Vintage Sub with 369 Dial

[Mark Eleven]

Is there any 5513 with 369 dial like the photo below?

If not, then what model is it?

Edited December 8, 2007 by Mark Eleven

[predfan2001]

Silix is the best place to get that one.

[freddy333]

Yes, it looks like an early generation 5513 that I believe was sold chiefly in the UK. I do not have it in front of me, but I think there is a similar watch in Dowling's book.

[alligoat]

The Explorer (3-6-9) dial 5513 was available from the 60's into the 70's, first with the gold printing and then with the white printing. They changed from gold to white say around '67.

Paul and a few other dealers carry this watch (maybe Silix):

http://www.pam111.com/product_info.php?cPa...roducts_id=1199

The watch is fine, but the gold print on the dial is more of a yellow/green. The lume is a light yellow and isn't bad IMO.

I trimmed my crown guards, changed out the pearl with a supposedly NOS acrylic pearl- popped right in, and siliconed the o-rings- WR tested to 4ATM which is all my watchmaker could do. It's a great beater for under $200. I've thought about a gold wash to make the printing look more gold, or getting a www.jewelryandwatch.com 3-6-9 dial for $265. Interestingly, this case is about 37.5mm and the dial is 26.5mm or thereabouts, so a gen or aftermarket 5513/5512 dial should fit OK. The 2836 movement is fine, but high beat (28,800) and has a stop for the date set, whereas a 1520/30 would have been the correct Rolex movement (19,800 bph).

Some of the other vintage Rolexes from Paul, Silix, etc. also have the Explorer dials- so called 6536's, 6538's, 5508's. Some have the white printng which looks better IMO. Haven't tried mixing and matching, but I think the dials on the Silix vintages might be in the 28mm or 29mm range, which would probably be too big for the 5513 case from Paul.

[alligoat]

Here's Silix's- same as Paul's- yucky print

http://www.silix-prime.com/product.asp?id=1645

Too bad it's so hard to find decent 5513 dials these days without spending a small fortune!

[Mark Eleven]

I've decided to pull the trigger on this. Bought it from a friend, the same guy who sold me his DRSD. He told me he bought both of them from Kuala Lumpur Chinatown but later realized that vintage just wasn't his cup of tea.

It seems to be the same one that Paul and Silix are selling.

True enough, the printing on the dial is yellowish, and the pearl is lousy. And the crown guard seems too wide. I changed the bracelet to a riveted type, that comes with my DRSD (photo is the original bracelet before I changed to riveted type).

The case size is slightly smaller than my DRSD. Must be around 38mm. Time keeping is wonderful, average +9 sec per day.

Since I bought it at a huge discount from my friend, despite all the "inaccuracies", I've got no complain and will be using it as my weekend beater.

Edited December 13, 2007 by Mark Eleven

[alligoat]

Yep, that's the same watch that I got from Paul. I call it the 1963 model 5513. This watch came out (as a gen) in the early 60's at the time they were starting to use tritium- hence the T<25 was added to both sides of the dial at the bottom. The white reference line below Submariner was also added to a batch of existing dials which had gold printing.

You can try buying the $10 illumes dots from www.ofrei.com and change out the pearl fairly easily. Shaping the crown guards also helps the looks. They're great beaters, as you say. I especially like mine since it's WR- great for wade fishing, jet skiing and swimming.

Nice pic BTW.