Rolex

First introduced in 1959, the Submariner reference 5512 was produced for 20 years. This new reference launched several notable changes to the Submariner. Firstly, the case size increased to 40 mm and for the very first time, Rolex introduced crown guards. The current watch made in 1961 is fitted with a glossy gilt dial featuring “swiss” at six o’clock, designating Radium as the luminous material and notably also features a rare design of coronet, sometimes referred to as a “tulip”.

The watch comes from the original owner who was in the Royal Air Force and stationed at RAF Sharjah, in the Trucial Oman, (now part of United Arab Emirates). He purchased the Rolex in 1962 while visiting RAF Khormaksar in Aden, Yemen. The watch was purchased through the NAAFI (Navy, Army & Air Force Institute) on military credit scheme for 820 EAS (East African Shillings) and is accompanied by its original credit receipt and sales receipt. In 1976, a broken main spring and the expense of a Rolex service led the owner to store it at the back of a drawer, it went untouched for nearly 35 years until it was sent for a service with Rolex service in 2009, in which a new crystal was added and the main spring replaced.

The watch carries a glossy gilt dial. Being early on in the 5512 production, the dial features a “meters first” designation as well as being a “2 line” example and does not feature “superlative Chronometer Officially Certified” on the dial, which adds to its rarity. Additionally, the case features pointed crown guards found on early models, which show little signs of polishing and maintain their factory proportions. The case back is stamped for the first quarter 1961 and is matched by the steel oyster rivet bracelet of the same date.

This lot offers the rare opportunity to own an incredibly well-preserved Rolex Submariner with military provenance, that sat across the middle of two of the strongest design eras for arguably the most iconic of Swiss watchmakers.