Rolex Submariner Ref. 5512 - 'Gilt Four-Line'

The Rolex Submariner is a true icon — and the word "icon" does get thrown around an awful lot. If you were to ask ten people at random to draw you their idea of a watch looks like, chances are they would draw or describe something that looks like a Rolex Submariner. It’s the dive watch of reference, and good/bad/indifferent there is no escaping it. Throughout its 70-year production, there have been countless small changes made to the model, with the Reference 5512 representing a very interesting period in the Submariner story.

The Ref. 5512 was originally sold alongside the 5513 as an up-market chronometer certified version of the venerable dive watch icon. During its production run, the 5512 series transitioned from the glossy gilt dials of the early 1960s, to matte dials in the later examples — as well as a bevy of different case and crown guard shapes.

The piece that we have here hails from an era when gilt-printed dials were still in use by the brand. Gilt dials are when the lettering and fonts are punched out of the dial so that the brass ‘gilt’ color shows through creating a golden text appearance. These are not very easy to produce and were ultimately discontinued by Rolex in the later half of the 1960s, as they couldn’t be produced in the same quantity as a matte dial - but nothing shines and glistens quite like these gilt dials.

This example dates to circa 1966 and features a strong case with beautiful glossy-gilt dial, a 'Long-5' bezel insert showing a light fade, and a 'rivet' Oyster bracelet to boot.