Vintage Rolex Submariner Ref 5512 Stainless Steel

Vintage Rolex Submariner Ref 5512 Stainless Steel

This watch is in great, attractive vintage condition. The case is in good condition with normal signs of wear; it has been polished. Between the lugs show some wear from the bracelet; all of the numbers are visible. The inside caseback is stamped “5513 I.66.” Rolex would often times use 5512 and 5513 caseback interchangeably and we have seen this many times before. The bezel ring has remained sharp and the “fat font Long 5” bezel insert shows some normal wear and scratches. The bezel has faded throughout and presents as an attractive grey color. This watch has retained it’s correct non-triplock crown. The dial is in good, attractive condition and has developed a textured patina throughout. The dial has remained glossy. When looking closely the dial shows signs of fine “spidering” throughout and a drag mark around the edge. The lume on the dial has aged to an attractive yellow color with some areas of darker patina. The hands have developed patina and the lume on the dial and in the hands has aged to an attractive yellow color. The hour hand has a small pin hole and the seconds hand has a slight crack. This watch has a C&I USA rivet Oyster bracelet with 12 links. The bracelet is in overall good condition with normal signs of wear, scratches and nicks; it has a bit of stretch between the links which is not uncommon for this style bracelet. The clasp is stamped “76” indicating it’s from 1976.

The Rolex 5512 (Circa 1966) is an important reference in Submariner history; It was the first Submariner to feature crown guards, a detail that all Subs would have going forward and still do today. Throughout the production of the 5512 Rolex made many different variations, from glossy dials to matte dials with many slight updates and changes. The 5512 may look nearly identical to the 5513 (that came out in 1962, three years later) but the main difference would be that the 5512 has the chronometer certified movement (COSC). Since the 5512 had a COSC movement, they were more expensive than the 5513 and were not as popular, we see less of them in general. The 5512’s would typically have four lines of text at the bottom of the dial and the 5513 always has two; that is one good way of telling apart the references at a glance Its not always that simple, early examples of the 5512 also have two lines of text, but still have the COSC movement. Overall the 5512 is a cult favorite and we see many collectors gravitate towards these especially after they have gone down the rabbit hole.

This example is circa 1966 and has a gilt, glossy dial and it would have been the last variation of the glossy dial before Rolex switched to matte dials. Gilt refers to the color of the Rolex logo, “Oyster Perpetual” and depth rating and “Submariner” text on the dial, while glossy is referring to the shiny black surface of the dial aka “glossy.” This example has the additional two-lines of text under the depth rating in silver and would have been applied directly to the surface of the dial. There is something special about these glossy dial Subs that give the watch a completely different look.

Authenticity