Vintage Rolex Submariner 5512 Stainless Steel

Vintage Watch Condition Examination:

This watch is in great, honest vintage condition. The case is strong with normal signs of wear. The inside caseback is stamped “5513” which is common for these 5512s. 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 bezel insert is in attractive condition with some wear and scratches; the bezel shows some wear along both edges of the bezel insert with some nicks. The “Long 5” bezel has faded to an even and beautiful grey color throughout and in some lights can have hints of blue/ lavender. The pip at 12 is a later replacement. The dial is in excellent condition with light patina. The lume on the dial has aged to an attractive buttery yellow color. The hands have developed patina and aged to a pale yellow color. The C&I bracelet is in good, honest condition with normal signs of wear; it has some stretch between the links. 

Description: Vintage Rolex Submariner 5512 Black Dial

Pre-owned Rolex Submariner ref 5512 (1968) 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 5512s 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 which can be a bit confusing when learning about these watches. 

This example is on the earlier side of the matte dial production and features the sought after “meters first” dial. When Rolex switched to the matte dial they put the depth rating as “200m = 660ft” and these are known as “meters first” in the collecting community. Eventually Rolex would swap the depth rating to feet first around the early 1970s and have continued this trend to the modern offerings. One theory on this change is that Rolex wanted to boost sales in the United States, but to our knowledge Rolex has not made any definitive statements on this shift. 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 in overall great condition and has an excellent look from the perfectly aged ” Long 5, ghost bezel” to the buttery yellow lume color.