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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Submariner 5xxx family}}
{{#seo:
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Submariner 5xxx family — BezelBase
|title=Rolex Submariner 5xxx family — Rolexopedia
|description=The 5xxx Submariner family is the core no-date vintage Submariner story. Understanding how the Submariner became the thing most collectors picture in…
|description=An overview of Rolex Submariner references 5508, 5510, 5512, 5513, 5514, and 5517, with sourced notes on their cases, movements, and special-use variants.
|keywords=Rolex, submariner-5xxx-family, Submariner, specifications, reference guide
|keywords=Rolex, submariner-5xxx-family, Submariner, specifications, reference guide
|type=article
|type=Article
}}
}}


The 5xxx Submariner family is the core no-date vintage Submariner story. It starts with the last no-crown-guard watches, runs through the transitional big-crown [[Reference:5510|5510]], and settles into the crown-guard commercial core of the [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]]. From there it breaks into special-issue branches: the COMEX [[Reference:5514|5514]] and the British military [[Reference:5517|5517]].
<div class="rp-lead">[[File:Ref 5508 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Submariner 5508|Representative 5508 from the 5xxx Submariner family.]]</div>
 
The [[Reference:5508|5508]], [[Reference:5510|5510]], [[Reference:5512|5512]], and [[Reference:5513|5513]] are no-date Submariners from the late 1950s through the end of the [[Reference:5513|5513]] run around 1989–90. The [[Reference:5514|5514]] and [[Reference:5517|5517]] are related branches associated with COMEX and British military use. Their dates and details vary by reference; the pages linked below cover each one separately.


<span id="core-map"></span>
<span id="core-map"></span>
== Core map ==
== Core map ==


Six references make up the family. The [[Reference:5508|5508]] is the small-crown, no-crown-guard watch, the last of its branch. The [[Reference:5510|5510]] is the big-crown transitional bridge. The [[Reference:5512|5512]] is the chronometer crown-guard no-date Submariner; the [[Reference:5513|5513]] is its non-chronometer counterpart. The [[Reference:5514|5514]] is the COMEX-only branch with a helium escape valve (HEV), and the [[Reference:5517|5517]] is the fixed-bar military branch.
* [[Reference:5508|5508]]: small-crown, no-crown-guard Submariner.
* [[Reference:5510|5510]]: big-crown, no-crown-guard reference with disputed production dates.
* [[Reference:5512|5512]]: crown-guard, no-date reference generally fitted with a chronometer-certified movement; early examples need individual assessment.
* [[Reference:5513|5513]]: crown-guard, no-date reference with non-chronometer movements.
* [[Reference:5514|5514]]: COMEX-associated Submariner with a helium escape valve.
* [[Reference:5517|5517]]: military-marked reference used on British military Submariners; military watches also exist under reference [[Reference:5513|5513]].


Small crown and big crown refer to the size of the winding crown on the pre-crown-guard watches. Those terms carry their full meaning in the references themselves.
“Small crown” and “big crown” describe the winding crown on the no-guard cases. HEV means helium escape valve.


<span id="where-the-family-changes"></span>
<span id="where-the-family-changes"></span>
== Where the family changes ==
== Case development ==
 
The [[Reference:5508|5508]] and [[Reference:5510|5510]] have no crown guards. Rolex dates the introduction of crown guards on the Submariner to 1959, the period associated with the [[Reference:5512|5512]]. The [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]] then share the guarded case form, with changes to guard shape over time.


<span id="crown-and-case-architecture"></span>
Collectors use names such as “square,” “Cornino,” and “eagle beak” for early guard shapes, but the labels are not applied consistently. The [[Reference:5512|5512]] article lays out the competing classifications: Jose Pereztroika’s review of Nicholas Foulkes’s 2024 book treats “eagle beak” as a separate shape, while the [[Reference:5512|5512]] generation table uses it as a nickname for the pointed Cornino form. The available descriptions do not settle that naming difference.
=== Crown and case architecture ===


The family starts without crown guards and ends with them permanent. The [[Reference:5512|5512]] is the structural pivot — it locks crown guards into the Submariner.
<span id="commercial-references"></span>
== 5512 and 5513 ==


