Rolex Air King Transitional 5504 36mm Seconde Seconde

If you like your watches a little less on the serious-side, and you've not heard of Seconde/Seconde, then you're absolutely missing out on one of the coolest artists and creators in modern watchmaking. Romaric and his brand Seconde/Seconde have gained quite a lot of notoriety in the past couple of years for their fun and sometimes daring takes on vintage watches, and have also recently moved into collaborations with watch brands such as Massena LAB, Moser, Louis Erard and now Nivada Grenchen. These super-fun seconds hands may not be for everyone, but we absolutely adore them. So much so, that we own two Seconde Seconde modified pieces ourselves, and have no doubt there'll be a few more in the future as well!

The modified example we have here is the super cool and rarely seen reference 5504, a transitional Air King utilising an Explorer case. This means it measures in at 36mm rather than the usual 34mm of other period Air Kings, and therefore suitable for a wide variety of wrists. It has then had a Seconde Seconde 'Protect the Crown' sword added in place of the minute hand, which really pops against the cream colour of the dial.

The base watch itself is a lovely example. The dial is in very nice condition, with an even patina. Shows wear around the outer edges, and some damage between 11 and 12 near the coronet, but other than that extremely clean. Minute hand is tritium.

Reference number is visible between the lugs, but most of the serial number has worn away. Has been polished in the past, but shows decent meat on the lugs. Please see images for full condition details.

Comes mounted to a new Colareb Essential in Blue which really compliments the dial and modified hand.

Service history is unknown. Winding is coarse, but currently keeping COSC time at 270+ degrees of amplitude.

Comes with original hour hand, Watch Vault cleaning cloth and Watch Vault Travel Pod.

Unbelievably cool watch that would look amazing on a mesh bracelet. Vintage Rolex doesn't come much cooler than this.

Brand: Rolex

Style: Sport

Model #: 5504

Year: Circa-late 50's to early 60's

Case Material: Stainless Steel

Case details: 36mm

Movement: Rolex 1530 automatic

Dial: Cream

Hands: Tritium + Seconde Seconde

Paraphernalia: Original hour hand, Watch Vault cleaning cloth and Watch Vault Travel Pod

Grading: Very good vintage condition

Watch Vault utilises the TZ grading system. Please see here for details.

BONUS Watch Vault leather watch pouch with each watch purchased directly from our website. If you’d like a specific colour please let us know at checkout, otherwise one will be selected at random and included with your watch.