This watch contains a few milestones. First off, we’ve got one of the very first matte dial Submariners. It was around this time in the mid-1960s (circa 1967 by most accounts) that Rolex rolled its production over from the galvanic gilt dials which had glossy finishes and gold text to the so-called “matte” dials which had a softer matte black finish and printed white text. For collectors today, the most basic taxonomy dividing Subs into two camps is probably gilt vs. matte, though as you can see here that’s a wild oversimplification.

If you look at the bottom of the dial – where you found the “Swiss” signature on the watch above – you’ll find “Swiss – T<25” which indicates that the luminous material is a) tritium and b) within an acceptable range of radiation that makes it safe to wear. Basically anytime you see a “T” somewhere on a watch dial you can safely assume that it has to do with the use of tritium in order to make the watch safer to wear. Looking at this part of the dial, you’ll also notice that there’s no more chapter ring connected to the hash marks for the minutes. This disappeared very late in the era of gilt dials and by the time Rolex moved to matte dials this was entirely gone.

Moving on from the dial, this watch shows us the final (or final-ish) shape of the Submariner’s crown guards. They’re a bit more rounded than on previous versions, being neither squared off or pointed at the ends. This makes it a little easier to manipulate the crown while still offering protection from bumps. This is the case that most vintage Submariner fans are probably familiar with and it was used for the bulk of the Submariner’s production in the 1970s and ’80s.

We said we wouldn’t get too into the minutiae of various font and logo variations, since that’s essentially a bottomless pit, with collectors and dealers giving new nicknames to watches on a daily basis in order to drum up interest or add value. However, this is what’s called a “Neat Font” dial, and it’s a second generation dial for a matte, meters-first ref. 5512 Submariner. What differentiates it is clean edges to the printing at both 12 and six o’clock, with the typography’s more open style giving the impression of a crisper, less hand-drawn feel.

Starting with the “neat font” 5512, we get yet another new movement for the Submariner, the caliber 1570. Based on the same architecture as the 1560, this movement upped the frequency to 2.75 Hz (19,800 vph) and refined a few of the gear and rotor finishes. Come 1972, the caliber would get upgraded again to have a hacking seconds mechanism, though the designation would remain 1570.

The final generations of 5512s displayed two substantial changes from their predecessors – though substantial is, of course, a relative term here. First off, the depth ratings on these dials are “feet first” as opposed to “meters first.” This is exactly what it sounds like, with the feet coming before the meters in the depth rating equation. This watch reads “660ft=200m” instead of “200m=660ft” as we’ve seen on earlier watches. The actual capabilities of the watch didn’t change at all, this is merely an aesthetic change. There’s speculation that this might have to do with the U.S. becoming a more important market for Rolex, but, as with many things related to vintage Rolex, that’s just conjecture.

This is also a version of what collectors call a “Maxi Dial,” which refers to the enlarged lume plots for the hour markers. If you quickly scroll back and forth between this watch and the watch directly above, you’ll spot it immediately. The goal here was to make the watch even more legible. Technically, this is a mark iii maxi dial, as there were multiple configurations, but there we go again getting a bit too far into the weeds…

Ok, it’s time for a pivot. So far, in the world of Submariners with crown guards we’ve been focused exclusively on the reference 5512. This is, however, another critical reference for no-date Subs: the 5513. This watch was introduced in 1962, just three years after the 5512 made its debut, and the main difference between the 5513 and its predecessor is that it does not contain a movement certified as a chronometer by COSC. Yep, it’s a simple as that.

Consequently, the first 5513 we have here is extremely similar watch to the third 5512 featured above since it was made at approximately the same time. The “Superlative Chronometer / Officially Certified” text seen on the 5512 is not here, but otherwise it would be really difficult to tell these two watches apart side-by-side. Everything from the cases to the bezels to the styles of printing on the gilt dials is nearly identical. Both even feature the “exclamation point” at six o’clock.

