Rolex Submariner 5512 Stainless Steel Manufacturer : Rolex
Regular Price : 16,973.36
Item Number : 131251
Condition : Vintage
Model Name/Number : Submariner 5512 "Meters First"
Serial : 1829XXX
Year : Circa 1968
Gender : Men's
Movement : Automatic 1560
Case : Stainless steel case; the back of the Caseback is stamped: "5513" and "IV.67". Between the lugs the serial and reference numbers are visible.
Dial : Matte black meters first dial
Bracelet : Stainless steel Rivet Oyster 7206 bracelet with 11 links, no 80 end links. The back of the clasp is stamped "2/69" indicating it is a from 1969.
Box & Papers : Bob's presentation box
Warranty : This pre-owned vintage Rolex comes with Bob's Watches one year warranty
Return Policy : If not 100% satisfied, return watch in 3 days for a full refund. Terms.
The Rolex 5512 (1968) 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 Its not always that simple, early examples of the 5512 also have two lines of text, but still have the COSC movement.
This example is on the earlier side of the matte dial production and features the sought after "meters first" dial.
When Rolex switched to the matte dial they put the depth rating as "200m = 660ft" and these are known as "meters first" in the collecting community. Eventually Rolex would swap the depth rating to feet first around the early 1970s and have continued this trend to the modern offerings. One theory on this change is that Rolex wanted to boost sales in the United States, but to our knowledge Rolex has not made any definitive statements on this shift.
Overall the 5512 is a cult favorite and we see many collectors gravitate towards these especially after they have gone down the rabbit hole.