The sequence is simple. [[Reference:5508|5508]] and [[Reference:5510|5510]] close the no-crown-guard era. The earliest [[Reference:5512|5512]] introduces square guards, then pointed Cornino guards, then the mature rounded form that carries through the long 5512 and 5513 run.
The [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]] overlapped in production and share much of their case and dial development. Their movement specifications distinguish them: [[Reference:5512|5512]] examples are associated with chronometer-certified calibres, while the [[Reference:5513|5513]] used non-chronometer calibres. Do not assume every early [[Reference:5512|5512]] has the same certification or movement; check the individual watch and the evidence cited on its reference page.


<span id="commercial-split"></span>
Nicholas Foulkes’s Rolex-authorized 2024 book reports estimated totals of 17,338 for the [[Reference:5512|5512]] and 151,449 for the [[Reference:5513|5513]]. Hodinkee’s review of the book also describes the [[Reference:5513|5513]] figure as an estimate. These are book-level production estimates, not counts that establish the originality or relative desirability of an individual example.
=== Commercial split ===


The [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]] overlap for years but hold different market positions. The [[Reference:5512|5512]] is the chronometer no-date watch, certified to COSC and priced accordingly. The [[Reference:5513|5513]] is the non-chronometer no-date watch, produced in far higher volume and sold at a lower retail price. That split drives much of the modern collecting split as well.
Their dials changed over the long production runs. Gilt, matte, and later glossy dial descriptions apply to particular periods and configurations, not to every watch in a reference. The [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]] pages document those variations and the limits of the dating evidence.


<span id="special-issue-branches"></span>
<span id="special-issue-branches"></span>
=== Special-issue branches ===
== Special-use branches ==
 
The [[Reference:5514|5514]] and [[Reference:5517|5517]] are not retail peers to the [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]]. They are branch watches tied to specific professional distribution paths: COMEX for the 5514 (French commercial saturation diving) and the British Royal Navy for the 5517.
 
<span id="reference-by-reference"></span>
== Reference by reference ==
 
<span id="section"></span>
=== 5508 ===
 
The [[Reference:5508|5508]] is the last mainstream Submariner without crown guards. It sits in the small-crown world and closes the earlier case chapter before the [[Reference:5512|5512]] changes the line. Archive examples now include a tropical 1959 watch, a service-dial example, and a 1962 exclamation-dot late example.
 
<span id="section-1"></span>
=== 5510 ===
 
The [[Reference:5510|5510]] is the short-run big-crown transitional watch. Case and crown still look back to the [[Reference:6538|6538]], but the movement is already caliber 1530, the same caliber that powers the early [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]]. That dual identity is its whole point.
 
<span id="section-2"></span>
=== 5512 ===
 
The [[Reference:5512|5512]] is the premium no-date Submariner and the first reference where crown guards become a lasting part of the model. It carries the chronometer story across a twenty-year run and four documented crown-guard generations.
 
<span id="section-3"></span>
=== 5513 ===
 
The [[Reference:5513|5513]] is the long-run commercial core. Twenty-seven years of production, 151,449 pieces, dial eras from gilt through matte to late gloss. No other Submariner reference covers as much ground.
 
<span id="section-4"></span>
=== 5514 ===
 
The [[Reference:5514|5514]] is the COMEX-specific branch. COMEX (Compagnie Maritime d'Expertises) was a French commercial diving firm that pioneered saturation diving. The 5514 is a 5513 case with an HEV, issued directly to COMEX divers and never sold through any retailer. A sold 1976 archive example with box, service papers, and documented diver provenance anchors the reference.
 
<span id="section-5"></span>
=== 5517 ===
 
The [[Reference:5517|5517]] is the British military Submariner, known universally as the MilSub. Fixed bars, a 60-minute bezel, T SWISS T tritium dial, and military caseback markings put it in a different lane from the commercial references. The footing is concrete: two Sotheby's 5517 lots, a photographed 1977 example from Hodinkee's Mike Wood report, and a sold military 5513 archive example for context.


