Submariner (no date)
Originality
Originality matters on this reference. An original dial and hands command a significant premium. Service replacements typically trade at a 20-40% discount to original examples.
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Authentication
The 5513 ran for nearly thirty years across four dial generations, so most authentication work here is about matching the dial, hands and insert to the case date rather than deciding whether the watch is a Rolex.
- Dial generations are frequently mixed. A gilt dial in a late case, or a feet-first dial in a mid-1960s case, is a common assembly and is priced very differently from a matched example.
- Service dials and service hands supplied by Rolex over the decades are genuine parts but are not original, and relumed dials are widespread.
- Over-polished cases lose the flat tonneau flank and the crispness of the lug chamfers, which is the main thing that separates a strong example from an average one.
| Area | What to check | What is correct | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| dial | Dial generation against the case date | A glossy gilt dial on early examples, a matte dial with white printing from the mid-1960s, and later a dial with white gold surrounds on the plots, each consistent with the case serial | A dial generation that cannot be reconciled with the case serial or the inside caseback date code |
| dial | Absence of a date aperture | A clean dial with no date window and no cyclops on the crystal, since the 5513 is the no-date reference | A date window, a cyclops, or a dial with a filled or repainted three-o-clock position |
| movement | Caliber 1520 | A 26-jewel Rolex cal. 1520 automatic with no calendar work | A date-equipped Rolex caliber such as the 1575, which belongs to the 1680 rather than the 5513 |
| hands | Handset and lume tone | Mercedes hands whose lume has aged to the same tone as the dial plots | Hands whose lume is brighter, whiter or a different colour from the dial, which points to a relume or a later handset |
| case | Lug holes and case profile | Drilled lug holes and a flat tonneau flank with a defined chamfer running to the lug tip | Rounded lugs and a softened chamfer, both signs of repeated polishing |
| bracelet | Oyster bracelet and clasp codes | A folded or early solid Oyster bracelet with a clasp date code that sits at or after the case date | A clasp code earlier than the case, which cannot be original to the watch |
- Bezel inserts, crystals and gaskets are consumables and are replaced at every service.
- Rolex service dials and service handsets were fitted freely during the reference’s long life and are the single most common originality question on a 5513.
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Buying guidance
Pre-purchase sheet → The numbers to check, what to look at and what to ask, on one printable page.