Lot 301

Rolex

Submariner

A charismatic rare vintage diving wristwatch with turnable bezel, original box, guarantee with integrated operating instructions and additional original bezel. This is the last Submariner reference without crown guards. The watch was purchased at Beyer jewellers in Zurich on June, 29th, 1962

This attractive watch for divers has a "gilt dial", its surface has slight blistering, resulting in a unique patina. The charmingly aged almost mint green luminous indexes and toffee-coloured Mercedes hands add to its overall pleasant appeal. The slightly faded bezel inlay is particularly attractive. It has changed colour from deep black to an attractive slade grey. The caseback shows two reference numbers, with one of them crossed out. Until around 1964 the Submariner dials showed the so-called gilt printing, but Rolex changed this to get closer to its vision of the perfect diving watch. Two final experimental Submariner models without crown guards were introduced: Reference 5508, replacing the References 6536 and 6536/1. These models were fitted with new 1500 series movements; Cal. 1530 and Cal.1560 were used. Reference 5508 was guaranteed waterproof to 100m/330ft and could be delivered with or without the word "Chronometer" on the dial. This reference was produced approximately from 1958 to 1962. This watch is actually reference 6536, but with the new 5508 reference number. The reference number change was done to give all Submariners 55XX reference numbers from the late 1950s on. This lasted until 1989, when the last 55XX models were produced.