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 lot, made in 1960, is fitted with a gilt gloss dial featuring “swiss” at six o’clock, designating Radium as the luminous material.

It is difficult to mention the 5512 without a comparison to the 5513, given they are both time-only submariners and the production overlapped for so many years. The main difference between the 5513 and the 5512 was the chronometer-grade calibre 1560 inside the 5512. The COSC testing and certificate made the 5512 more expensive to produce and sell, making it an ‘up-market’ Submariner as compared to the 5513. In accordance with that COSC treatment, however, the 5512 later received 4 lines of text on the dial, proudly proclaiming ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified’. Early on in 5512 production, the dials featured a “meters first” depth designation, as well as only having “submariner” printed below the depth; so-called a “two-liner.”

The present example and does not feature “Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified” on the dial, making it a “two-liner,” which adds to its rarity.

Eventually, all Submariners would become COSC certified, and the 5512 disappeared from the catalog in the late 1970’s.