Submariner Ref. 5513

The reference 5513 (1962–1989) is the longest-running Submariner reference ever made — the non-chronometer, two-line twin of the 5512, and the watch most collectors mean when they say "vintage Submariner." Over 27 years it absorbed every dial era Rolex produced — gilt, meters-first and feet-first matte, the big-lume "Maxi" dials, and finally the glossy white-gold-surround dials that bridged to the modern five-digit line — while keeping the same 40mm case, acrylic crystal, and bidirectional bezel throughout. It was the volume seller, the working diver's watch, and the military-issue base for the legendary MilSub variants. Because it lived so long, buying a 5513 is a study in period correctness: the reference is a single number, but the watch exists in dozens of distinct, era-specific configurations.

Reference	5513
Production	1962 – 1989
Calibre	Rolex cal. 1530 (1962–c. 1963) → cal. 1520 (c. 1963/64–1989); both non-chronometer automatic, 19,800 vph, ~48-hour power reserve
Case	40mm (nominal) stainless steel Oyster case, drilled lugs, 20mm lug width; Twinlock screw-down crown; crown guards (pointed early → rounded from the mid-1960s)
Crystal	Domed acrylic
Bezel	Bidirectional, black anodised-aluminium insert, 60-minute scale (fat-font/"Long 5" inserts in the 1960s)
Dial	Black; three generations — gilt glossy (1962–c. 1967), matte with white printing (c. 1967–c. 1984), glossy with applied white-gold surrounds (c. 1984–1989); always 2 lines of text ("Submariner" + depth rating); tritium lume ("SWISS T<25"); radium on the earliest gilt dials
Bracelet	Oyster: riveted 7206 / 6636 / C&I USA (early 1960s) → folded-link 9315 (late 1960s–70s) → solid-link 93150 (1980s)

Overview

Rolex introduced the 5513 in 1962, three years after the 5512, as the non-chronometer alternative: the same 40mm crown-guard case, the same acrylic crystal and bezel, a less expensive movement without COSC certification, and a cleaner dial carrying only two lines of text instead of four. The price difference at retail was modest — Fratello cites roughly a 30% gap — but it was enough to make the 5513 the volume mover, the diver's watch bought by working professionals and military buyers while the 5512 sat a rung up the price ladder. Production estimates (which Rolex has never published) run roughly ten to one in the 5513's favour, whatever the exact ratio.

The 5513's 27-year run makes it a catalogue of Rolex dial-making. It launched in the gilt era — glossy black lacquer over a brass blank, gold-coloured text — and gilt 5513s ran into the mid-to-late 1960s. Around 1967, with the arrival of pad-printing (tampography) for dials, the 5513 switched to matte black dials with white printing: the definitive tool-watch look, and the configuration that ran, essentially unchanged in outline, for nearly two decades. The depth rating printed meters-first ("200m=660ft") early in the matte era and feet-first ("660ft=200m") from the late 1960s, aimed at the growing American market. In the late 1970s the matte dials gained much larger luminous plots — the collector-named "Maxi" dials. And in the mid-1980s, shortly before the reference was discontinued in 1989, the dials went glossy again, this time with applied white-gold surrounds around the lume plots: the first hint that the tool watch was becoming a luxury object.

The movement story is shorter: the early calibre 1530 gave way to the long-serving calibre 1520 in 1963/64, and the 1520 ran non-chronometer for the remaining quarter-century. Everything else — case, crown, crystal, bezel, 200-meter rating — stayed recognisably constant, which is why a 5513 from 1985 looks, at a glance, like a 5513 from 1975. The differences live in the dial printing, the lume plots, the bezel-insert fonts, the bracelet, and the crown guards.

The 5513 also has a service record most references can't claim: it was the base for the British military's MilSub issues (refs. 5513 and 5517), the watch issued to Royal Navy divers with fixed spring bars, sword hands, and military markings — the apex predator of Submariner collecting and one of the most faked military watches in existence.

Key variants & generations

The gilt-dial era (1962 – c. 1967)

Early 5513s wear glossy gilt dials — two lines of gilt text, "SUBMARINER" over the meters-first depth rating, on lacquered brass. Because the gilt process is fragile, surviving examples in good condition are prized, and many gilt dials show the era's characteristic cracking and flaking from heat and moisture. Within the gilt era sit the rare variants: chapter-ring dials, single and double underline dials, the "Bart Simpson" coronet, and the 3-6-9 "Explorer dial" (produced only a few years, among the rarest 5513 configurations). Early gilt dials carry radium lume ("SWISS"), transitioning to tritium ("SWISS T<25") in the early-to-mid 1960s. Crown guards on gilt-era 5513s are pointed.

Matte "meters first" (c. 1967 – c. 1969)

The switch to matte dials with white printing marks the 5513's great dividing line. The earliest matte dials keep the meters-first depth rating ("200m=660ft") and smaller, earlier-style lume plots. These bridge the gilt era and the classic matte look, and — like all transitions at Rolex — the changeover window is fuzzy rather than clean.

