, adopts a pilot-watch dial language (3 / 6 / 9 Arabic numerals, green seconds hand, Faraday-cage anti-magnetic shield, "AIR-KING" in stylized typography), and reads as a new Air-King design language rather than as a refinement of the 114200's case. The 114200 is the last 34mm Air-King.

Production outline

The 2007 introduction year is consensus across Marcus Siems' Air-King family history (September 2025), Monochrome (Erik Slaven, January 2025), Robb Report's Air-King guide (Allen Farmelo + Gareth Munden, September 2024), and Watch-Wiki. The 114200 ships at Baselworld 2007 alongside the 114210 (engine-turned bezel sister) and the 114234 (white-gold-bezel sibling), which trade in parallel through the 2007–2014 production run.

The 2014 retirement is similarly consensus. The Air-King line is dropped from the catalogue at Baselworld 2014 — Robin Nooy at Monochrome (March 2016) frames the 116900 launch as a return after the line was "dropped from the collection." The 2-year hiatus from 2014 to the 116900's 2016 launch is the longest gap in the Air-King's continuous catalogue presence since the 1945 introduction.

A small handful of secondary outlets imply the 114200 ran "until 2016" — conflating discontinuation with line return. The primary editorial (Monochrome, Goldammer, Robb Report) consistently gives 2014 as the production end and 2016 as the line return on a different reference. 2007–2014 is the active production span.

The 114200 is recent enough that most surviving examples are documented through dealer-market sales rather than essay-grade major-house lots. The Christie's "Jewels and Watches Online: La Dolce Vita" sale 21040 lot 136 (a Domino's Pizza 114200, c.2013, case 96A51575, full set) is the documented major-house anchor. Phillips, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and Antiquorum carry no documented 114200 catalog essays in the auction record.

Movement notes

The 114200 runs Cal 3130 — the same Cal 3130 that powers the contemporary 14060M Submariner, the 14270 Explorer, and the broader Cal 3130-era Rolex time-only catalogue from 1999 / 2000 through 2018. 28,800 vph (4 Hz), approximately 48 hour power reserve, hack feature, bidirectional self-winding, Parachrom hairspring (the blue paramagnetic hairspring Rolex introduced across the catalogue from c.2005 onward, present on 114200 from launch).

The jewel count is contested across editorial coverage. Erik Slaven at Monochrome and Robb Report read the Cal 3130 in the 114200 era as 31 jewels (an upgrade from the 27-jewel Cal 3000 of the 14000 era). Marcus Siems reads it as 27 jewels. The 31-jewel reading sits in the majority position; the 27-jewel reading may reflect early Cal 3130 production before a running update. The 31-jewel reading sits in the majority position; Marcus Siems' 27-jewel attribution sits against the consensus.

The 114200's COSC chronometer certification is the architectural break with prior Air-Kings. Every prior Air-King — the 4925's Cal 10½ Hunter, the 6552's Cal 1030, the 5500's Cal 1530 / 1520, the 14000's Cal 3000, the 14000M's Cal 3130 (the same Cal 3130 the 114200 carries) — ran sub-COSC. The dial designation read "PRECISION" or "SUPER PRECISION" depending on the era. The 114200 changes that. The dial reads "SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED," and the movement carries the Cal 3130's COSC certification rather than the 14000M's identical-caliber but uncertified configuration.

The 14000M-to-114200 caliber handoff is the cleanest demonstration of the COSC-as-marketing-decision rule in the Rolex catalogue. The Cal 3130 is mechanically identical between the two references; what changes is whether Rolex sent the movement to COSC for chronometer certification before casing. The 14000M did not; the 114200 did.

Case and construction

34mm × approximately 11.6mm × 41.7mm L2L stainless steel three-piece Oyster — case middle, threaded caseback, threaded crown. The case profile reads heftier than the 14000M's despite identical nominal dimensions; the wider lugs and cleaner bezel-to-case-middle transition give the 114200 a more substantial wrist presence than its predecessor. Lugs are 19mm with non-drilled spring-bar holes, consistent with the 14000-era convention. The bezel is fixed and steel and smooth on the 114200 itself; the engine-turned bezel sibling lives on the 114210 reference.

The crystal is sapphire, period-standard. The crown is Twinlock screw-down. Water resistance is rated at 100m, unchanged from the 14000 era.

The case is steel-only across the 114200 production. No precious-metal 114200 surfaces in the auction record. The two-tone or gold-bezel Air-Kings of the 2007–2014 era live on adjacent reference numbers (the 114234 white-gold-bezel sibling, the 114200/X gem-set sub-variants documented at some sources but outside this article's scope as separate references).

Engraved rehaut

The 114200 carries the engraved rehaut convention from launch in 2007. The inner bezel ring around the dial is engraved with repeating "ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX" text plus the watch's serial number, matched to the between-lugs serial engraving. The engraved rehaut is a post-2005 Rolex catalogue convention adopted across the steel sport line; on the Air-King the 14000M's late production may carry it, but the 114200 has it from launch as standard.

