Rolex Submariner "Matte dial"

The tritium on this vintage Rolex Submariner has aged to a deep warm orange, the pumpkin tone collectors chase and cannot order, and it appears in matching measure on both the dial plots and the Mercedes hands. Reference 5513 ran from 1962 to about 1989, making it the longest-lived Submariner of them all, and it was never sent to COSC, which kept it the accessible, widely sold no-date diver rather than the chronometer-certified 5512. By the time this 1972 example left Geneva, Rolex had long since moved from gilt to matte black dials with white printing, the configuration that defines the reference for most collectors today.

This particular example carries the matte black dial with its luminous plots and matching hands, framed by the rotating bezel and the crown guards of the 40mm Oyster case. There is no date and no cyclops, just the clean symmetry the no-date Submariner is built on, read through an acrylic crystal. The caliber 1520 is the automatic movement correct for a 5513 of this year. It comes with its original Rolex box.

The bezel insert shows slight fading and wear along the markings, honest for a diver of this age. The caseback carries fine scratches and swirl marks, and the acrylic crystal has picked up light hairlines across its dome. The case shows minor signs of wear consistent with regular use.

The watch is fitted on a Rolex Oyster bracelet with a folding clasp marked 9315, showing minor scuffs and scratches across the links.