Reference:4365

Air-King -> 4365

The 4365 is the sub-seconds sister to the centre-seconds 4925 in the 1945 Battle of Britain Air-King launch. The two references run in parallel from 1945 through approximately 1953, sharing the Cal 10½ Hunter movement family but splitting across the dial layout: 4925 is centre-seconds, 4365 is sub-seconds with the small seconds register at six. Where the 4925 carries the Air-King name only, the 4365 carries the full four-name commemoration — Air-King, Air-Lion, Air-Tiger, Air-Giant — printed on the dial of period examples that share a single case and movement. Marcus Siems' published side-by-side photograph (Goldammer) captioned "Air-Tiger (left), Air-Giant (middle) and Air-Lion (right) — all reference 4365 from the 1940s" is the strongest single evidence anchor for the four-name dial-map convention.

By the early 1950s Rolex retires Air-Lion, Air-Tiger, and Air-Giant from the catalog. Only Air-King survives. Tudor revives Air-Tiger on its own ref 7957 (documented at Foundwell c.1959 and Analog:Shift c.1964); Air-Lion and Air-Giant make no jump and disappear entirely. The 4365's role in this narrative is the canvas on which the four-name commemoration was tested: Rolex used a single case and movement combination to carry four marketing identities to four notional pilot-watch sub-segments, and the market (or the dealer ordering pattern) selected only one.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	4365 (composite 4365/6022 documented on late-cased examples c.1958)
family	Air-King
common name	"the sub-seconds Air-King," "the four-name shared-case Air-King"
production	1945–1953 active production; 4365/6022 composite-cased examples documented through 1958 (Bonhams 2023 Canadian Collection lot 17)
case	32–34mm × Bubbleback-class three-piece stainless steel Oyster (case-size contested across documented examples — gold-plated and solid-gold variants run a click smaller)
metals	stainless steel (canonical), gold-plated (Bonhams 2023 Air-Tiger), solid 18K pink gold (Antiquorum 2001 Precision)
crystal	acrylic plexiglass, domed
crown	Twinlock screw-down (manual brevet for early production)
movement	Cal 10½ Hunter sub-seconds variant — 15 jewels (early) → 17 jewels (later running update); same 700/710/720-base architecture as 4925
chronometer	no — "PRECISION" tier
dial layout	sub-seconds register at six o'clock (the key visual distinction from centre-seconds 4925)
dial text variants	AIR-KING / AIR-LION / AIR-TIGER / AIR-GIANT — four parallel marketing names on shared 4365 case
bracelet	19mm Oyster — period-correct rivet construction; original 18K pink gold Oyster on the Antiquorum solid-gold Precision example
caseback	screw-down threaded Oyster
sister	4925 (centre-seconds 1945-era Air-King), 4499 (1946+ centre-seconds running mate to 4925), 4444 (mid-size with gold bezel/crown — Air-Lion / Air-Giant / Air-King variants), 4647 (Hunter Precision, Air-Lion sister)
successor	line absorbed into the 4925 / 4499 → 6552 → 5500 trajectory; no direct sub-seconds Air-King successor

Where it sits in the line

The 4365 sits at the dial-layout fork in the 1945 Air-King launch. Rolex commemorated the Battle of Britain naming exercise across three case configurations and four dial names. The case configurations: Bubbleback-class 32-34mm Oyster (4365), Bubbleback-class 34mm Oyster centre-seconds (4925), mid-size 31.75mm with solid-gold bezel and crown (4444), Hunter Precision case (4647). The dial names: Air-King, Air-Lion, Air-Tiger, Air-Giant. The 4365 carries the broadest dial-name distribution because of Goldammer's documented photographic evidence — the same 4365 case ran with three of the four sister names, plus a small subset of confirmed Air-King-marked dials.

The architectural relationship to the 4925 is the cleanest framing. Both references launched in 1945 with the Cal 10½ Hunter movement family. Both carry steel Bubbleback-class Oyster cases. The 4925 carries centre-seconds with sweep (the visually-newer dial layout that becomes the post-war standard); the 4365 carries the sub-seconds layout with the small register at six (the more traditional pre-war dial language). Rolex offered both layouts in parallel through the late 1940s and into the early 1950s, then retired the sub-seconds 4365 alongside the centre-seconds 4925 by approximately 1953 when the 6552 takes over with the Cal 1030 automatic.