The engraved rehaut does double-duty as an authentication anchor and as a security feature. The serial number on the rehaut should match the between-lugs engraving; a mismatch flags case-replacement. The "ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX" repetition itself is fine pantograph engraving that resists counterfeit reproduction more cleanly than the older smooth rehaut.

Dial map

The 114200 carries the broadest documented dial palette in the Air-King line's history. The introduction of the concentric "wave" dial pattern combined with a wider color palette than the 14000-era Air-King produces a multi-axis catalogue: color (silver, black, blue, green, salmon, white, champagne) × marker style (concentric wave, applied stick, 3-6-9 Explorer Arabic, full Roman numeral, full Arabic numeral) × outer ring finish (sunburst soleil, brushed, matte). The list of documented configurations runs into double digits.

A taxonomy correction worth printing: the "Tutti Frutti" nickname does not apply to the 114200. Tutti Frutti is the established nickname for the gem-set Yacht-Master configurations with multi-color sapphire bezels; applying it to the 114200's multi-color dial palette is a misattribution that occasionally surfaces in dealer copy. The 114200's multi-color dials are the "concentric" or "wave" Air-King palette, not Tutti Frutti.

Silver concentric (wave)

The production-volume 114200 dial. Sunburst silver outer ring with concentric circular pattern radiating from the center to the chapter ring, applied stick or baton hour markers, "OYSTER PERPETUAL" and "AIR-KING" in two-line dial text above six, "SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED" above. The standard 114200 across the run.

Black concentric (wave)

Matte black ground with the same concentric pattern. Trades at a moderate premium to silver. Documented across the production.

Blue concentric with orange Arabic numerals

The most-cited rare 114200 dial. Sunburst blue outer ring with circular concentric inner section, applied orange Arabic numerals at every hour, no luminous fill (the orange-on-blue contrast does the legibility work). Sometimes called the "Air-King concentric blue" or the "blue 114200." Trades at a substantial premium to standard configurations and is the 114200 dial the modern collector market consistently flags as the headline collectible.

Pink salmon concentric

Salmon ground with the concentric pattern, applied stick or Roman numeral indices. The 14000-era salmon palette continues to the 114200 with the concentric finish added.

Green concentric

A rarer 114200 dial — sunburst green outer with concentric inner section, typically applied stick markers. The green Air-King is documented at editorial level (Monochrome's history names green as one of the catalogue colors) but surfaces less frequently at dealer market than blue or salmon.

3-6-9 Explorer dial

The Explorer 3-6-9 layout the 5500 made famous and the 14000 carried over continues to the 114200. Black or silvered ground (sometimes concentric, sometimes flat), 3-6-9 Arabic numerals at three, six, and nine, baton or stick indices at the other hours. Erik Slaven at Monochrome describes the 3-6-9 Explorer dial as "a standard arrangement" on the 114200 — not a rare configuration but one of the catalogue's established options.

Roman numeral dial

Roman numerals at every hour or at the cardinal positions. Silvered, black, or salmon ground. The Roman 114200 sits closer to the Datejust dial language than to the traditional Air-King and was part of the 114200's broader appeal-widening catalogue.

Applied Arabic numeral dial

Full applied Arabic numerals at every hour rather than the 3-6-9 Explorer subset. Silvered or black ground.

The white and champagne 114200 dials surface in editorial mentions but are less commonly encountered in the dealer market than the silver / black / blue concentric configurations.

Bracelets

19mm Oyster across the production. The 114200 era moves to 904L stainless steel for both case and bracelet — the same alloy upgrade Rolex implemented across the catalogue post-2003. The bracelet reference is 78350 with end-link 557B (the refined solid end-link variant of the 14000-era 557). The clasp is the modern Oysterclasp with Easylink 5mm comfort extension.

The 78350 / 557B configuration is consistent with the 14000M era — the bracelet platform did not change at the 14000M-to-114200 transition. What changed is the steel grade (904L from 2003 onward) and the clasp's Easylink integration, which standardized across the Rolex catalogue in the same window.

A folded-link Jubilee bracelet was a period catalogue option on the 114200 era and surfaces on a minority of surviving examples, primarily Roman-numeral and Arabic-numeral dial configurations sold into the Datejust-adjacent market.

Special branches

Domino's Pizza 114200

The Domino's Pizza Rolex incentive program continued from the 5500 / 14000 era onto the 114200. Christie's "Jewels and Watches Online: La Dolce Vita" sale 21040 lot 136 (c.2013, case 96A51575, Cal 3130, full set with original box and papers) documents a 114200 Domino's example. The dial carries Explorer-style 3-6-9 Arabic numerals at three, six, and nine on a silvered ground, with the Domino's logo on a center bracelet link rather than on the dial itself, and the awardee's commemorative engraving on the caseback.

The 114200 is the last documented Domino's Air-King reference; the program wound down by the early 2010s before Rolex moved past the 114200 in 2014. Christie's lot 136 is the strongest auction-house anchor for a 114200 Domino's; dealer-market examples surface less frequently than the 5500 and 14000 Domino's pieces.

