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Rolex 5508 Submariner

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Submariner › 5508

Rolex 5508 Submariner
Rolex 5508 Submariner

The 5508 is the last small-crown 100m Submariner without crown guards. Auction catalogues usually date its production to 1958–1962, with some sources placing the launch in 1957. It is the small-crown counterpart to the big-crown 5510, with a 6mm crown and a 100m rating. Caliber 1530 examples are documented with 17, 25, and 26 jewels. Sean Connery's on-screen Submariner in Dr. No (1962) was a big-crown 6538; the “James Bond Submariner” label for the 5508 is collector shorthand rather than on-screen provenance.

Core facts

detail value
reference 5508
family Submariner (no date)
production usually dated 1958 to 1962; some sources place the launch in 1957
serial cluster 361,650 (1958) → 489,831 (1959) → 762,896 (1962, II.62 caseback) → 764,524 (1962); rough envelope 360k–410k for 1958–59 jumping to 760k+ for 1962
case 37mm small-crown, no crown guards (later examples thicker through the case middle but still 37mm-class)
crown 6mm Brevet — small crown, distinct from the 8mm big-crown 6538/5510 and the later 7mm guarded 5512/5513
crown guards none
movement caliber 1530, automatic; documented jewel counts include 17, 25, and 26; chronometer-rated variants appear later in the run
depth rating 100m / 330ft, two-line layout (some 1959 onward four-line "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" variants documented)
crystal acrylic
lume radium → exclamation transition in 1962 (the underline transition is a 5512/5513 feature in 1963, not a 5508 feature)

Where it sits in the line

The 5508 sits at the end of the small-crown 100m branch. It ran alongside the big-crown 200m 5510 and ended in 1962, before the 5512 brought crown guards, a 7mm crown, and caliber 1560. The 5508 inherited the small-crown case from the 6204 and 6205 and used the slimmer, bidirectional caliber 1530 in place of the earlier A260 family.

The 6mm Brevet crown distinguishes the 5508 from the later 7mm guarded references. The 6538's 8mm crown carries the same Brevet marking; the marking identifies the period, not the crown size.

Production outline

Production is generally dated 1958 to 1962. Sotheby's and Bonhams catalogue the launch as a replacement for the 6536/1 in 1958; Phillips documents a 1962 example. Le Monde Edmond places the launch in 1957, so the start year remains a source disagreement.

Use case-back date codes alongside serials when assigning a build year — Rolex date-coded casebacks separately from serials. Phillips Geneva NINE 2019 lot 213 (case 361,650, "circa 1958") and Bonhams Feb 2018 lot 24627/98 (1959, 6251H rivet bracelet) anchor the launch period; Sotheby's Watches Online 2020 lot 37 (case 489,831, circa 1959) and Antiquorum Geneva 2020 lot 333-422 (case 490,575, circa 1958) populate the early-band cluster. The late cluster sits in the 762k–764k band: Phillips Hong Kong SPORTS 2019 lot 881 (case 762,896, II.62 caseback), Antiquorum Forte Dei Marmi 2021 (case 764,122, 1962), Antiquorum Monaco 2024 (case 764,196, 1962), Phillips Geneva XV 2022 lot 160 (case 764,524, 1962). The general Rolex serial charts in circulation (1958 ~224k–328k, 1962 ~643k) under-shoot the 5508-observed serials because the head-stamping ran later than the catalog-year for this specific reference.

The 5508 is primarily a gilt-dial reference, with glossy black lacquer and gilt-coloured printing. Late-run examples include the exclamation-dial transition.

Movement notes

The 5508 introduces caliber 1530 to the small-crown line. Bonhams and Sotheby's catalogue copy commonly cites 25 jewels, while Phillips lots document 26 jewels. Other published records cite 17 jewels. The surviving examples support 17, 25, and 26 as documented counts during the run, but they do not provide a complete serial-by-serial transition.

The 1530 is not chronometer-rated at launch. The chronometer-rated four-line "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" dial is therefore a later 5508 spec, not the day-one configuration. Le Monde Edmond confirms 1530 is "more modern and reliable" than the 6536/1's 1030. The chronometer-rated upgrade to caliber 1560 follows on the 5512.

Caliber 1530 belongs to the same 12½-ligne movement family as the earlier 1030, with documented fitment in the 5508. Published height figures vary by source, so the page does not use a single height value to identify a watch.

Dial map

 
Gilt dial with red triangle bezel insert

The documented 5508 dial groups are two-line standard dials, four-line “SCOC” dials, and late exclamation dials with a luminous dot below 6 o'clock. The “six-line” label seen in some listings is not established here. Underline dials belong to the 5512 and 5513 from 1963, after the 5508 run.

Standard two-line gilt

Glossy black lacquer dial with gilt-coloured printing, Mercedes hour and minute hands, lollipop seconds, two-line "Submariner / 100m=660ft" layout. Some examples carry a Singer manufacturer marking on the reverse, visible only with the dial removed; Singer was one of the principal Swiss dial suppliers to Rolex during this period, and the back-stamp is a useful provenance indicator on loose dials.

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    Bezel and two-line dial, standard gilt configuration
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    Mercedes hands and lollipop seconds hand

Four-line "SCOC" gilt

A subset of 5508 dials carry the "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" line above 6 o'clock — the four-line layout. Antiquorum's 2008 Revolution sale lot 204 explicitly catalogues a "Gilt Four Line" 5508. The four-line dial coexists with the two-line dial during overlapping years rather than replacing it cleanly. A four-line dial identifies a chronometer-marked example in the cited lot records. The available evidence does not establish a universal jewel-count transition or a serial-by-serial pairing between the 17-, 25-, and 26-jewel executions.