<span id="dial-and-movement-logic-across-the-family"></span>
The [[Reference:5514|5514]] is associated with COMEX, the French commercial diving company. It adds a helium escape valve to a Submariner case. Published accounts disagree on its production dates and total: auction catalogues place documented examples in the 1970s, while readings of Foulkes’s book differ from Jose Pereztroika’s review. The [[Reference:5514|5514]] page records the specific lots and the conflicting estimates; a single surviving example does not establish the full delivery history.
== Dial and movement logic across the family ==


The 5xxx family is not one dial story. Early watches live in the glossy gilt world, then the [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]] split into different long-run dial arcs. The 5512 carries the chronometer movement path. The 5513 settles into the long non-chronometer route.
The [[Reference:5517|5517]] is found on British military Submariners, alongside military watches catalogued as [[Reference:5513|5513]]. Fixed spring bars, military dial and hand specifications, bezel markings, and caseback markings are documented on individual examples. Configurations and service histories should be checked watch by watch rather than treated as a universal checklist.


Lazy summaries get collectors into trouble here. The 5xxx family rewards reference-specific thinking.
<span id="movements-and-bracelets"></span>
== Movements, bracelets, and packaging ==


<span id="bracelet-and-packaging-logic"></span>
Movement families differ across the references and change within some runs. The [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]] pages give the calibre details and date ranges; the family label alone is not enough to identify a movement in an individual watch.
== Bracelet and packaging logic ==


Bracelet fitment is easier to document than original delivery. Across the [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]] the documented fitment overlap is familiar: 7206/80 early, 9315 with 280 or 380 in the middle, 93150/580 late. That is fitment, not a universal delivery chart. The same caution applies to boxes and papers.
Bracelet fitment records show overlap between the [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]], including 7206, 9315, and 93150 bracelets with several end-link types. A documented fitment does not prove that a bracelet was delivered with a particular watch. A clasp code dates the bracelet, not the watch head. Boxes and papers are generally period-based unless a reference-specific link is documented.


<span id="historical-market-view"></span>
== Related references ==
== Historical market view ==


The [[Reference:5512|5512]] and [[Reference:5513|5513]] do not occupy the same market depth. The Rolex-commissioned Submariner book by Nicholas Foulkes puts the gap in sharp relief: 17,338 pieces for the [[Reference:5512|5512]] against 151,449 for the [[Reference:5513|5513]]. Roughly one 5512 for every eleven 5513s.
* [[Reference:submariner|Submariner family index]]
* [[Reference:5508|Submariner 5508]]: no-crown-guard, 8mm crown
* [[Reference:5510|Submariner 5510]]: big crown, caliber 1530
* [[Reference:5512|Submariner 5512]]: first crown guards
* [[Reference:5513|Submariner 5513]]: long-run no-date reference
* [[Reference:5514|Submariner 5514]]: COMEX branch
* [[Reference:5517|Submariner 5517]]: British military branch