114210 engine-turned-bezel sibling

Twin reference to the 114200, 2007–2014, same case and movement and dial palette, fluted engine-turned bezel rather than smooth. Some collectors treat the 114210 as an Air-King sub-variant; some as a Datejust-adjacent reference. The Air-King family hub treats both 114200 and 114210 as part of the 114200-generation Air-King.

114234 white-gold-bezel sibling

Steel case with a fluted white-gold bezel set into the case middle. Same Cal 3130, same case middle, same dial palette. The 114234 sits at the precious-metal-trim end of the 114200 generation and trades at a substantial premium to the steel-only 114200.

The Tiffany & Co.-signed 114200, Cartier-signed 114200, and government-crest commemorative 114200 (Saudi / UAE / Bahrain / Kuwait) are not documented in the auction record through 2025. Their absence is not proof — modern reference catalogues digitise more slowly than vintage ones — but the documented record does not currently carry them.

Historical market and auction record

Sale	Lot	Year	Reference details	Result
Christie's Jewels and Watches Online "La Dolce Vita"	136	c.2018	114200 Domino's Pizza c.2013, case 96A51575, Cal 3130, full set	estimate / hammer not retrievable from listing page

The 114200 is documented through the dealer market and through regional UK and US auctioneers rather than through Phillips / Sotheby's / Christie's headline catalogues. The Christie's La Dolce Vita Domino's lot is the strongest auction-house anchor in the auction record.

Pricing across the dealer market sits in the USD 4,500–7,000 band for standard silver and black concentric examples in clean condition. Blue concentric with orange Arabic, salmon, and green configurations carry premiums into the USD 8,000–12,000 range. Domino's, the 114210 fluted-bezel sibling, and the 114234 white-gold-bezel sibling all trade at distinct premium tiers tied to their specific configurations.

The 114200-to-116900 redesign

The 114200 closes the 34mm Air-King chapter. The Air-King line drops from the Rolex catalogue at Baselworld 2014. After a 2-year hiatus the line returns at Baselworld 2016 as the 116900 — but as a 40mm pilot-watch redesign rather than as a continuation of the 34mm 114200. Robin Nooy's Monochrome hands-on review (March 2016) frames the 116900 as a return after the line was "dropped from the collection," and editorial consensus treats the 116900 as a reset rather than a refinement.

The 116900 carries a different design language: 40mm rather than 34mm (a 6mm size jump), 3-6-9 Arabic numerals at three / six / nine in stylized typography, green seconds hand, "AIR-KING" in a more aggressive font, Faraday-cage anti-magnetic soft-iron shield around the movement (the same architecture Rolex uses on the Milgauss). The 1940s aviation-numeral dial reads as a reset to the 4925 era's pilot-watch commemoration, not as a continuation of the 5500 / 14000 / 14000M / 114200 entry-tier sport Oyster lineage.

The 114200 is therefore the last reference in the continuous 34mm Air-King chapter and is sometimes treated as the family's modern-era closing piece. The 116900 (and the 2022 126900 successor) sit in their own design language, and editorial coverage of the modern Air-King line generally splits at the 2014/2016 boundary.

Authentication

The 114200 is recent enough that originality verification is generally easier than on the vintage Air-Kings. The engraved rehaut is the cleanest single anchor: the rehaut's "ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX" repetition plus the serial number must match the between-lugs serial engraving exactly. A mismatched rehaut serial is a case-replacement flag; modern counterfeit production sometimes mismatches the two engravings.

The case stamp inside the caseback should read 114200. The 114200 era uses the modern serial format (V / W / X / Y / Z prefix bands across 2007–2014 production). The serial format on the rehaut and between the lugs should match the production-year band — a 114200 with a serial number outside the 2007–2014 range should be examined as a potential replacement case.

The movement should be Cal 3130. A 114200 with Cal 3000 (14000-era) is service-replacement; a 114200 with Cal 3132 (a non-existent variant) or any Cal 32XX is incorrect. The Parachrom hairspring should be present from launch — the blue paramagnetic spring is visible inside the balance assembly.

The dial concentric pattern is fine engraving rather than printing. Counterfeit concentric dials sometimes use printed or screen-printed concentric patterns that are flatter and less detailed than the genuine pantograph-engraved Rolex pattern. Loupe inspection of the concentric finish is the cleanest dial authentication tell.

The bracelet should be 78350 with 557B end-link in 904L steel. Earlier 14000-era end-link 557 (matte) on a 114200 is service-era refit; later modern Oyster bracelet references (post-2014) on a 114200 are also service-era refits. The clasp should carry the modern Oysterclasp with Easylink 5mm comfort extension; older clasps are service replacements.

The dial restoration question is light on the 114200 versus older Air-Kings — the reference is recent enough that most surviving examples have not been through restoration. Original dials are the norm; a perfectly clean 114200 is plausible rather than suspect.

Sources