Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air-King Dominos Pizza: Rolex Cooks Up A Counter-Culture Classic

Quick: name a Rolex that stirs controversy in 30 minutes or less? Set aside your “Mayer Dial” Daytonas, and buckle up for a real challenge; the Rolex Air-King “Dominos Pizza Challenge” series plunges haughty Rolex into a postmodernist maelstrom.

A 34mm stainless steel contradiction, this Rolex is the wrist-borne equivalent of John Lennon’s psychedelic Rolls Royce and Lady Gaga’s meat dress. And no, that’s not a veiled reference to pizza toppings…

Since at least the late Rolex Air-King ref. 5500 era (late 1980s), Dominos has run an incentivized challenge for its franchisees. Stores that top their HQ-designated sales targets for four consecutive weeks win a cash bonus or Rolex watch for that location’s manager. Each time a location wins, that store’s sales target is reset to a higher level.

The critical distinction between conventional logo-emblazoned Rolex watches and the Dominos Rolex models like this Air King ref 14000 is that the Dominos series is built entirely by Rolex. There’s no aftermarket “filler” in the Dominos Challenge ref 14000; these dials are as factory-correct as anything on the Geneva giant’s own website. This is a watch for the Rolex collector who understands how stunning an exception this dial represents given Rolex’s discriminating history of co-branding.

Neither pretentious nor “overcooked” in style, the Rolex Air-King 14000 Dominos Pizza is an otherwise discreet machine with a lightning rod of a dial. Arguably the most subversive Rolex ever made, this counter-culture icon boasts the additional distinction of being doubly discontinued. The Air-King line has been supplanted by an expanded Oyster Perpetual model range as of 2015. And for the half dozen of the world’s inhabitants who remain oblivious to saturation level American fast food ads, Dominos Pizza is now just “Dominos.”

A discontinued Dominos dial on discontinued Rolex reference: checkmate. Take that, Ref. 6062 Star Dial.

A striking combination of high and low culture, the “Dominos Challenge” is the Rolex for the collector who eschews pretense and drips with confidence. For the postmodernist bon vivant who pares down to dress up, the Rolex Air-King 14000 “Dominos Challenge” is a grail-level accessory.

See this Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air-King 14000 “Dominos Rolex Challenge” in high-resolution images at The 1916 Company