Exclamation dial (1962)

Late-run 5508s carry an exclamation dot beneath the depth rating at 6 o'clock. The dot is associated with the radium-to-tritium transition and appears in published 1962 examples. Phillips Hong Kong SPORTS 2019 lot 881, Phillips Geneva XV 2022 lot 160, and Antiquorum Forte Dei Marmi 2021 lot 340-173 document examples in that cluster.

Tropical gilt

Tropical 5508 dials are black gilt dials that have aged to brown or chocolate tones. Sotheby's Fine Watches 2023 lot 40 and a documented 1959 example with serial 489,xxx provide published comparisons. Faded bezel inserts and period riveted bracelets occur on some examples, but neither is a rule for every tropical dial.

Service dials

Rolex service-replacement dials are documented on surviving 5508s. A service dial may have cleaner printing or different luminous material than an original dial. Compare the dial, movement, and provenance together, and distinguish a factory replacement from a third-party refinish rather than assuming a clean dial is original.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

 
Small crown case profile — no crown guards

The 5508 case is small-crown and unguarded throughout. The 6mm Brevet crown distinguishes it from the 6538 and 5510's 8mm crowns and the 5512 and 5513's 7mm guarded crowns. The crown carries the Rolex coronet and Brevet marking used during this period.

The acrylic crystal and rotating dive bezel carry over from the earlier 6204 lineage. The 100m depth rating shows the small-crown specification that runs from the 6204 forward — and is the last time that figure appears on a small-crown Submariner before the crown-guard generation lifts it to 200m on the 5512. The bezel insert reads gilt minute graduations on a black ground, with a luminous triangle at 12; a small subset of 5508 examples surface with the red-triangle insert (the 12 marker filled with red enamel or lacquer), but the standard production fitment is the all-black insert.

 
5508 fitted with the red-triangle bezel insert variant

The caseback is smooth externally; the interior can carry the reference, case number, and Roman-quarter date code (II.62 indicates the second quarter of 1962). Use the date code with the serial and the rest of the watch because the observed 5508 serials do not map neatly onto general Rolex charts.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Period-correct delivery bracelets on the 5508 split across three references depending on year and option. The earliest examples ship with the 6251H riveted Oyster (Bonhams Feb 2018, 1959 example with clasp 2/68 marking a service event but original-style fitment). The 7206 fixed-link riveted Oyster is the period-correct mainstream fitment — Bonhams Dec 2023 lot 38 documents a 1958 example with clasp 4/69, and Phillips Hong Kong 2019 lot 881 documents the 1962 fitment with end-link 64. The 6636 expandable riveted Oyster is the third documented original-delivery option — Phillips Geneva XV 2022 lot 160 (1962, clasp 4/64) and Phillips Geneva NINE 2019 (riveted Oyster with deployant clasp 1/58) anchor the 6636 fitment.

The 9315 folded-link Oyster is a later replacement rather than a period 5508 delivery fitment in the cited records. A 9315 on a 5508 should therefore be treated as a service or later replacement until its provenance shows otherwise. RolexHaven dates reference-number stamps on the largest rivet link to 1962; an unstamped bracelet may predate that change, but the clasp and end links still need separate checks. Clasp date codes are the cleanest single-component dating tool: a clasp dating later than the case head implies a swap or service-era replacement.

A 1962 example is documented with a period presentation box. That lot does not establish how often original packaging survives.

Bond association

Collectors sometimes call the 5508 a “James Bond Submariner,” but the on-screen watch in Dr. No was the big-crown 6538. Auction houses use the small-crown label for the 5508 as a catalogue convention, not as proof that it appeared in the film.

 
No-crown-guard 5508 example

Special branches

The late exclamation dials mark the radium-to-tritium transition. Four-line SCOC dials appear alongside standard two-line dials, and tropical examples are aged finishes rather than separate reference variants.

Historical market and auction record

Sale Lot Year Serial Variant Hammer
Phillips Geneva NINE 213 2019 361,650 1958 black gilt, red triangle insert CHF 500,000
Phillips Hong Kong SPORTS 881 2019 762,896 1962 exclamation gilt, II.62 caseback, 7206/64 bracelet HK$ 2,687,500
Phillips Geneva XV 160 2022 764,524 1962 exclamation, 6636 clasp 4/64 CHF 132,300
Antiquorum Geneva 333-422 2020 490,575 1958 ghost bezel, rivet bracelet '63 CHF 56,250
Antiquorum Forte Dei Marmi 340-173 2021 n/a 1962 chapter-ring exclamation gilt EUR 33,750
Antiquorum Monaco 370-227 2024 764,196 1962 signature dial est. EUR 20,000–40,000
Bonhams 24627/98 2018 n/a 1959 black, 6251H rivet GBP 9,375 incl. premium
Bonhams 28036/38 2023 n/a 1958 gilt, 7206 clasp 4/69 est. GBP 15,000–20,000
Sotheby's Watches Online 2 n/a 2020 n/a small-crown James Bond catalogue copy
Sotheby's Fine Watches 5 40 2023 400,505 1958 tropical with 1960 papers
Sotheby's Cologne n/a 2023 n/a 1962 small-crown James Bond est. EUR

The auction table shows a wide spread across different years, variants, and markets. It is too small a sample to establish a trend. A service dial or replacement bracelet also changes the comparison, so each result needs to be read with its lot description.


Related references

See also the Submariner family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.

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    5508 small-crown Submariner
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    Gilt dial and red-triangle insert
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    Two-line gilt dial
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    Mercedes and lollipop hands
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    Small-crown case profile
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    Red-triangle bezel insert
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    No-crown-guard example

Sources

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