Rolex Submariner collector’s 101 – [Part 3]

This is the second part of the Rolex Submariner collector’s 101.

Reference 5513 (1962-1963)

The 5513 was introduced with the cases we see around 1962. It’s got a chapter ring which all these watches have where you see the full outer circle and all the dashes come off of it. The one above also has an exclamation point. It’s two lines of text ofcourse, you’ll never see 5513 with the chronometer text.

There are some other versions that are very interesting and very collectible like the Explorer dial.

This model also has chapter rings so it’s the earliest version of Explorer dial 5513 and at the moment the collector community has found 9 versions of Explorer dial submariners.

Around this time Rolex changed dial configurations to what people call an open chapter ring, where the dashes go straight out to he edge of the dial and the plots get larger so it’s a little bit easier to see underwater or at night.

This is a version that has an underline with the exclamation point where there’s a tiny circle under the six o’clock mark so it looks like an exclamation point. Those models with underline are recognized to not have any radiation Geiger reading today.

The variation above is called the double swiss dial because it’s got Swiss in white and Swiss and a gilt gold color.

There is also an interesting variation called MilSub. The 5513 was designed for the British Royal Navy. They adopted this gladiator hand and that minute hand which was borrowed from Omega Seamaster. they wanted the bezel to be fully graduated so it has hash marks all the way around and the spring bars are fixed so it could really only be worn with a NATO strap. These are obviously highly collectible

And then we have the last versions of 5513 which is a Maxi Dial mark 3 with the nickname “lollipop”, like the 5512 “lollipop” because the plots are quite large and you see Submariner above the depth rating and you see feet-first below.

All the Subs we covered until this point are no date Subs, now let’s review the models with the date window.

Rolex Submariners with date window

The first Sub with the date is the 1680, it’s what everybody calls the “Red Submariner“.

Again, like the earlier models, the very earliest have “meters first” in the depth rating and then you see it switch to a “feet first” version. The 1680 was also made in 18 karat gold. These were the first gold Submariners. It started with gold with a black dial and then later they introduced a blue dial version.

Then, we have some kind of a sibling of the Milsub, the Comex Submariner.

It’s a 1680. There are various versions of 5514 that were special for Comex with the helium escape valve on the side, and then we saw it with Sea Dwellers to follow. Typically we see the “Comex” on the dial and it was for the French diving company.

Last we’ve got a “white Submariner“.

Instead of being in red, the “Submariner” is in white and this was the watch that led to a transition into the 16800 with Sapphire Crystal and quick set and then all the versions through today.

This was our review on the history of Submariner. We do not have collectible pieces in our catalog, although we have a huge amount of custom replica Submariners and you will definitely find one for yourself.