The case is supplied by the same Aegler-related case-supply chain as the 4925. The Bubbleback-class envelope sits closer to the post-war flat Oyster than to the pre-war Bubbleback proper — the Cal 10½ Hunter doesn't need rotor clearance. Lugs are 19mm with drilled spring-bar holes. The bezel is fixed and steel and smooth. The crown is manual-brevet screw-down.

A documented 4365/6022 composite case appears in late-1950s production. Bonhams 2023 Canadian Collection lot 17 catalogues a 4365/6022 Air-Lion dated c.1958 — the secondary reference 6022 is a service-case from a later run, indicating Rolex serviced and re-cased original 4365 movements into 6022-style cases as late as 1958. Documented 4365/6022 examples are service-era refits rather than original-delivery 1940s production.

Production outline

The 1945 launch year is consensus across Marcus Siems' Air-King family history, Monochrome (Erik Slaven, January 2025), Rescapement (Tony Traina), Watch-Wiki, Chronoclub, Robb Report, and Rolex Magazine (Jake Ehrlich). The 4365 ships in the same 1945 Battle of Britain launch alongside the 4925, 4444, 4647, and the broader four-name commemoration set.

The retirement is consensus 1953, mirroring the 4925's catalog cutoff. The Cal 10½ Hunter movement family retires with the broader pre-1030 hand-wound Air-King line, and the 6552 (1953-1957, first automatic Air-King with Cal 1030) takes the line forward. The 4365/6022 composite-cased examples that surface dated 1958 (Bonhams 2023 lot 17) are service-replacement re-cased examples rather than late-stock continuation production — Rolex assembled or re-cased original 4365 movements into 6022-style cases up to several years after the 4365 itself retired from the catalog.

Total production output is not published. The 4365 is scarce at major-house auction — three documented lots in the auction record through 2025 (Bonhams 2023 Air-Lion, Bonhams 2023 Air-Tiger, Antiquorum 2001 18K pink gold Precision). Sotheby's, Phillips, and Christie's have no documented 4365 lots in the auction record. The 1945-era short production window, the 4365's modest profile in its day, and the four-name dial-marketing complexity that obscures the catalog presence keep the auction record thin. The Goldammer side-by-side photograph carries more weight than any single auction-house lot.

Movement notes

The 4365 runs the Cal 10½ Hunter family in its sub-seconds layout — small seconds register at six rather than the centre-seconds sweep of the 4925. The 700-series base architecture (700 / 710 / 720 / similar) and the 15j → 17j running update mirror the 4925's progression; see the 4925 movement notes for the canonical caliber breakdown.

The case profile reads closer to the post-war flat-case Oyster than to the pre-war Bubbleback proper; the Cal 10½ Hunter doesn't need rotor-clearance dome.

The 4365 is not COSC chronometer rated. The dial reads PRECISION across documented examples; "Super Precision" attribution on a 4365 dial is service-replacement (likely a 5500-era Cal 1530 dial swap applied during service) and is not original.

Dial map

The 4365 carries the broadest single-reference dial-name distribution in the Air-King family — four marketing names on shared cases. Five documented configurations across the auction record and specialist-dealer market:

AIR-KING — silvered/rhodium with applied baton + Arabic

The Air-King-marked 4365 dial. Silvered or rhodium ground, applied baton hour markers with Arabic numerals at the cardinal positions, sub-seconds register at six, "AIR-KING" + "PRECISION" text. One specialist-dealer record catalogues a 1946 example (the only specifically-Air-King-marked 4365 in the dealer market); no confirmed Air-King-marked 4365 anchors in the major-house auction record. The Air-King-text 4365 is the rarest of the four sister-name dial configurations.