The early generations of 5513s use the caliber 1530, the same caliber that you’d find in the non-chronometer 5512s. Because this movement wasn’t intended for chronometer certification, it made perfect sense for Rolex to roll it into the 5513 as it distinguished the 5512 by fitting it with COSC-certified calibers.

This is one of the most collectable 5513s out there, and it looks unlike any other watch bearing that reference number. This 5513 has the so-called Explorer dial with the 3-6-9 subbing in for the rectangular lume plots at those hours. There are also slim luminous batons at the other hours (instead of dots) and the dial text is all reduced in size a bit to give the luminous numerals room to breathe.

These Explorer dial 5513s are the very last generation of Explorer dial Submariners, and they look substantially different when compared to the earlier Explorer dial ref. 6200 and ref. 6538 models. Keep in mind, we’re talking about just over a decade between the earliest 6200 and the last Explorer dial 5513, which really drives home how quickly the Submariner was evolving during this period. Today we think of it as a solid archetype, but it was still extremely malleable back in the ’50s and ’60s.

There were also Explorer dial 5512s produced around the same time as these watches, and, curiously, most seemed to have been made for the UK market. It’s unclear why that market would have received nearly all of these watches, but such is the strange history of these unusual pieces.

This 5513 has a special version of a gilt dial with an “underline” printed just below the depth rating and “Submariner” signature at six o’clock. These underline dials can be found across the Rolex sport watch range, and represent a transitional period in the company’s history.

While Rolex has never outright confirmed this, the underline marking is understood to denote that the dial featured tritium lume with a lower level of radiation than would be found on the radium dials that had been used up to this point. The thought is that some dials were already printed, but not lumed, so Rolex decided to add the underline to existing pieces to note that they were different. Considering that all underline dials date to approximately 1962-64, the facts do line up here, and experts I’ve spoken to confirm that these watches do feature lower radiation levels than their predecessors. Outside of this, the watch is just a beautiful gilt 5513 through and through.

As if things weren’t complicated enough, there’s another variation of the underline 5513 that you need to know: the “double Swiss” underline 5513. The first thing you’ll notice is that the underline itself is in a different place here – it sits quietly under the Rolex signature at 12 o’clock instead of down at six. This watch still has a case with pointed crown guards, by the way, though it’s among the last 5513 to feature them.

More importantly though, there are two “Swiss” signatures at the very bottom of the dial, one gilt that sits in line with the open chapter ring and one white just below. This extra signature at the bottom is very unusual and takes this watch to the next level. The “Double Swiss” designation isn’t unique to the Submariner though – check out Ben’s report on the Double Swiss Underline Daytona right here for more.

Now what happens if there are no extra “Swiss” signatures, no hidden underline, and no exclamation points? You get this watch. This is a later generation gilt dial 5513, which is indicated by the open chapter ring around the outer perimeter (what makes it “open” is that the gilt hash marks are not connected by a solid ring on the outside edge).

It’s funny that we’ve gotten to a point in vintage Rolex collecting that we consider this a “normal” or “standard” watch, considering that such examples were only made for a few years and that most were worn hard and without a hint of preciousness. Don’t let some collectors’ blasé attitudes get you jaded though – finding a gilt 5513 in outstanding condition, with a clean dial, a nicely faded bezel, and a sharp case is no easy task. This is one seriously nice watch right here.

Sometime toward the end of the gilt-dial era, the 5513 transitioned to a new movement, the caliber 1520. It’s a sort of strange movement, especially when you put it side-by-side with the caliber 1530, which was by many accounts a superior movement. The 1520 ran at a slightly higher frequency of 2.75 Hz (19,800 vph), but used a lower-cost regulator and balance spring, so with a bit of innovation came a bit of cost-savings. It was never intended to be COSC-certified, thus making it a good fit for the 5513.

Alright, to close out the gilt dial 5513s we figured it was worth having a little fun. In the land of minutiae, one of the things collectors and dealers most like to seize upon is the shape of the Rolex coronet. For a company logo, it sure did change and vary a lot over the middle part of the 20th century. The basics were always the same – a five-pointed crown with an open bottom and a serif font for the signature – but sometimes it was shorter, other times it was taller; sometimes it was wider, other times it was thinner; and sometimes the points of the crown were closer together, other times they were further apart.