Matte "feet first" (c. 1969 – c. 1977)

From the late 1960s the depth rating flips to feet-first ("660ft=200m"), the configuration that defines the classic matte 5513 for the next decade. Tritium lume plots age to the warm cream-to-amber patina collectors prize. Bezel inserts in this window are the thin-font successors to the 1960s fat-font and "Long 5" inserts. Bracelets are folded-link 9315s.

Maxi dials — MKI through MKIV (c. 1977 – c. 1983)

In the late 1970s Rolex began fitting matte dials with substantially larger luminous plots — retroactively named "Maxi" dials by collectors, for the bigger lume and the slightly bolder feel they give the watch. Specialists distinguish four marks, and the mark numbers are collector shorthand, not Rolex nomenclature:

• MKI (c. 1974/77–1978) — the earliest Maxi, originally designed for the military Submariner ref. 5517, with surplus dials used on civilian 5513s. Depth rating printed above "SUBMARINER" — the last Submariner dials ever to carry that configuration.
• MKII (c. 1978–1981) — the classic Maxi: depth rating below "SUBMARINER," full-size plots, hands now scaled to match.
• MKIII "Lollipop" (c. 1978–1981) — the largest plots, sitting closest to the minute track; the most openly "Maxi" of the Maxis.
• MKIV (c. 1981–1983) — the last Maxi production before the glossy dials, with revised printing and closed "6"s.

Maxi marks overlap in time and serial ranges; boundary examples exist, and the distinctions rest on printing details (serifs, the alignment of the "f" and "t" in "660ft," open vs. closed sixes).

Glossy dials with white-gold surrounds (c. 1984 – 1989)

The final 5513s wear glossy black dials with applied white-gold surrounds around the lume plots — the first Submariner dials to treat the hour markers as jewellery rather than paint. Tritium lume remains ("SWISS T<25" or "SWISS" depending on the dial). Bracelets are solid-link 93150s. These are the youngest, most modern-feeling vintage 5513s, and they bridge directly to the five-digit 14060 that replaced the reference in 1989. A rare "spider" lacquer-crackling effect is documented on some glossy dials.

Military and special variants

The British Ministry of Defence issued Submariners based on the 5513 (and the dedicated ref. 5517): fixed spring bars, sword hands, fully graduated bezels, and military engravings on the caseback. Genuine MilSubs are vanishingly rare, documented almost entirely by issue records and specialist literature — and they are among the most counterfeited military watches in the world. Separately, the COMEX-issued Submariner (ref. 5514, a 5513 with a helium escape valve and COMEX-signed dial) belongs to the professional-diving branch of the family. Both are specialist territory far beyond the standard 5513; approach any example with documented expertise, not enthusiasm.

What to check before buying

• Dial era must match the case. A Maxi dial in a 1960s-serial case, a gilt dial with rounded guards, a glossy white-gold dial in a folded-link-bracelet watch — every mismatch is a story that needs a factory or service explanation, and most stories are fiction. Learn the three dial generations (gilt / matte / glossy) before shopping.
• Dial originality. Redials, over-cleaned matte dials (which lose their texture), replaced plots, and later service dials are the main value traps. Hodinkee's 2024 buying guide makes the point bluntly: on a 5513, condition beats rarity — a great matte example outranks a poor gilt one.
• Lume consistency. Hands and plots should match in colour and age; UV-test for relume. Dead tritium plots are correct; bright modern lume on a 1970s dial is not.
• Bezel insert. Period-correct inserts matter: fat-font/"Long 5" on 1960s watches, later thin-font inserts after. A "service" insert (newer replacement with a fresh pearl) is honest wear-and-tear but worth less than an original.
• Movement. Calibre 1520 for anything after 1963/64; calibre 1530 only on the earliest examples. Non-chronometer throughout — any "Superlative Chronometer" text on a 5513 dial is wrong for the reference (the documented exception being the Steve McQueen 5513, sold at Phillips in 2018, which arrived at the auction house wearing a 5512 four-line dial fitted during a Rolex service — and was offered with a correct 5513 dial).
• Case. Polishing history is everything: crisp bevels and visible lug chamfers vs. soft, rounded lugs. Engravings between the lugs (reference and serial) must be present and legible.
• Bracelet. Riveted (early 60s), folded 9315 (late 60s–70s), solid 93150 (80s) — matched to the watch's era. Stretch, replaced clasps, and wrong endlinks are the common issues; C&I USA-market bracelets are correct on some examples.
• MilSub or COMEX claims. Any military or COMEX attribution needs documentation and specialist authentication. The fakes are better than the stories.
• Box and papers. Nice, not decisive. Internal consistency of dial, case, movement, and bracelet is the real authentication.

Sources consulted

Production dates and calibre details were cross-checked through at least two reputable sources. Where sources disagree, the disagreement is noted in the text above. All prose is original to The Geneva Papers™.