That ratio does not make every [[Reference:5512|5512]] automatically better, but it does explain why the 5512 feels scarcer in the market and why special-branch 5xxx watches move into a different price tier quickly. A sold 1976 [[Reference:5514|5514]] COMEX archive with box, service papers, and diver provenance, and two Sotheby's [[Reference:5517|5517]] lots from 2018 and 2023, make the branch market concrete rather than abstract.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 5508 hero.webp|m08 Submariner|[[Reference:5508|5508]], no-crown-guard, small Brevet crown
File:Ref 5510 hero.webp|m10|[[Reference:5510|5510]], big crown transitional, caliber 1530
File:Ref 5512 hero.webp|m12|[[Reference:5512|5512]], chronometer and first crown guards
File:Ref 5513 hero.webp|m13|[[Reference:5513|5513]], long-run non-chronometer reference
File:Ref 5514 hero.webp|m14 COMEX|[[Reference:5514|5514]], COMEX helium-valve branch
File:Ref 5517 hero.webp|m17 MilSub|[[Reference:5517|5517]], British military branch
</gallery>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Morning Tundra
* [https://www.rolex.com/watches/submariner/from-tool-watch-to-icon Rolex, Submariner history and 1959 crown-guard introduction]
* [https://newsroom.rolex.com/watches/oyster-collection/submariner Rolex Newsroom, Submariner chronology and specifications]
* [https://www.rolex.com/watches/submariner/from-tool-watch-to-icon Rolex Submariner: From tool watch to icon] — Rolex, including its 1959 account of crown guards.
* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/five-things-i-learned-from-the-first-ever-rolex-authorized-submariner-book Five Things I Learned From the First Ever Rolex-Authorized Submariner Book] — Hodinkee, on the production estimates in Nicholas Foulkes’s 2024 book.
* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
* Nicholas Foulkes, ''Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch that Unlocked the Deep'' (Wallpaper / ACC Art Books, 2024)
* [https://perezcope.com/2024/09/30/review-of-the-authorized-rolex-submariner-book-and-why-the-1926-oyster-was-not-the-first-waterproof-watch/ Review of the Authorized Rolex Submariner Book] — Jose Pereztroika, Perezcope
* [https://www.fellows.co.uk/blog/watches/2020/08/24/rolex-milsub-sells-for-over-165000-smashing-fellows-house-record/ Rolex MilSub Sells for Over £174,000 Smashing Fellows House Record] — Fellows Auctioneers, 2020
* [https://horologium.com.au/2010/12/19/rolex-5510-some-notes/ Rolex 5510: Some Notes] — Horologium, 2010
* [https://monochrome-watches.com/rolex-submariner-history-part-2-the-55xx-1680references/ History of the Rolex Submariner - Part 2, The 55XX References and 1680 Date] — Tom Mulraney, Monochrome
* [https://monochrome-watches.com/rolex-submariner-history-part-2-the-55xx-1680references/ History of the Rolex Submariner - Part 2, The 55XX References and 1680 Date] — Tom Mulraney, Monochrome
* [https://www.windvintage.com/blog/collectors-guide-rolex-submariner-reference-5512 Collector's Guide: What To Know About The Rolex Submariner Reference 5512] — Charlie Dunne, Wind Vintage
* [https://www.windvintage.com/blog/collectors-guide-rolex-submariner-reference-5512 Collector's Guide: What To Know About The Rolex Submariner Reference 5512] — Charlie Dunne, Wind Vintage
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/vintage-rolex-submariner-reference-5508.html Vintage Rolex Submariner Reference 5508] — Bob's Watches editorial staff, Bob's Watches
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/vintage-rolex-submariner-reference-5508.html Vintage Rolex Submariner Reference 5508] — Bob's Watches editorial staff, Bob's Watches
* [https://wannabuyawatch.com/product/rolex-submariner-ref-5508-small-crown-tropical-dial-circa-1959/ Rolex Submariner Ref 5508 Small Crown Tropical Dial Circa 1959] — unknown, Wanna Buy A Watch?
* [https://wannabuyawatch.com/product/rolex-submariner-ref-5508-small-crown-tropical-dial-circa-1959/ Rolex Submariner Ref 5508 Small Crown Tropical Dial Circa 1959] — Wanna Buy A Watch?
* [https://loupethis.com/auctions/rolex-submariner-5508-service-dial Rolex Submariner 5508 Service Dial] — unknown, Loupe This
* [https://loupethis.com/auctions/rolex-submariner-5508-service-dial Rolex Submariner 5508 Service Dial] — Loupe This
* [https://www.vintagegoldwatches.com/product/rolex-submariner-ref-5508-1957-exclamation-dot-dial/ Rolex Submariner Ref.5508 1962 Exclamation Dot Dial] — Vintage Gold Watches, Vintage Gold Watches
* [https://www.vintagegoldwatches.com/product/rolex-submariner-ref-5508-1957-exclamation-dot-dial/ Rolex Submariner Ref.5508 1962 Exclamation Dot Dial] — Vintage Gold Watches, Vintage Gold Watches
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-5510.html Rolex 5510] — Bob's Watches editorial staff, Bob's Watches
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-5510.html Rolex 5510] — Bob's Watches editorial staff, Bob's Watches
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[[Category:Submariner]]
[[Category:Submariner]]
[[Category:Working Draft]]
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