AIR-LION — silvered with gilt baton + Roman quarters

Silvered or rhodium ground, applied gilt baton hour markers with Roman numeral quarters at three / six / nine / twelve, sub-seconds at six, "AIR-LION" + "PRECISION" text. The Bonhams 2023 Canadian Collection lot 17 (4365/6022 composite case, c.1958) is the documented anchor. A documented Air-Giant 4365 with similar dial language sits in the same configuration family.

AIR-TIGER — cream/eggshell with applied gilt Arabic

The most-collected sister-name configuration. Cream or eggshell ground, applied gilt Arabic numerals at all hours, gilt leaf hands, sub-seconds at six, "AIR-TIGER" + "PRECISION" text. Bonhams 2023 Canadian Collection lot 41 (gold-plated 32mm 4365 Air-Tiger, c.1946, realised USD 1,088 with premium) is the documented major-house anchor. A 1946 Air-Tiger 4365 dealer entry corroborates the configuration across the specialist market.

AIR-GIANT — silvered with baton + Arabic

Silvered ground, applied baton hour markers with Arabic numerals, sub-seconds at six, "AIR-GIANT" + "PRECISION" text. An Air-Giant 4365 surfaces in the dealer market; Goldammer's published side-by-side photograph documents the Air-Giant dial alongside Air-Tiger and Air-Lion on the same case-and-movement combination.

Solid 18K pink gold Precision — black dial with applied pink-gold dart and square indices

The luxury-tier sub-variant. 18K pink gold case (33mm × 20 × 39mm), black dial with applied pink-gold dart hour markers and square index plates, dauphine hands, sub-seconds at six. Antiquorum Hotel Richemond Geneva 13 October 2001 lot 553 (CHF 7,475 realised against estimate CHF 5,000–7,000, with original 18K pink gold Oyster bracelet) is the documented anchor. The solid-gold Precision 4365 is rare and trades at substantial premium to the standard configurations.

The tropical brown / chocolate-gilt 4365 surfaces on a single 35mm gold-cased dealer-market example as the patina-aged sub-variant. The honeycomb / clous-de-Paris configurations and retailer-signed (Tiffany / Cartier / Beyer / Asprey) 4365 examples are not documented in the auction record.

Bracelets, end-links, and clasps

19mm Oyster across the production. The Antiquorum 2001 18K pink gold Precision lot is the best-documented original-fitment example — original 18K pink gold Oyster bracelet on the solid-gold case. Most other surviving 4365 lots come on aftermarket leather; the 1940s rivet Oyster bracelets are scarce in surviving inventory and most 4365s wear post-1950s service-era replacements or leather strap fits when sold.

The end-link generation pre-dates the formal numbered Oyster bracelet references that anchor the later 5500-era Air-King line. Period-correct fitment on a stainless 4365 is generic 6635-class rivet Oyster with the early end-link 57 or 58. The solid-gold variant carries gold-link Oyster construction.

Special branches

Four-name commemoration on shared cases

The 4365's defining branch — the Air-King / Air-Lion / Air-Tiger / Air-Giant dial-text distribution on a single case-and-movement combination. Goldammer's side-by-side photograph is the documentary anchor. The four-name 1945 commemoration is covered at the 4925's Battle of Britain section; the 4365 carried the broadest sister-name distribution within that program.

Solid 18K pink gold Precision

The luxury-tier variant. 33mm 18K pink gold case with original gold Oyster bracelet, black dial with applied pink-gold dart and square indices, dauphine hands. Antiquorum Geneva 2001 lot 553 is the documented anchor at CHF 7,475 hammer.

4365/6022 composite-cased late examples

Bonhams 2023 Canadian Collection lot 17 catalogues a 4365 Air-Lion movement in a 6022 service-replacement case dated c.1958. The convention indicates Rolex serviced and re-cased original 4365 movements into 6022-style cases as late as 1958, several years after the 4365 itself retired from the catalog. 4365/6022 composite-cased examples are service-replacement variants rather than original-delivery production. The 6022 secondary reference is a later-period service case, not a continuous-production sub-line.

