Vintage Rolex 5512 Submariner No Date

Vintage Watch Condition Examination:

This 5512 is in overall great vintage condition. The case is in good condition with some wear and scratches. 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 insert is in great condition with light wear and scratches. The dial is in great condition with light patina; the lume on the dial has developed patina and aged to an attractive pale yellow color. The hands have developed patina and the lume has aged to a pale yellow color very similar to the lume on the dial. When looking closely, the lume in the minute hand shows some wear in the center and a slight crack. The bracelet is in great condition and has a bit of stretch between the links which is common for these rivet Oyster style bracelets.

Description: Vintage Rolex Submariner 5512

The Rolex Submariner 5512 (1976) 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 It’s 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.

The example we have here is in overall great, attractive condition and features a lovely “fat font” bezel. The numbers on the bezel insert are a bit bolder than we normally see and collectors refer these as “fat font” giving the watch a different look. We see collectors gravitate towards these little differences that make certain watches stand out.