About Bilal Siddiqi’s watch collection
Bilal Siddiqi is a Mumbai-based writer who has built a reputation across two demanding disciplines: literary fiction and commercial screenwriting. He first came to wider attention with his debut novel *The Stardust Affair*, and has since cemented his place in Indian popular fiction with titles including the Bard of Blood series — the latter of which was adapted into a Netflix series produced by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment. Navigating both the publishing world and the pressures of high-profile screen production is a rare combination, and Siddiqi has managed both with notable consistency for someone still relatively early in his career.
The Bilal Siddiqi watch collection, as far as our sightings database currently reflects, centres on Rolex — specifically the Air King reference 126900. Siddiqi was photographed wearing this piece in what appeared to be a candid setting, the watch sitting on his wrist without fanfare. The Air King ref. 126900, updated in its current form in 2022, carries one of Rolex's longest-running nameplate histories, tracing back to 1940s tributes to Royal Air Force aviators. It features a distinctive black dial with a mix of Arabic and baton indices, a yellow seconds hand, and the Air King name printed in green — details that make it a more deliberate choice than a default entry-level Rolex pickup.
What the choice suggests is a collector who is paying attention without necessarily performing it. The Air King sits below the Submariner and Datejust in public recognition, yet its 2022 revision drew serious notice from watch enthusiasts for its cleaner execution. For a writer who moves between literary circles and film sets, it reads as a considered, low-profile pick — functional, historically grounded, and not the obvious choice.