Now Live: Rolex Submariner Ref. 5512, Gilt Four-Line Dial, circa 1962

Now live: a Rolex Submariner ref. 5512 from around 1962, with a glossy gilt four-line chronometer dial and an unpolished pointed crown guard case. The 5512 was the first Submariner with crown guards and the only one of its era certified as a chronometer, and early gilt examples like this are where serious Submariner collections begin.

Why It Matters

In 1959 the 5512 gave the Submariner its modern shape. It introduced crown guards to protect the winding crown, set the 40mm case proportions that still define the model and, unlike its sibling the 5513, carried a chronometer-rated movement. That certification is why its dial has four lines of text instead of two.

Early production is the most collectible. The pointed crown guards of the first years were soon rounded off, and glossy gilt dials with gold printing gave way to matte dials by the late 1960s. A gilt four-liner in an unpolished case captures the reference at its most original.

It is, in short, the tool watch Rolex would spend the next six decades refining.

This Example

Serial 819,xxx, circa 1962. The case is unpolished with strong definition at the pointed crown guards. The gilt dial with closed chapter ring is clean, its cream luminous plots all intact, and it is paired with a period riveted 7206 bracelet. Offered without box or papers.

Specifications

Reference

5512

Year

circa 1962

Case

40mm stainless steel, pointed crown guards, unpolished

Movement

Caliber 1560, automatic, chronometer

Dial

Black gilt four-liner, chapter ring

Bezel

Black rotating insert

Bracelet

Riveted 7206, folding clasp

Serial

819,xxx

Price

$95,000

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