The Tudor Air-Tiger ref 7957 cross-brand continuation (Foundwell c.1959, Analog:Shift c.1964) carries the Air-Tiger name forward on the Tudor side after Rolex retires it. The cross-brand Tudor 7957 is not a 4365 sub-variant but is the genealogical successor to the 4365 Air-Tiger sister-name dial. A documented 4647 Air-Lion (~1947, 31×39mm Hunter Precision) and the 4444 Air-Lion / Air-Giant / Air-King mid-size with solid-gold bezel/crown are the non-4365 references that carried Air-Lion / Air-Giant variants in the 1945-launch generation.

The retailer-signed (Tiffany / Cartier / Beyer / Asprey / Joyería Riviera), military-issue, and named-presentation engraved 4365 configurations are not documented in the auction record through 2025.

Historical market and auction record

Sale	Lot	Year	Reference details	Result
Antiquorum Geneva (Hotel Richemond)	553	2001	4365 18K pink gold Oyster Precision, 33mm, Cal 10 17j, black dial with applied pink-gold dart and square indices, dauphine hands, original 18K pink gold Oyster bracelet	CHF 7,475 (est. CHF 5,000–7,000)
Bonhams Watches: A Private Canadian Collection (online NY)	17	2023	4365/6022 stainless Air-Lion, 35mm, Cal 10½ 17j, silvered dial gilt baton + Roman quarters, centre-seconds, c.1958 (composite case)	Est. USD 3,000–5,000
Bonhams Watches: A Private Canadian Collection (online NY)	41	2023	4365 gold-plated Air-Tiger, 32mm, Cal 10½ 17j, cream dial applied Arabic, sub-seconds at 6, gilt leaf hands, c.1946	Realised USD 1,088 incl. premium

The 4365 trades primarily at the USD 1,000–8,000 band depending on metal, dial configuration, and originality. Stainless 4365s with sister-name dials sit at the lower end (USD 1,000–2,500); the solid 18K pink gold Precision configuration pushes into the USD 7,500+ range with provenance. Phillips, Sotheby's, and Christie's have no documented standalone 4365 lots in the auction record through 2025; Bonhams and Antiquorum are the major-house anchors. The Marcus Siems photograph plus the broader specialist-dealer record carry more weight than the auction-house record for variant identification.

Authentication

The 4365 is 80 years old. Most surviving examples have been serviced multiple times across that span, and the 4365/6022 composite case convention documented at Bonhams 2023 demonstrates that Rolex itself re-cased original movements into later service cases as late as 1958. Most 4365 examples are potentially service-refit; read the dial / movement / case combination rather than relying on any single anchor.

The dial-text question is the cleanest single anchor for variant identification. AIR-KING / AIR-LION / AIR-TIGER / AIR-GIANT are all documented period-correct 4365 dial configurations; the four sister names are not interchangeable on a service-replacement basis (a service-replacement Air-Tiger dial applied to a 4365/6022 service case would be plausible but dramatic). Provenance documentation (period photographs, the dealer's-ledger entry where available, the geographic distribution channel) is essential at the four-name dial-text level. Marcus Siems' side-by-side photograph is the standard reference for the four configurations.

Caseback stamping is the cleanest dating anchor: a caseback stamped only "4365" inside is original 1945-era production; a caseback stamped "4365/6022" is the late-1950s composite case (period-correct service replacement, not original delivery). A c.1946 4365/6022 case is impossible because the 6022 case-supply post-dates 4365 production; a c.1958 4365/6022 example is consistent with the documented service-replacement convention.

The movement should be Cal 10½ Hunter sub-seconds. A 4365 with a Cal 1030 (the 6552 successor's caliber), Cal 1530, or Cal 1520 movement is service-replacement and is not original. The Cal 10½ Hunter's sub-seconds layout requires the small seconds register at six on the dial; a 4365 with a centre-seconds dial layout suggests a service-era dial-or-movement swap. The case suffix on solid-gold variants should match the metal: 18K pink gold examples carry hallmark stamps consistent with the solid-gold construction; absence of hallmark on what should be solid gold is a flag.

The bracelet usually doesn't help. Most surviving 4365s wear post-1950s replacements or aftermarket leather. Authenticate the head, dial, and movement first; treat the bracelet as supplementary evidence.

Sources