The variation we have here has been nicknamed the “Bart Simpson” because the coronet is thought to look like the famous animated character. The deep yellow color of the coronet (due to the galvanic process of the gilt dials) amplifies the effect.

One side note here: there are Bart Simpson 5512s too, though they’re much rarer than the 5513 version.

This is another moment where we see the 5512 and 5513 change in tandem. As Rolex phased out the traditional gilt dials, both Submariner references moved over having matte dials with white printing instead. Like the 5512, the 5513 would eventually transition over to a “feet first” depth rating, but this is an earlier model that still has the metric units first.

While a lot of the watches we’ve shown here have substantial patina, with faded bezels and dials, the watch here is basically a time capsule. The rich black color of the matte dial, the rich custardy hue of the lume, and the glossy black of the aluminum bezel insert are all intact. This is pretty close to what this watch would have looked like right out of the box in the late 1960s.

This watch sits right up there with the Explorer dial variant as one of the most collectable 5513s out there today. There are three basic variants of the MilSub, the 5513 you see here, later 5513/5517 double-references, and also 5517 single references (these last two references only exists as MilSubs, not as regular Submariners). The watch we have here is also what we’d call a “full-spec” MilSub, as it’s retained all the key variations that define this watch against a typical 5513. In many cases, watches were modified after being decommissioned and aren’t quite what they used to be. What you want though is a piece like this.

Now about those distinguishing features. What you’re looking for is the following: the special bezel, graduated in one-minute increments all the way around (a bezel that never appeared on any civilian Submariner), the sword-shaped hands, the circle-T logo at six o’clock to note that the watch uses safe tritium lume instead of radium, and fixed bars between the lugs (not removable spring bars). If any of those things have been altered, you might still be looking at a genuine MilSub, but one that’s lost a bit of what makes it so special.

With all vintage watches, having proper documentation will invariably increase a piece’s value. But with military watches, paperwork and documentation is even more important than usual. The potential profit to be made by doctoring up a typical 5513 and faking a MilSub is substantial, and there are people out there trying to do it with some regularity. So if you’re looking to buy one for yourself, going through a trusted source and looking for one with a proper paper trail is essential.

MilSubs are a rabbit hole all their own, and you can learn a bit more about the very earliest versions right here if you’re interested. (Spoiler alert: You should be interested.)

As the stories of the 5512 and 5513 weave in and out from one another, this is their last point of contact. Made for over a decade, there are dozens of variations within this one family of watches alone. The watch you see here is nearly identical to the last 5512 shown above, with a matte dial and a feet-first depth rating. The lume plots are the larger “maxi” size and we’ve reached an era where the tritium lume generally ages to a lighter pale yellow color instead of a dark orange and beige tone. This is essentially the last generation of the true vintage no-date Submariner.

This is the youngest watch that you’ll see in this story. Dating to approximate 1988, it’s one of the last 5513s made before the reference was retired after its 27 years in continuous production (indicated by its serial number beginning with “L”). You’ll notice immediately that the watch is very different from those we’ve looked at thus far. This is because it sits halfway between a true vintage Submariner and the five-digit references that Rolex would start making around 1990. This is the “missing link,” if you will, between the Submariners of yesteryear and the ones that you can still buy today (if you’re lucky enough to find one, that is).

The most important traits introduced with these late series 5513s are the glossy black dial and the white gold surrounds that encapsulate each of the tritium hour markers. You’ll also notice a number of changes to the fonts on the dial, the detailing of the bezels, and more. However, in terms of case, profile, and movement, this is every bit as much a 5513 as the earlier watches.

Behold! The Submariner with a date! It might seem hard to believe today, but it took 16 years before the very first Submariner rolled out of Rolex with a date complication at three o’clock. It’s worth noting that the earliest Sea-Dwellers, which featured a date from the beginning, came out two years earlier too. It did however use the same caliber as those early Sea-Dwellers, the caliber 1575. (For more on the Sea-Dweller, be sure to check out Reference Points: Understanding The Rolex Sea-Dweller.)

This is what a typical, matte dial 1680 without the red “Submariner” looks like. You’ve got a packed four-line signature at six o’clock and the date sitting under the Cyclops at three o’clock. One variation you’ll find in the date is that earlier date wheels feature sixes and nines that are “open” – meaning the characters look like they were drawn with one stroke and there’s a separation where the circular part meets the straight part – and later date wheels feature sixes and nines that are “closed.” Otherwise, a basic matte 1680 is pretty much a basic matte 1680.

 

Collecting The Submariner

We’ve now shown you nearly three dozen Submariners, and, to be honest, this isn’t even close to everything. These are the most critical touch points for understanding how the Submariner evolved, its key features, and what collectors care about today. As mentioned earlier, there are truly countless dial variants, nicknamed sub-references, and unusual historical side notes. This is, in the truest sense, a bottomless pit.

However, all the watches we’ve shown you above break down into roughly four categories: those without crown guards, those with gilt dials, those with matte dials, and those with military provenance. We thought it would be interesting to interview experts in each field, inviting them to shed some additional light on what you should be looking for when you’re shopping for your next Sub.

I asked each expert to answer three questions:

1) For each type of Submariner, what is the most under-appreciated aspect that collectors need to pay attention to?
2) What’s the biggest mistake people make when looking at this type of Submariner?
3) What is your holy grail within this category of Subs?

 

Let’s check out the answers:

No Crown Guards – Geoff Hess, Watch Consultant at Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo

1) With respect to Submariners without crown guards, the one under-appreciated aspect that collectors should look for is “clear”…pun actually intended…and that’s gloss. Big crown and small crown Subs from the 1950s were made with radium dials, and their corrosive nature often ate away at the original gloss finish of the surface of the watch’s dial.  Consequently, the specialness of finding a 1950s no crown guard Sub with some measure of original glossiness on the dial still intact shouldn’t be overlooked.

2) One significant error is unknowingly buying a no crown guards Sub with a later service dial, made with primarily tritium and lacking corrosive radium. As a result, they often appear to be in deceivingly superior condition. You think you’re getting one thing, but you’re actually getting something else entirely.

3) The 6538 Explorer dial with red depth rating is the big crown with the rarest dial configuration and is an ultimate treasure most collectors will never own. We more typically see it on 1960s gilt 5513 Subs, so when it appears with additional red depth reading on an early 6538 big crown, the iconic James Bond Submariner, you have the perfect storm of rarity of case and dial design. Very few are known to exist and as a result it’s an ultimate treasure most collectors will never own.  Produced in 1956, in my view it represents the holy grail of no crown guard Subs.

 

Gilt Dials – Eric Wind, Founder of Wind Vintage

1) Gilt 5512 and 5513 Submariners are not rare by any stretch, but they are rare to find in great condition. Many that I have handled from original owners and original families have seen a lot of action in their 50+ years of life, with it being common to see replacement hands and bezel inserts from Rolex given their nature as tool watches. It is also common to see these gilt dials re-lumed. I examine the condition of the gilt dials first, given how sensitive the lacquer is to damage, then the condition of the case, which I prefer to have the original proportions and chamfered edges if possible.

2) I often see new collectors buying gilt 5512 and 5513 Submariners that are in poor condition (sometimes with disclosed or undisclosed restoration) for what they see as a value purchase, when they would be better off buying an excellent example of a matte dial 5512 or 5513 for a similar amount. The multiple in value between a poor condition model and exceptional model is extremely high for Submariners, and only growing with time.

3) I love Submariners with the 3-6-9 Explorer dials and particularly like the reference 5512 version with the small-hash minute track and exclamation point dial. The minute markers on this version are almost like dots and the lacquer seems to stay preserved very nicely on these. The first one of these I ever held was one we sold at Christie’s in Geneva while I worked there. It was consigned by the original owner who bought the watch new in 1962 in Knightsbridge and wore it during his service as a police officer in London. That watch is now in the collection of a prominent Rolex collector in Hong Kong.

 

Matte Dials – John Field, Jr., Proprietor of 5513mattedial.com

1) While gilt/gloss dials many times suffer from crazing, spidering, peeling, and hand drags, the matte dials are by contrast very well preserved for the most part. However, the one area where these dials are prone to damage is where the edge of the dial and larger minute markers meet the mid case. During a service, as the dial and movement are placed in the case and rotated into position, it’s not uncommon for the larger minute markers to break or chip. Consequently, it’s not uncommon to see some Submariners, especially the earliest 1680s to have three or four broken minute markers. Keep an eye out for this.

2) With few exceptions, collectors want their watches to be all original or at least period correct. So, it’s important to make sure that the dial in the watch is consistent with the serial number between the lugs and the year the watch was made. This might seem like common sense; however, there are nine different 5513 matte dials produced between 1966 and 1984, and because the same 1520 movement was used, it’s not uncommon to find a dial from the late 70s having replaced the original dial from a watch from the mid ’60s. Make sure everything checks out before buying.

3) While the gilt/gloss Rolex Submariners produced prior to 1965/66 have garnered the spotlight for many years, some of the later produced matte dial versions have reached grail status as well. The 1680 began its life as a matte dial Submariner, separating itself from its 5512 brother with the addition of a date function. An unmolested Mark I, meters-first Red Sub from the first year of production would certainly qualify as a grail matte dial Submariner given the aforementioned parameters, as would an 18k 1680/8 with a meters-first dial.

 

Military – Mike Wood, UK-Based Collector

1) With less than 1,200 British military Submariners issued, there are few alternatives. The exception would be private purchase watches: Submariners bought be serving military personnel at the NAAFI (Commissary) for their own use. Although the British M.O.D. (Ministry of Defence) never issued Tudor Submariners, it is possible to find both Tudor and Rolex Submariners, bought by soldiers and sailors who engraved their military particulars on the watches, and wore them through their period of service. A “private purchase” Submariner, with an interesting provenance, can be a very rewarding find!

2) The entry-level British MilSub is likely to be a “low-spec” 5513: a watch that has lost its sword hands (and is fitted with Mercedes hands), has been fitted with a 15-minute-marker bezel, perhaps has had a bracelet fitted, has had the case back crossed with another watch or the military engravings polished off. Prices for something like this will be under $20,000. But buying this watch with a view to upgrading it is false economy: genuine Rolex sword hands are worth $30,000+, a 60-minute-marker bezel $30,000+; and most – if not all – of these “add-ons” for sale in the market now are fake or after-market.

3) There are several reference of MilSubs, including the A/6538 (1950s), a small number of 5512s (late 1950s-early 1960s), several batches of 5513s, “double reference” 5513/5517s, and 5517s (all 1970s). For me, a full-spec 5517 (for Army “W-10” or Royal Navy “0552” issue, signified by the case back engravings) is the holy grail of military Submariners. It is a unique reference Rolex reserved exclusively for British military issue watches (similar to the COMEX 5514), with around 150 watches produced in total.

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Quick Guide

Editor’s Note: I’d like to offer a huge thank you to Eric Wind, without whom this story would not have been possible. We would also like to thank Paul Altieri, Jeffrey Binstock, Jack Feldman, Adam Golden, Erwin Grose, Norman Harris, Geoff Hess, Jay Liu, David Marcinek, Stephen Moore, Grady Seale, Lavi Rudnick, Leon Shoykhetbrod, Jon Yu, and an anonymous collector who goes by @watch.me_watch.you on Instagram all for lending us their precious watches. Eric Wind also wants to thank Glenn Mariconda for his excellent scholarship on the 6204 and 6205 models in particular. If you had any doubts about how great the Rolex collecting community can be, this should clear them right up!